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E380 Triammonium citrate is a citrate salt in which all three carboxy groups are deprotonated and associated with ammonium ions as counter-cations.
E380 Triammonium citrate has a role as a buffer and a food emulsifier.
E380 Triammonium citrate is an ammonium salt and a citrate salt.
CAS Number: 3458-72-8
Molecular Formula: C6H8O7.3H3N
Molecular Weight: 243.21
EINECS Number: 222-394-5
Synonyms: Triammonium citrate, 3458-72-8, Ammonium citrate tribasic, Ammonium citrate (3:1), Citric acid triammonium salt, 1,2,3-Propanetricarboxylic acid, 2-hydroxy-, triammonium salt, 2-Hydroxy-1,2,3-propanetricarboxylic acid triammonium salt, triammonium 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylate, AMMONIUM CITRATE, TRIBASIC, EINECS 222-394-5, J90A52459R, INS NO.380, CHEBI:63037, AMMONIUM CITRATE [MART.], DTXSID10889469, INS-380, tri(azaniumyl) 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylate, AMMONIUM CITRATE, TRIBASIC [FCC], 1,2,3-Propanetricarboxylic acid, 2-hydroxy-, ammonium salt (1:3), 2-hydroxy-1,2,3-propanetricarboxylic acid, ammonium salt (1:3), E-380, tribasic ammonium citrate, AMMONIUM CITRATE (MART.), RefChem:899039, DTXCID001028722, 1,2,3Propanetricarboxylic acid, 2hydroxy, triammonium salt, Triammonium salt of 2hydroxypropan1,2,3tricarboxylic acid, 1,2,3Propanetricarboxylic acid, 2hydroxy, ammonium salt (1:3), 222-394-5, triazanium;2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylate, Citrate (Triammonium), Citric acid, ammonium salt, C6H17N3O7, UNII-J90A52459R, Citric acid triammonium, AKOS009158559, SY075084, DB-048656, NS00083372, EN300-31444, 2,3-propanetricarboxylicacid,2-hydroxy-triammoniumsalt;Ammonium Cltrate tribasic;CITRIC ACID, DIAMMONIUM;CITRIC ACID, DIAMMONIUM, DIBASIC;CITRIC ACID, AMMONIUM SALT, DIBASIC;AMMONIUM HYDROGENCITRATE;Tri-AmmoniumCitrateGr;AmmoniumCitrateTribasicC6H17N3O7
E380 Triammonium citrate is the ammonium salt of citric acid, widely used in the food, pharmaceutical, and cleaning industries.
In food, it acts as an acidity regulator, antioxidant, and emulsifier.
E380 Triammonium citrate is the ammonium salt of citric acid, formed when citric acid is fully neutralized with ammonia, and it is used mainly as an acidity regulator, buffering agent, sequestrant (chelating agent), and stabilizer in food, pharmaceutical, and industrial applications because it helps control pH, bind metal ions, and maintain product stability without introducing strong or harsh acidity.
E380 Triammonium citrate is closely related to other citrate salts such as sodium citrate and potassium citrate.
This improves pH control and formulation stability.
E380 Triammonium citrate consists of a citric acid backbone with three ammonium (NH₄⁺) ions, which makes it highly water-soluble and effective at buffering solutions by resisting sudden changes in pH when acids or bases are added.
E380 Triammonium citrates citrate structure also allows it to bind metal ions such as calcium and magnesium.
This improves buffering capacity and chelation performance.
Physically, it appears as a white crystalline powder, and it dissolves easily in water to form mildly alkaline solutions depending on concentration, making it useful in systems that require controlled acidity and metal ion stabilization.
E380 Triammonium citrate is generally odorless and stable under normal storage conditions.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves handling and formulation convenience.
E380 Triammonium citrate acts mainly as a buffering and chelating agent, where it helps maintain stable pH levels and prevents unwanted reactions such as precipitation, oxidation, or discoloration caused by metal ions in food and industrial systems.
E380 Triammonium citrate is particularly useful in products sensitive to pH fluctuations.
This improves product stability and quality control.
E380 Triammonium citrate is best described as a water-soluble citrate salt used to regulate acidity, stabilize formulations, and bind metal ions in food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and industrial systems through its buffering and chelating properties.
E380 Triammonium citrate is the ammonium salt of citric acid. As a food additive (E number 380), E380 (Triammonium citrate) is used as acidity regulator, buffer and emulsifier.
Citric acid triammonium salt can be found in chocolate confectionery and cheese spreads.
E380 Triammonium citrate is also important in advanced buffering systems, where it is used to maintain a very stable pH environment even when small amounts of acids or bases are introduced during processing, because the citrate–ammonium system can absorb these changes without large shifts in acidity.
E380 Triammonium citrate makes it especially useful in formulations that must stay chemically stable over long storage times.
This improves pH stability and formulation reliability.
In beverage and liquid food systems, triammonium citrate helps maintain clarity by preventing metal-ion-driven reactions that can cause cloudiness, sediment formation, or color changes, especially in drinks containing trace minerals from water or added ingredients.
E380 Triammonium citrates chelating action keeps these ions inactive.
This improves visual quality and product consistency.
In protein-based food systems, such as dairy alternatives and processed protein drinks, it can help prevent unwanted aggregation of proteins by controlling calcium interactions that normally trigger curdling or texture instability.
E380 Triammonium citrate is especially useful in heat-treated or long-shelf-life products.
This improves texture stability and processing performance.
In pharmaceutical liquid formulations, E380 is used to stabilize active ingredients that are sensitive to pH fluctuations, ensuring that medicines remain effective throughout their shelf life and do not degrade due to acid-base imbalance.
E380 Triammonium citrate also helps maintain compatibility between multiple dissolved compounds.
This improves drug stability and formulation safety.
In effervescent and soluble tablet systems, triammonium citrate can contribute to controlled reaction environments where acid-base components must remain stable until activation, helping ensure consistent effervescence and predictable release behavior when dissolved in water.
E380 Triammonium citrate is important for dosage accuracy and user experience.
This improves product performance and reliability.
In cosmetic emulsions and gels, it plays a role in maintaining stable pH conditions that protect sensitive ingredients such as vitamins, peptides, and botanical extracts from degradation, while also improving preservative efficiency by keeping the formulation within an optimal antimicrobial range.
E380 Triammonium citrate helps extend product shelf life.
This improves cosmetic stability and active ingredient protection.
In industrial metal cleaning systems, E380 Triammonium citrate is used to bind hardness ions like calcium and magnesium, preventing scale formation and improving the effectiveness of detergents and cleaning agents in hard water conditions.
It also helps maintain consistent cleaning performance across varying water qualities.
This improves cleaning efficiency and equipment maintenance.
Melting point: 185 °C (dec.) (lit.)
Boiling point: 100 °C (lit.)
Density: 1 g/mL at 25 °C (lit.)
vapor density: 1.8 (vs air)
vapor pressure: 0 Pa at 25℃
storage temp.: Inert atmosphere, Room Temperature
solubility: H2O: 1 M at 20 °C, clear, colorless
form: Crystals
color: White to off-white
PH: 7.5 (1 mM solution); 7.4 (10 mM solution); 7.32 (100 mM solution); 8.18 (1000 mM solution)
Water Solubility: Soluble in water. Slightly soluble in alcohol.
BRN: 3779194
Stability: Stable. Incompatible with strong oxidizing agents.
Major Application: diagnostic assay manufacturing
InChI: 1S/C6H8O7.3H3N/c7-3(8)1-6(13,5(11)12)2-4(9)10;;;/h13H,1-2H2,(H,7,8)(H,9,10)(H,11,12);3*1H3
InChIKey: YWYZEGXAUVWDED-UHFFFAOYSA-N
SMILES: N.N.N.OC(=O)CC(O)(CC(O)=O)C(O)=O
LogP: -1.43 at 25℃
E380 Triammonium citrate causes serious eye irritation, causes skin irritation and may cause respiratory irritation.[1]
E380 Triammonium citrate is known in the European E number food additive series as E380.
It is known in the United States as "an indirect food additive for use only as a component of adhesives", and as a "substance added directly to human food affirmed as generally recognized as safe (GRAS)."
E380 Triammonium citrate is widely used in food processing systems, where its main role is to stabilize acidity levels and prevent unwanted chemical changes that could affect taste, texture, or appearance, especially in processed foods that undergo long storage or heat treatment.
Its buffering ability helps maintain consistent product quality even under changing conditions.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves food stability and sensory consistency.
E380 Triammonium citrate helps control pH without adding strong acidic or salty taste, making it useful in soft drinks, flavored waters, and other liquid systems where balanced acidity is essential for flavor and preservation.
It also helps prevent precipitation of minerals that could cause cloudiness.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves beverage clarity and flavor stability.
E380 Triammonium citrate can help stabilize proteins and mineral content by binding calcium ions that may otherwise cause curdling or unwanted texture changes during processing or storage.
This is especially useful in heat-processed dairy products.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves texture stability and processing control.
E380 Triammonium citrate is used as a buffering and stabilizing agent in liquid medicines and effervescent systems, helping maintain a stable pH environment that protects active ingredients from degradation.
Its citrate structure also supports compatibility with many active compounds.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves drug stability and formulation reliability.
In cosmetics and personal care products, E380 Triammonium citrate is used to adjust and stabilize pH in creams, lotions, and gels, while also helping improve preservative effectiveness by maintaining optimal acidity conditions for antimicrobial systems.
It contributes to long-term product stability.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves cosmetic safety and shelf life.
E380 Triammonium citrate is used as a mild chelating agent that binds metal ions responsible for water hardness, improving detergent performance and preventing scale formation on equipment surfaces.
Its ammonium-based structure makes it effective in aqueous systems.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves cleaning efficiency and equipment protection.
In metal treatment and surface processing, E380 Triammonium citrate helps control metal ion concentration in cleaning and preparation baths, reducing unwanted precipitation and improving consistency in surface finishing processes such as plating and polishing.
This is especially useful in precision industrial applications.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves surface quality and process control.
In fermentation and biotechnology systems, E380 Triammonium citrate can help maintain stable pH conditions during microbial growth processes, ensuring optimal enzyme activity and metabolic performance in industrial fermentation.
This is important for consistent biological production yields.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves fermentation efficiency and process stability.
In environmental chemistry and green formulations, E380 Triammonium citrate is considered relatively eco-friendly because citrate compounds are biodegradable and derived from citric acid, which is a natural metabolic intermediate found in living organisms.
This makes it suitable for more sustainable industrial formulations.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves environmental compatibility and biodegradability.
In analytical chemistry and laboratory systems, it is sometimes used as a buffering and complexing agent to control metal ion behavior in solution-based experiments, helping researchers maintain stable conditions during sensitive measurements.
Its predictable chemistry makes it useful in controlled experiments.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves experimental accuracy and reproducibility.
In electroplating and surface treatment baths, E380 Triammonium citrate helps regulate metal ion availability in solution, preventing unwanted precipitation and ensuring smoother, more uniform coating deposition on metal surfaces during processing.
This is important for high-precision industrial finishing.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves surface quality and plating consistency.
E380 Triammonium citrate is used to maintain stable pH during microbial growth, supporting enzyme activity and metabolic balance in industrial production of enzymes, organic acids, and bio-based chemicals.
Its buffering action helps reduce process fluctuations.
This improves fermentation efficiency and yield stability.
In environmentally friendly formulation design, E380 is valued because it is derived from citric acid and breaks down into naturally occurring metabolic components, making it more sustainable than some synthetic chelating agents used in industrial chemistry.
This supports greener product development and reduced environmental persistence.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves sustainability and biodegradability.
E380 Triammonium citrate is used in controlled experiments where precise metal ion binding and pH stability are required, especially in aqueous systems where small changes could affect measurement accuracy or reaction outcomes.
Its predictable behavior makes it useful in calibration and testing environments.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves experimental accuracy and reproducibility.
Uses Of E380 Triammonium citrate:
E380 Triammonium citrate is mainly used for chemical analysis, in industry for water treatment, in food industry for buffering agent and emulsifier, for metal surface cleaning (in particular petroleum pipeline cleaning), as a ceramic dispersant,as auxiliary infiltration agent, as detergent material and as soil improvement agent component.
Ammonium citrate tribasic is applied in electroplating industry for non cyanide plating complexing agent, used mostly for preparing anti rust agent in machinery industry and as buffering agent.
E380 Triammonium citrate serves as a chemical reagent in analytical chemistry to determine the efficient phosphate levels in phosphate salts and fertilizer.
E380 Triammonium citrate is widely utilized as a buffering agent and emulsifier in food industry.
It acts as a complexing agent in electroplating industry and is also used for metal surface cleaning.
E380 Triammonium citrate is employed in chemical analysis and in water treatment.
It serves as a chemical reagent in analytical chemistry to determine the efficient phosphate levels in phosphate salts and fertilizer.
E380 Triammonium citrate is used in industries for water treatment, as a ceramic dispersant, a detergent material and a component for soil improvement.
E380 Triammonium citrate is used in medical and electronics industries as an auxiliary infiltration agent.
E380 Triammonium citrate is a white, granular, water-soluble salt of ammonia and citric acid.
It is used in a neutral solution for determining the phosphorus content of phosphate fertilizers (such as calcium hydrogen phosphate (CaHPO4)), that are insoluble in water but dissolve in complexing citrate solutions.
E380 Triammonium citrate is mainly used as a buffering agent, acidity regulator, and chelating stabilizer because it controls pH and binds metal ions that could otherwise destabilize food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and industrial products.
In food and beverages, it is used to regulate acidity and prevent precipitation or discoloration.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves product stability and shelf life.
In dairy and processed foods, it is used to stabilize proteins and mineral balance.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves texture and processing consistency.
In pharmaceuticals, it is used as a buffer in liquid and effervescent formulations.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves drug stability and effectiveness.
In cosmetics and skincare products, it is used to stabilize pH and improve preservative performance.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves product safety and shelf life.
In industrial cleaning systems, E380 Triammonium citrate is used as a chelating agent to soften water and improve detergent efficiency.
This improves cleaning performance.
In metal processing, it is used to control metal ions in treatment baths.
This improves surface quality and process control.
E380 Triammonium citrate is mainly used as a buffering agent, chelating agent, and stabilizer because it controls pH and binds metal ions that could otherwise destabilize formulations.
In food and beverages, it is used to regulate acidity and prevent discoloration or precipitation.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves clarity and shelf stability.
In dairy and protein systems, it is used to stabilize proteins and prevent curdling.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves texture consistency.
In pharmaceuticals, it is used as a buffer in liquid and effervescent formulations.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves drug stability and effectiveness.
In cosmetics, it is used to stabilize pH and protect sensitive active ingredients.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves product shelf life and performance.
In industrial cleaning systems, it is used to soften water and improve detergent efficiency.
This improves cleaning performance.
In metal finishing processes, it is used to control metal ion behavior in plating baths.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves coating quality and uniformity.
E380 Triammonium citrate is mainly used as a buffering agent, acidity regulator, and chelating (metal-binding) stabilizer because it helps control pH levels and binds metal ions like calcium and iron that could otherwise destabilize products, change color, or reduce shelf life.
In food and beverages, E380 Triammonium citrate is used to regulate acidity and prevent cloudiness, discoloration, or unwanted reactions caused by metal ions.
This improves product clarity, taste stability, and shelf life.
In dairy and protein-based foods, it is used to stabilize proteins and prevent curdling by controlling calcium interactions.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves texture consistency and processing stability.
In pharmaceuticals, it is used as a buffering agent in liquid medicines and effervescent formulations to maintain stable pH conditions.
This improves drug stability and effectiveness.
In cosmetics and skincare products, it is used to stabilize pH and protect sensitive ingredients from degradation.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves product shelf life and formulation stability.
In industrial cleaning systems, it is used to soften water and improve detergent efficiency by binding hardness ions.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves cleaning performance and prevents scale formation.
In metal treatment processes, it is used to control metal ions in solution during surface finishing and plating.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves coating quality and consistency.
Safety Profile Of E380 Triammonium citrate:
E380 Triammonium citrate is generally considered a low hazard substance, especially because it is derived from citric acid and is biodegradable, although concentrated forms can still cause mild irritation under certain conditions.
The main hazards involve mild irritation to skin, eyes, and respiratory system, particularly when handling concentrated powders or solutions in industrial environments.
Proper ventilation and protective equipment are recommended.
This improves workplace safety.
Skin contact is generally low risk, though prolonged exposure to concentrated solutions may cause mild irritation or dryness due to its slightly alkaline or buffering nature.
Washing with water is sufficient in most cases.
Eye contact may cause moderate irritation, especially from concentrated solutions or dust.
Protective eyewear is recommended during handling.
Inhalation of dust may cause temporary respiratory irritation, particularly in poorly ventilated environments.
Dust control measures should be used in industrial settings.
E380 Triammonium citrate is not flammable under normal conditions and is chemically stable during storage.
This improves handling and storage safety.
From a toxicological perspective, citrate salts are generally considered safe within regulated food and pharmaceutical limits because they are metabolically compatible and break down into natural components in the body.
E380 Triammonium citrate requires compliance with approved usage levels.
From an environmental perspective, E380 Triammonium citrate is considered low risk and biodegradable, since citrate compounds are naturally occurring and readily broken down in biological systems, although large releases should still be managed responsibly.
E380 Triammonium citrate improves environmental sustainability.
