Product name : PABA(4-Aminobenzoic acid)
Other names : p-Aminobenzoic acid;PABA;Vitamin Bx;Bacterial vitamin H1
CAS # : 150-13-0
Items Properties
Molecular formula C7H7NO2
Molar mass 137.14 g/mol
Appearance white crystals
Density 1.374 g/mL
Melting point 187–189 °C
Solubility in water 1 g/170 mL (25 °C)
1 g/90 mL (90 °C)
Characteristics and Application :
4-Aminobenzoic acid (also known as para-aminobenzoic acid or PABA) is an organic compound. PABA is a white crystalline substance that is only slightly soluble in water. It consists of a benzene ring substituted with an amino group and a carboxyl group.
PABA is an essential nutrient for some bacteria and is sometimes called Vitamin Bx. In humans, PABA is normally made by E-coliin the colon and therefore PABA from food is not normally essential to human health. PABA is therefore not officially classified as a vitamin. PABA is an intermediate in bacterial synthesis of folate. Although humans lack the ability to synthesize folate from PABA, that is also normally done by E-coli.PABA is sometimes marketed as an essential nutrient for use whenever normal PABA synthesis by intestinal bacteria is insufficient.
Symptoms of PABA deficiency may include scleroderma (hardening of skin), weeping eczema (moist eczema), skin infections, and patchy pigment loss in skin (vitiligo).Food sources of PABA include liver, brewer's yeast (and unfiltered beer), kidney, molasses, and whole grains.
Sulfonamides are chemically similar to PABA, and their antibacterial activity is due to their ability to interfere with conversion of PABA to folate by dihydropteroate synthetase, and subsequent utilization, by bacteria.
Uses :
In the past, PABA has been widely used as a UV filter in sunscreen formulations. However, it has been determined that it increases the formation of a particular DNA defect in human cells, thus increasing the risk of skin cancer.Currently, safer and more effective derivatives of PABA, such as octyl dimethyl PABA (padimate O), are more commonly used.
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