5-Aminolevulinic Acid hydrochloride (5-ALA)

Applications: 5-ALA is applied in variety of scientific fields with wide range. Please refer published papers for details of specific applications.
Application in production of Cytochrome P450 (4)
Improvement of harvest yield or increase of plant greenness (5)
Supplement for culture of microorganism or cells from animals (6)
Research relating production of active oxygen derived from accumulation of excess amount of porphirins (7)(8)
Photodynamic diagnosis for cancer research (9)5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is a compound which is widely present in the biosphere and plays an important role in the living body as an intermediate of the tetrapyrrole compound biosynthesis pathway for vitamin B12, heme, chlorophyll, etc. ALA is of interest as a biodegradable herbicide(1), an insecticide(2), a growth regulator for plants (3), a precursor of heme proteins(4), and an effective agent used in photodynamic therapy of cancer(5).
(1) Rebeiz, CA et al. Enzyme Microb. Technol. 6, 390-401, 1984.
(2) Rebeiz CA et al. Pesticide Biochem. Physiol. 30, 11-27, 1988.
(3) Hotta, Y. et al. Plant Growth Regulation, 22, 109-114, 1997.
(4) Verderber, E. et al. J. Bacteriol. 14, 4583-4590, 1997.
(5) Grant, WE et al. The Lancet, 342, 147-148, 1993.