Glyceric acid refers to organic compounds with the formula HOCH2CH(OH)CO2H. It occurs naturally and is classified as three-carbon sugar acid. It is chiral. Salts and esters of glyceric acid are known as glycerates.

Production

Glyceric acid is usually produced by oxidation of glycerol. A typical oxidant is nitric acid, but catalytic oxidations have been developed also:[2][3]

HOCH2CH(OH)CH2OH + O2 → HOCH2CH(OH)CO2H + H2O

As glycerol is prochiral, the oxidation of the two terminal alcohol groups gives distinct enantiomers of glyceric acid. Oxidation of both primary alcohols gives tartronic acid:

HOCH2CH(OH)CH2OH + 2 O2 → HO2CCH(OH)CO2H + 2 H2O

Biochemistry

Several phosphate derivatives of glyceric acid, including 2-phosphoglyceric acid, 3-phosphoglyceric acid, 2,3-bisphosphoglyceric acid, and 1,3-bisphosphoglyceric acid, are intermediates in glycolysis.[4] 3-Phosphoglyceric acid is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of the amino acid serine, which in turn can be used in the synthesis of glycine and cysteine.[5]

Glyceric acid occurs naturally in Populus tremula and Ardisia crenata.[6]

References

  1. ^ Merck Index, 11th Edition, 4378.
  2. ^ Habe, Hiroshi; Fukuoka, Tokuma; Kitamoto, Dai; Sakaki, Keiji (2009). "Biotechnological production of d-glyceric acid and its application". Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 84 (3): 445–452. doi:10.1007/s00253-009-2124-3. PMID 19621222. S2CID 9144557.
  3. ^ Yang, Lihua; Li, Xuewen; Chen, Ping; Hou, Zhaoyin (2019). "Selective oxidation of glycerol in a base-free aqueous solution: A short review". Chinese Journal of Catalysis. 40 (7): 1020–1034. doi:10.1016/S1872-2067(19)63301-2. S2CID 196894235.
  4. ^ Reece, Jane B. (2009). Biology (8th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Pearson. pp. 168–169. ISBN 978-0-8053-6844-4.
  5. ^ J. Berg, J. L. Tymoczko, L. Stryer. Biochemistry, 7th Edition.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ PubChem. "Glyceric acid". pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-12.