Laboratorios Miret, S.A. (LAMIRSA) was founded in the industrial district of La Sagrera in Barcelona in 1959, initiating its activity with the production of surfactants and industrial antimicrobial agents. Venta de Especialidades Químicas S.A. (VEDEQSA) is a company of LAMIRSA GROUP focused on the production of additives and ingredients for the food and cosmetic industries.
Since the establishment of the company, there has been a clear commitment to design and find new consumer safe and environmentally friendly products that meet the needs of the market. The objective of VEDEQSA is to provide solutions in terms of pathogen control and shelf life of products that reach the customer’s home. This great challenge is at the same time a great opportunity, especially in the field of food and cosmetics. With this objective in mind and considering that a new preservative had not been introduced during the last decades, the company focused its efforts on a truly innovative product: Ethyl-Nα-lauroyl-L-arginate HCl.
Ethyl-Nα-lauroyl-L-arginate HCl, active ingredient of Ethyl lauroyl arginate HCl (LAE®), is a product synthesised from L-arginine, lauric acid and ethanol with CAS number 60372-77-2. In 1982, the institute Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) of Barcelona (Spain) patented its synthesis with organic solvents. From that moment, LAMIRSA GROUP together with CSIC, investigated a new method of synthesis with the aim to find a manufacturing process compatible with the standards of the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. In 1995, LAMIRSA GROUP filed a patent application on the process of synthesis of Ethyl lauroyl arginate HCl free of solvents and impurities that are not suitable for consumer goods. Since then, with the commitment to constant improvement, LAMIRSA GROUP has invested effort and dedication to upgrade the manufacturing process, and to optimise the use of Ethyl lauroyl arginate HCl alone or combined with other components in food and cosmetic applications, as well as in the pharmaceutical industry, as it is reported in the different granted patents. The chemical production of LAE®  takes place at Laboratorios Miret S.A. (LAMIRSA).

Chemical structure of LAE®
With a strong commitment to the consumer safety, LAMIRSA GROUP has carried out all the necessary toxicological studies to demonstrate the innocuousness of LAE®:
  • Pharmacokinetic studies in rats and humans, and determination of metabolite levels in plasma and liver.
  • Studies of acute oral toxicity, sub-chronic toxicity and chronic toxicity.
  • Studies of reproductive and embryonic development toxicity in one generation (in rabbits and rats) and two generations (in rats).
  • Genetic toxicity studies, including reverse mutation bacterial assays, mutation with mouse cell lymphoma and chromosomal aberration tests in human lymphocytes.
These studies have been carried out in prestigious international laboratories such as the Huntingdon Life Science. It has been demonstrated that LAE®, manufactured according to the synthesis patented by LAMIRSA GROUP, is safe for consumers at the recommended levels of use and validated by the competent authorities.
Ethyl lauroyl arginate, thanks to its cationic and surfactant nature, is an effective preservative against a broad spectrum of microorganisms in a wide range of products. Its high efficiency is due to its ability to disrupt the membrane potential of the cells, causing structural changes to them and loss of their viability.
VEDEQSA markets its formulations based on Ethyl lauroyl arginate (LAE®) under the trade name MIRENAT® and AMINAT®.