| Description | Isovaleraldehyde, also known as 3-methyl-butanal, belongs to the class of organic compounds known as alpha-hydrogen aldehydes. These are aldehydes with the general formula HC(H)(R)C(=O)H, where R is an organyl group. It exists as a clear colorless or slightly yellow liquid and can be found in essentially all eukaryotes, from yeast to plants to humans. It can be naturally produced through the colonic or microbial breakdown of the amino acid leucine. It can also be generated through the breakdown of leucine in malt (for beer) via reductones. Isovaleraldehyde has been found in elevated concentrations in plasma certain cases of hepatic encephalopathy, however not significantly (PMID: 4038637). Bacteroides (microbial) fermentation of carbohydrates in the gut produces ethanoic, propionic, butanoic, pentanoic, and hexanoic acids leading to the production of aldehydes, such as iosvaleraldehyde (PMID: 17314143, 18275147, 18175918, 16899660). Isovaleraldehyde is found in low amounts in many types of foods including beer, spirits (rum, sake, wine), cheese, coffee, chicken, fish, chocolate, corn tortillas, olive oil and tea. Isovaleraldehyde has also been detected, but not quantified in, several different fruits and nuts, such as muskmelons, highbush blueberries, fenugreeks, hazelnuts, and dills. Isovaleraldehyde has an ethereal, aldehydic chocolate, peach or fatty odor. It exhibits a fruity, nutty, chocolate or cocoa-like taste. As a result, isovaleraldehyde is used as a food additive and as a perfuming or masking agent. Isovaleraldehyde can be produced commercially and is used as a reagent for the production of pharmaceuticals and pesticides. Notably it is used to synthesize pinacolone, which is a precursor for a number of pesticides. |
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| Synonyms | | Synonym | Source |
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| β-methylbutanal | biospider | | 1-Butanal, 3-methyl- | biospider | | 2-Methylbutanal-4 | biospider | | 3-Methyl butyraldehyde | biospider | | 3-methyl-1-Butanal | biospider | | 3-methyl-Butanal | biospider | | 3-methyl-Butyraldehyde | biospider | | 3-Methylbutan-1-al | biospider | | 3-Methylbutylaldehyde | biospider | | 3-Methylbutyraldehyde | db_source | | Aldehyde isovalerianique | biospider | | B-methylbutanal | biospider | | Beta-methylbutanal | biospider | | Beta-methylbutyraldehyde | biospider | | Butanal, 3-methyl- | biospider | | Butanal, methyl- | biospider | | Butyraldehyde, 3-methyl- | biospider | | FEMA 2692 | db_source | | iso-C4H9CHO | biospider | | Isoamyl aldehyde | biospider | | Isoamylaldehyde | biospider | | Isopentaldehyde | biospider | | Isopentanal | biospider | | Isovaleral | biospider | | Isovaleraldehyde | db_source | | ISOVALERALDEHYDE, B.P.91-93<F128><144><F255> | biospider | | Isovaleraldehyde,tech | biospider | | Isovaleric aldehyde | biospider | | Isovalerylaldehyde | biospider | | Methyl butanal | biospider | | β-methylbutanal | Generator |
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