MOLECULE

Pentanal

Pentanal, also known as amyl aldehyde or N-valeraldehyde, 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 any organic group. Pentanal is considered to be a fatty aldehyde lipid molecule. These are compounds containing more than one aldehyde group. Pentanal is a very hydrophobic molecule, practically insoluble in water, and relatively neutral. It is found in a number of plant-based foods including olive oil and several essential oils. It is also present in Bantu beer, plum brandy, cardamom, coriander leaf, rice, Bourbon vanilla, clary sage, cooked shrimps, scallops, apple, banana, sweet cherry, blackcurrant, black walnuts, carrots and in a lower concentration in corns, tortilla, and safflowers. Pentanal has also been detected, but not quantified in, evergreen blackberries, soybeans, and green beans. This could make pentanal a potential biomarker for the consumption of these foods.. Pentanal is an almond, berry, and bready tasting compound and is widely used in flavorings. Its aroma is described as fermented, bready, fruity, nutty, berry. Industrially, pentanal is used in resin production and as a rubber polymerization accelerator. Pentanal is produced in human tissues and cells through lipid peroxidation. Pentanal potentially inhibits tubulin polymerization. In particular, it has been shown that purified tubulin incubated with pentanal exhibits a tubulin-aldehyde interaction affecting its polymerization reaction and the colchicine-binding activity (PMID: 3608101).