LAE is an amino acid-based surfactant with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, high biodegradability and low toxicity.

In the earlies 1980s, LAMIRSA together with Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC, Barcelona) began to investigate a new approach to the control of pathogens in food through the application of cationic surfactants based on natural building blocks that inhibit the proliferation of a huge variety of microorganisms, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, moulds and yeasts.

Its low toxicity and remarkable antimicrobial features make LAE a product with a wide application within the food and cosmetic preservation fields.

MIRENAT range of products reduces the risk of food spoilage as it diminishes the presence of pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., and Escherichia coli.

In addition, samples treated with 8 mL of 5% Mirenat-N for 28 days of refrigerated storage still showed pathogen levels below the limit of detection (i.e., 1.48 log10).

Here, samples treated with 2, 4, 6, and 8 mL of 5% Mirenat-N and stored at 4 °C for 24 h showed pathogen levels below the detection limit for all volumes assayed.

Furthermore, samples treated with 6 and 8 mL of 5% Mirenat-N for 28 days of refrigerated storage still showed pathogen levels below the detection limit.

[9] The authors reported that treatment of cold-smoked salmon containing 3.5 log10 CFU/cm2 Listeria monocytogenes with LAE (200 ppm) showed strong listericidal action.

[10] The authors performed suspension tests to compare the antimicrobial activity in vitro of several formulations against Malassezia furfur, yeast involved in the proliferation of dandruff.

Shampoo containing LAE showed comparable or superior performance to the classic anti-dandruff active agents, with a better toxicological and eco-toxicological profile.

Furthermore, a 13.5% decrease in the average amount of sebum measured on volunteers showed a sebolytic effect of the gel containing LAE as an active.

In a study comparing ethyl lauroyl arginate in 0.147% mouthwash to chlorhexidine 0.12% as an adjunctive therapy in the non-surgical treatment of periodontitis, the results showed there were no treatment-related adverse events.

Total bacterial count and the specific pathogens were reduced at 4 weeks and 3 months by both mouthwashes with no statistical differences between them at neither periods of time.

The study, first published in November 2020, noted that mouthwashes containing LAE eradicated the virus completely, giving >5-log10 reduction in viral titres, surpassing the level required for EN14476.

Recently, World Health Organization included a recommendation that PVP-I could be used to reduce the risk of clinical transmission in dentistry.

Then, the antimicrobial agent displays a high binding affinity for the outermost surface of the cytoplasmic membrane (i.e., inner cell envelope).

This leads to a progressive leakage of cytoplasmic material, perturbating their metabolic processes, and the normal bacterial cycle is inhibited.

The EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) evaluated this new additive with a favorable opinion in April 2007 and, in July 2013, assigned it the number E-243.

JECFA, a body dependent on WHO (World Health Organization), established an acceptable daily intake of 4 mg/Kg bw for the active material.

In conjunction with its remarkable antimicrobial features, the low toxicity makes LAE a product with a wide application within the food and cosmetics preservation fields.

[26] The excretion rates were determined through the analysis of urine, faeces, and air exhalation, the routes of radioactivity elimination from the body.

The next task was to identify and quantify the specific radioactive compounds present in the rats' plasma and define the toxicokinetics based on an in vivo study of metabolism.

[27] Figure 2 reports the percentage of radioactive compounds present in samples of plasma extracted over 4.5 hours after administering 14C-LAE to rats.