Properties and potential food applications of lauric arginate as a cationic antimicrobial

Lauric arginate (LAE, ethyl-N^α-lauroyl-L-arginate hydrochloride) is synthesized from food components lauric acid and L-arginine and is quickly hydrolyzed to lauric acid and L-arginine in vivo. The antimicrobial properties and low toxicity are the basis for approval as a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) preservative at a level of up to 200 ppm in certain food products in the United States such as meat, poultry, and cheese and a safe food preservative up to 225 ppm in the European Union. These developments have generated great interest to apply LAE to improve the safety and quality of food products. In the present review, physicochemical and toxicological properties are first discussed. Antimicrobial properties and mechanisms of LAE in microbiological media, and antimicrobials used in combination with LAE aiming to achieve synergistic activities are then reviewed. The physical basis of reduced antimicrobial activities of LAE in food matrices is discussed, and studies applying LAE in meat, poultry, dairy, produce, and low-moisture foods and food-contact surfaces are summarized. Antimicrobial properties of LAE in emulsion systems and potential packaging films are also discussed for potential novel applications to improve the application in food systems. Finally, the possible impact of LAE on food sensory properties is reviewed along with some perspectives on research needs in the science and technology of LAE for use as a food antimicrobial preservative.