Calcium Levulinate

Chemical: Pentanoic acid, 4-oxo-, calcium salt, trihydrate

Calcium Levulinate: Does not have an individual approval but may be used under an appropriate group standard

Readily accessible data regarding the protein binding of calcium levulinate is not available, although many different calcium-binding proteins exist, with different cellular and tissue distribution and involvement in specific biological function. Some of these proteins include calmodulin, calsequestrin, calretinin, and calcineurin, among others.

The relatively new calcium levulinate is produced from a direct reaction between L- or levulinic acid levulose and calcium hydroxide. The resultant calcium levulinate formulation, when used as a calcium supplement, possesses a high calcium content that is observed to be 14.8% higher than the content typically found in calcium lactate. Moreover, this formulation also demonstrates a high solubility of more than 30% at 25℃. Furthermore, the calcium levulinate is believed to be non-toxic and non-allergic, making it especially suitable for injection or infusion administrations. Additionally, this levulinate formulation is reported as having a good taste, little irritation with a pH value of 7, and good stability such that no precipitation or deterioration occurs during use. Finally, this calcium levulinate formulation is also believed to have good compatibility with calcium lactate, calcium chloride, and other material complexes which allows the formulation to also complex effectively with a diverse variety of foodstuffs and pharmaceutical dosage forms.

Much like most calcium supplements, once calcium levulinate dissociates in the body after administration, absorption of the supplemental calcium ions across the intestinal wall serves to enhance calcium stores in the body. Regardless, levulinic acid (LA) is a commonly used chemical with one carbonyl group, one carboxyl group, and alpha-H comprised in its inner structure, which belongs to short-chain and non-volatile fatty acids. Moreover, the carbon-oxygen double bond from LA's carbonyl group possesses a strong polarity, where the oxygen atom has a stronger electron attracting ability compared to the carbon atom, such that the pi electron will ultimately transfer into the greater electronegative oxygen, therefore resulting in the formation of a positive charge center in the carbon atom. The electrophilic center of the carbon atom subsequently plays a critical role when the carbonyl group performs chemical reactions. Owing to the relatively strong electron receptor effect of the oxygen atom of the carbonyl group, LA has higher dissociation constants than a common saturated acid, which allows it to possess a stronger corresponding acidity. Furthermore, LA can be isomerized into the enol-isomer, owing to the presence of the carbonyl group. The chemical structure of LA consequently has several highly active sites, which facilitates it being used as a chemical platform for preparing many other chemical products. For example, the special structure of LA allows various kinds of products to be generated by way of esterification, halogenation, hydrogenation, oxy-dehydrogenation, and/or condensation, among many other methods.