L-Tartaric acid (L-(+)-Tartaric acid) is an endogenous metabolite. L-Tartaric acid is the primary nonfermentable soluble acid in grapes and the principal acid in wine. L-Tartaric acid can be used as a flavorant and antioxidant for a range of foods and beverage.
The L(+)-form of tartaric acid (L(+)-TA) exists extensively in nature, and is widely used in the food, chemical, textile, building, and pharmaceutical industries (Su et al., 2001). The main method for L(+)-TA production is microbial transformation by cis-epoxysuccinate hydrolase (CESH), which can catalyze the asymmetric hydrolysis of cis-epoxysuccinic acid or its salts to TA or tartrate (Bao et al., 2019). Seventeen species containing CESH have been isolated so far. However, most species for L(+)-TA production have been reported from bacteria (Xuan and Feng, 2019). The only fungus isolated from soil by our lab recently, that could be used as catalyst for the process under acidic condition, is Aspergillus niger WH-2 (Bao et al., 2020). In order to find strains with new characteristics, this study attempted to isolate a new CESH source from fungi and investigate its application value.
L-(+)-Tartaric acid, or "natural" tartaric acid, is abundant in nature, especially in fruits. Its primary commercial source is as a byproduct of the wine industry. It is used as an additive in many foods, such as soft drinks, bakery products, and candies. Industrial uses include tanning, ceramics manufacture, and the production of tartrate esters for lacquers and textile printing.
L-(+)-Tartaric acid may be used in the synthesis of (R,R)-1,2-diammoniumcyclohexane mono-(+)-tartrate, an intermediate to prepare an enantioselective epoxidation catalyst. It may also be used as a starting material in the multi-step synthesis of 1,4-di-O-benzyl-L-threitol. It can be used a chiral resolving agent for the resolution of 2,2′-bispyrrolidine.
Chiral building block for natural products. Also forms a Diels-Alder catalyst with TiCl2(O-i-Pr)2.
