Dimethyl dicarbonate and its effect on wine microorganisms
What it found
In lab tests with red wine, dimethyl dicarbonate killed some yeasts at low levels but did not kill lactic acid or acetic acid bacteria.
Higher starting amounts of microbes needed more of the ingredient to be cleared out.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Yeast killing at low counts
When starting with 500 CFU/ml in lab tests, four yeast species were fully killed by 100mg/l of dimethyl dicarbonate.
Most sensitive yeasts
Three yeast strains were the easiest to kill in lab tests. They were fully cleared by just 25mg/l.
High yeast counts harder
With about 10(6) CFU/ml in lab tests, 200mg/l was not enough to kill the toughest yeast species.
Adding sulphite helped somewhat
Adding 100mg/l potassium metabisulphite boosted the effect of 100mg/l dimethyl dicarbonate against 10(6) CFU/ml yeasts in lab tests. It still did not fully kill two species.
Bacteria survived treatment
Lactic acid and acetic acid bacteria were not killed by 300 mg/l in lab tests. Bottling trials showed that 200mg/l left native bacterial populations mostly unaffected.
What the authors conclude
- They say that under winery practice, dimethyl dicarbonate at the maximum permitted dose works well against small numbers of yeasts.
- The authors note it does not work against lactic acid and acetic acid bacteria.
How it was done
Winemakers use dimethyl dicarbonate to control unwanted microbes in wine. The authors wanted to find out how much is needed to clear different types of organisms found in wine.
They added rising amounts of dimethyl dicarbonate to dry red wine containing 12% ethanol at pH 3.50. They tested several yeast species and bacteria, starting with either 500 CFU/ml or about 10(6) CFU/ml. They also ran trials in wines just before bottling.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These are lab tests using wine and microbes, so they do not show what happens inside a human body after drinking treated wine.
- This work only looked at clearing microbes from wine, not at any health effects in people.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal
The paper
- Title
- Evaluation of the inhibitory effect of dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC) against wine microorganisms
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Costa A, Barata A, Malfeito-Ferreira M, Loureiro V (2008). Evaluation of the inhibitory effect of dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC) against wine microorganisms. Food microbiology. doi:10.1016/j.fm.2007.10.003PubMed 18206786DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error