Tags: Chemical Compound, Chemical Substance.
Dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC) is a colorless liquid with a sharp odor. Its primary use is as a beverage preservative and or processing aid or sterilant (INS No. 242) and acts by inhibiting the enzymes acetate kinase and L-glutamic acid decarboxylase. It has also been proposed that methoxycarbonylation of the histidine part of the enzymes alcohol dehydrogenase and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase by DMDC inhibits these essential enzymes also.
