Applications of Methylparaben(II)

Methyl 4-hydroxybenzoate is white crystalline powder. It is easily soluble in alcohol, ether and acetone, especially in water, and its boiling point is about 270-280℃. Besides, it is odorless and tasteless. Generally speaking, methylparaben has a wide-range use in many fields. And it is mainly used for organic synthesis, food, cosmetics, medicine antiseptic, also used as a preservative in animal feed.
Food Industry
As methylparaben’s property is stable, and its poisonousness is lower than benzoic acid, so it is a kind of broad-spectrum preservatives. And it is widely used in food industry. Generally speaking, it is always used as Propyl p-hydroxybenzoate in fruit beverages. And its mechanism is to destruct microbial cell membranes to make intracellular protein have a denaturation, and can inhibit cellular respiratory enzymes. Because it has a phenolic hydroxyl group structure, its anti-bacterial performance is stronger than benzoic acid, sorbic acid. Besides, about methylparaben, it is mainly molecular that functions. And in the molecular, the hydroxyl groups has been esterified with no-longer ionization. As a result it has a good antibacterial effect when its ph value is about 3-8.
Cosmetics Industry　
Methylparaben as the cosmetic preservative has wide-range application. We almost can see it in the ingredients column of cosmetics directions. Generally speaking, for the most preservatives, only under conditions of being in direct contact with microorganisms and in sufficient concentration that they can play their preservative roles. They are first in contact with the cell membrane, absorbing to be through the cell membrane into the cytoplasm then they can have the effect on all parts of microbes to hinder cell proliferation or kill them. And as the matter of fact, these preservatives mainly have effect on cell wall and cell membrane, and affect enzyme activity of cell metabolism or the structure of cytosolic fraction of the genetic particles. For methylparaben preservative, its function mechanism is to destruct microbial cell membranes to make intracellular protein have a denaturation, and can inhibit cellular respiratory enzymes.
　　All in all, methylparaben is a very important preservative and we should know more information about it to make full use of it.