Gluconic Acid: Properties, Applications and Microbial Production

Sumitra Ramachandran¹, Pierre Fontanille¹, Ashok Pandey² and Christian Larroche¹*

¹Laboratoire de Génie Chimique et Biochimique (LGCB), CUST – Université Blaise Pascal, 24, avenue des Landais, B.P. 206, F-63 174 Aubière Cedex, France
²Biotechnology Division, Regional Research Laboratory, CSIR, Trivandrum 695 019, India

Article history:
Received December 12, 2005
Accepted March 12, 2006

Key words:
gluconic acid, glucose oxidase, microbial production, Aspergillus niger

Summary:
Gluconic acid is a mild organic acid derived from glucose by a simple oxidation reaction. The reaction is facilitated by the enzyme glucose oxidase (fungi) and glucose dehydrogenase (bacteria such as Gluconobacter). Microbial production of gluconic acid is the preferred method and it dates back to several decades. The most studied and widely used fermentation process involves the fungus Aspergillus niger. Gluconic acid and its derivatives, the principal being sodium gluconate, have wide applications in food and pharmaceutical industry. This article gives a review of microbial gluconic acid production, its properties and applications.

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