01Product

Glycine

At a glance

Glycine from Zhicheng Bio — supply summary

Zhicheng Bio supplies bulk Glycine, CAS 56-40-6, shipping from Shanghai, China. This grade is produced to order. Every shipment carries a batch Certificate of Analysis; specification sheet and MSDS are supplied on request. Sourced to order — about 1 week to Shanghai port. Zhicheng Bio publishes no list price — quotes are issued per quantity and Incoterm by email to zhicheng1@zhicheng-bio.cn.

Supplier: Zhicheng Bio, Shanghai, China
CAS number: 56-40-6
Molecular formula: C2H5NO2
Availability: Made to order
Documents: Batch CoA with every shipment; spec sheet and MSDS on request
Packing: Bags
PubChem CID: 750
How to get a price: Email RFQ to zhicheng1@zhicheng-bio.cn — no list price is published

Amino Acids ~1 week

Glycine

CAS 56-40-6 · C2H5NO2

Bulk Glycine for B2B manufacturing — supplied against your target specification, with documentation your QA can review before anything ships. Pricing below is indicative; send an RFQ for a firm quote, MOQ and lead time.

$2.66 – $2.98 /kg by order volume · indicative, ex-Shanghai

Indicative range — larger volumes price toward the low end. Ingredient markets move weekly; your firm price is confirmed by quotation, typically within one business day.

Category: Amino Acids

Availability: Sourced to order — about 1 week to Shanghai port

Packing: Bags

Key supply points

Supplied against your target specification — USP / FCC / JP monograph where applicable
Recent batch COA provided with the quotation, before you commit
Consolidates with other SKUs into one shipment out of Shanghai
Third-party lab verification available pre-shipment on request

Documentation with every batch

COA per batchSpec SheetMSDS / SDSExport docs

Third-party lab verification can be arranged pre-shipment on request. Certificates of origin, non-GMO or allergen statements per destination-market requirements.

Request COA & Quote Use the RFQ form

Shipping & Lead Time

Estimate freight for this product

~1 weekSourced to order — about 1 week to Shanghai port

Destination region Quantity (kg)

Air FreightFast

Transit: —
Est. freight *: —
Total door-to-port: —

Sea LCLValue

Transit: —
Est. freight *: —
Total door-to-port: —

Request Exact Quote

Documentation-first

COA per batch, Spec Sheet and MSDS — reviewed by your QA before anything ships.

Ready-stock depth

Multi-tonne inventory on core SKUs, plus 28 actives held in our US warehouse in Los Angeles for domestic delivery.

Certified supply chain

Sourced from audited, certified manufacturers — ISO, HACCP, Halal & Kosher available.

Flexible export

25 kg bags, cartons or drums; FOB / CIF / DDP by lane, sea or air consolidation.

02Identity & properties

Identity & properties

Compound identifiers and physical properties for this material. The binding version is always the Specification Sheet and batch COA issued with your quotation.

CAS No.	56-40-6
Molecular Formula	C2H5NO2
Molecular Weight	75.07
EINECS	200-272-2 (PubChem also lists 654-407-9)
Synonyms	Glycine, Gly, G, aminoacetic acid, glycocoll, 2-aminoacetic acid
Appearance	White crystalline powder or white crystals, odourless, with a sweet taste
Solubility	Water 249 g/L at 25 °C. Merck gives a temperature series of 25.0 g per 100 mL at 25 °C, 39.1 g at 50 °C, 54.4 g at 75 °C and 67.2 g at 100 °C. Only about 0.06 g dissolves in 100 g of absolute ethanol; soluble in 164 parts pyridine; almost insoluble in ether.
Pharmacopoeial reference	FCC (as Aminoacetic acid (glycine)) · JP

03Specifications

Specifications

Typical parameters below — the binding version is the Specification Sheet and batch COA we send with your quotation.

Parameter	Specification	Test method
pH (0.2 molar aqueous solution)	4.0	Potentiometric
Isoelectric point	5.97	Literature value
Assay (as-is / dried basis)	—	Titration or HPLC per the applicable monograph
Appearance	—	Visual
Identification	—	IR / specific optical rotation per monograph
Specific optical rotation	—	Polarimetry
Loss on drying	—	Gravimetric
Residue on ignition / sulphated ash	—	Gravimetric
Chloride	—	Per monograph
Sulphate	—	Per monograph
Iron	—	Per monograph
Other amino acids / related substances	—	TLC or HPLC per monograph
Heavy metals (Pb / As / Cd / Hg)	—	ICP-MS or per monograph
Microbiology (TAMC / TYMC / E. coli / Salmonella)	—	USP <61>/<62> or equivalent

A dash means we have no fixed limit to publish for that parameter: it is reported on the batch COA and the limit is agreed with your QA. We would rather leave it blank than invent a number. Full physical, chemical, heavy-metal and microbiological parameters are listed in the Specification Sheet — sent with every quotation.

04Formulation & handling notes

Formulation & handling notes

The practical points our technical team raises with buyers of this material — the things that decide whether a batch behaves in your process.

Glycine is the sweet one. Its taste is documented as sweet (unlike the bitter BCAAs), which makes it a genuine flavour-system tool rather than something to be masked — it is used as a mild sweetener and flavour modifier in food manufacture, and it is the reason a glycine-heavy powder tastes better than an EAA blend.

It is also the smallest amino acid at 75.07 g/mol and the second most water-soluble in this range at 249 g/L at 25 °C, rising to 672 g/L at 100 °C. On a molar basis it dissolves further than anything else here, so it is never the limiting solubility.

It exists in three polymorphic forms — alpha, beta and gamma — which is unusual among the amino acids in this range and matters if you are crystallising, milling or granulating. Different polymorphs have different habit, flow and dissolution rate even at identical chemical purity. If your process is sensitive to crystal form, specify it.

The 0.2 molar solution sits at pH 4.0 with an isoelectric point of 5.97, which is why glycine is a standard buffer component in laboratory and biopharmaceutical work — it buffers usefully in both the acidic and the alkaline range. Expect it to contribute buffering capacity to your own product whether you designed for that or not.

It is almost insoluble in organic solvents — 0.06 g per 100 g of absolute ethanol — but soluble in pyridine (1 part in 164). Aqueous and dry formats only.

Thermally it starts to decompose at about 233 °C and is completely sintered by 290 °C, so extrusion and baking are safe, but the sintering behaviour is worth knowing if you are running a hot granulation.

The regulatory position in the US is the single most important thing to understand about this ingredient, and it is counterintuitive: glycine is explicitly NOT GRAS for human food under 21 CFR 170.50, while remaining GRAS for animal feed and authorised as a food additive for protein-quality improvement under 21 CFR 172.320. Any US food customer needs to be walked through that distinction before they formulate.

05Applications

Applications

B2B manufacturing use only — no finished-product or health claims.

Sweetener, flavour modifier and buffering agent in food and beverage manufacture

Sleep-support and relaxation supplement formulations

Collagen-peptide and joint formulations (glycine is a major amino acid of collagen)

Buffer preparation in laboratory, electrophoresis and biopharmaceutical use

Pet food and animal-nutrition premixes

Cosmetic and personal-care formulations

06Regulatory status by market

Regulatory status by market

Status of the raw material, stated as conservatively as our sources allow. This is supply-chain information, not regulatory advice — confirm the position for your finished product and destination market with your own regulatory counsel.

Market	Status	Basis
United States — GRAS status (read this first)	This is the most misunderstood regulatory point on any glycine offer, and the regulation says it plainly: 'the Food and Drug Administration no longer regards glycine and its salts as generally recognized as safe for use in human food and all outstanding letters expressing sanction for such use are rescinded.' FDA reached that conclusion in 1971 on the basis of adverse effects at high levels in animal diets and rising dietary intake. Manufacturers were required either to reformulate to eliminate added glycine and its salts, or to bring products into compliance with an authorising food additive regulation supported by toxicity data. Glycine is therefore NOT GRAS for human food in the US.	21 CFR 170.50 'Glycine (aminoacetic acid) in food for human consumption'
United States — authorised food additive route	The authorising food additive regulation does exist: glycine is listed in FDA's amino-acid food-additive regulation as 'Aminoacetic acid (glycine)', permitted as a nutrient to improve the biological quality of the total protein of a food, capped at 3.5 percent by weight of the total protein of the finished food. That is a narrow authorisation for a specific nutritional purpose, not a general licence to add glycine to food.	21 CFR 172.320(a)(9), (b)(1)(vi), (c)(4)
United States — animal feed	21 CFR 170.50(c) states that glycine's GRAS status for use in animal feed, as prescribed in 21 CFR 582.5049, remains unchanged, because it is considered an essential nutrient in certain animal feeds.	21 CFR 170.50(c); 21 CFR 582.5049
European Union	Amino acids are not covered by the harmonised positive lists of Directive 2002/46/EC (Annexes I and II of that Directive cover vitamins and minerals only). Amino acid ingredients are therefore governed by general EU food law plus national rules, with mutual recognition under Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 764/2008 in practice.	Directive 2002/46/EC (food supplements); national member-state rules
Japan	An Official Monograph titled 'Glycine' is listed in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, Eighteenth Edition. Monograph existence only — no limits transcribed.	JP XVIII, Official Monographs
China	Status as a nutrient fortification substance / food additive under Chinese national standards to be confirmed.	GB 14880-2012 (nutrient fortification substances), GB 2760 (food additives), and NHC new-food-ingredient announcements

07Selected research

Selected research

Peer-reviewed literature on this compound, with linked identifiers so you can read the primary source rather than take our word for it.

These references are listed for scientific context only. They describe published research on the compound; they are not claims about this raw material and not claims about any finished product. Zhicheng Bio makes no medical, health or performance claims.

A review by the authors of the original work reported that glycine ingestion before bedtime ameliorated subjective sleep quality in individuals with insomniac tendencies, and that oral glycine in rats increased plasma and cerebrospinal fluid glycine concentrations and decreased core body temperature with an increase in cutaneous blood flow. Bannai M, Kawai N. J Pharmacol Sci. 2012;118(2):145-148. PMID 22293292 DOI 10.1254/jphs.11r04fm Source
A systematic review examined the effects of glycine administration on the characteristics of physiological systems in human adults, in the context of dietary glycine increasing healthy lifespan in model organisms. Soh J, Raventhiran S, Lee JH, Lim ZX, Goh J, Kennedy BK, Maier AB. GeroScience. 2024;46(1):219-239. PMID 37851316 DOI 10.1007/s11357-023-00970-8 Source
A review surveyed the evidence and proposed mechanisms linking glycine to ageing biology. Johnson AA, Cuellar TL. Ageing Res Rev. 2023;87:101922. PMID 37004845 DOI 10.1016/j.arr.2023.101922 Source

08Packing, storage & lead time

Packing, storage & lead time

Standard packing	Bags
Private packing	Custom packing & labeling available for regular customers
Storage	Cool, dry place, sealed in original packaging
Lead time	Sourced to order — about 1 week to Shanghai port
Shipping	Sea or air consolidation out of Shanghai · FOB / CIF / DDP by lane

09Procurement FAQ

Procurement FAQ

01Is glycine GRAS in the United States?

No, and we would rather tell you before you formulate than after. 21 CFR 170.50 says FDA 'no longer regards glycine and its salts as generally recognized as safe for use in human food' and rescinded the letters that had said otherwise. There is an authorising food additive route — glycine is listed in 21 CFR 172.320 as 'Aminoacetic acid (glycine)' for protein-quality improvement, capped at 3.5% of total protein — and glycine remains GRAS for animal feed. If you are formulating for the US human food market, take this to your regulatory counsel first.

02Does the crystal form matter?

It can. Glycine exists in three polymorphs — alpha, beta and gamma — and they differ in habit, flow and dissolution rate at identical chemical purity. If you are milling, granulating or direct-compressing, tell us and we will ask the manufacturer to state the form and the particle-size distribution.

03Is glycine sweet enough to matter in my flavour system?

Yes — it is documented as sweet-tasting and is used as a mild sweetener and flavour modifier in food manufacture. In a high-inclusion powder it will lift the flavour rather than needing masked, which is the opposite of the BCAAs.

04Will it buffer my product?

Yes, and usefully. Glycine's isoelectric point is 5.97 and a 0.2 molar solution reads pH 4.0; it is a standard laboratory buffer component precisely because it buffers on both sides. Design your own buffer with that in mind rather than treating glycine as inert.

05Food grade or feed grade?

Both exist and they are priced very differently. Say which you need in the RFQ. We hold around 1.4 tonnes bagged, roughly one week to Shanghai.

06What is the MOQ for Glycine?

MOQ is quote-based and flexible. Tell us your target quantity in the RFQ — for core in-stock SKUs we can usually accommodate both trial orders and multi-tonne volumes.

07Can I get a sample of Glycine before ordering?

Yes — samples are available on request for evaluation and lab verification. Mention it in your RFQ and we will confirm the arrangement.

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