Dimethyl dicarbonate against wine microbes
What it found
In lab tests, dimethyl dicarbonate killed several wine yeasts at low doses but did not kill lactic acid or acetic acid bacteria, even at higher doses.
In wines before bottling, it left most native bacteria unaffected.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Yeast kill doses
In dry red wine with 12% ethanol and pH 3.50, the dose needed to kill all yeast cells depended on how many were there at the start. For a starting count of 500 CFU/ml, four yeast species were killed at 100 mg/l.
Most sensitive yeasts
Three yeast strains were the most sensitive, needing only 25 mg/l of dimethyl dicarbonate to be killed.
High yeast counts
When the starting yeast count was about 10(6) CFU/ml, even the maximum dose of 200 mg/l dimethyl dicarbonate did not work against the most resistant species.
With sulphite added
Adding 100 mg/l potassium metabisulphite, equal to 1 mg/l molecular sulphur dioxide, helped 100 mg/l dimethyl dicarbonate kill more yeasts when the starting count was 10(6) CFU/ml. But it did not fully kill S. pombe and S. cerevisiae.
Bacteria not killed
Lactic acid and acetic acid bacteria were not killed by 300 mg/l of dimethyl dicarbonate.
Wines before bottling
In most wine samples tested before bottling, 200 mg/l dimethyl dicarbonate did not affect the native bacterial populations.
What the authors conclude
“Therefore, under winery practice, DMDC at the maximum dose legally permitted may be regarded as an efficient preservative to control low contamination rates of yeasts but ineffective against lactic acid and acetic acid bacteria.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say that under winery practice, dimethyl dicarbonate at the maximum dose legally permitted may be regarded as an efficient preservative to control low contamination rates of yeasts but ineffective against lactic acid and acetic acid bacteria.
How it was done
They added increasing amounts of dimethyl dicarbonate to red wine containing different wine microbes. They also tested it in wines before bottling.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These are lab tests in wine, not in people. They cannot show what happens when someone drinks the wine.
- The tests used specific yeast and bacteria strains in red wine. Results may differ in other wines or with other microbes.
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 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error