Thermal behavior of inosine 5′-monophosphate in acidic form and as alkali and alkaline earth salts

•Acidic inosine 5′-monophosphate and its alkali and alkaline earth salts were prepared.•After characterization they were submitted to thermal analysis.•They hydration waters and dehydration process were characterized.•Volatiles evolved during heating allowed proposing a thermal degradation mechanism.•Volatiles include water, isocyanic acid and hydrocyanic acid. Inosine 5′-monophosphate in acidic form and its lithium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, strontium and barium were prepared from the sodium salt, characterized by elemental analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and submitted to thermogravimetry (TG), differential thermal analysis (DTA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry coupled to infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR) of the volatile products evolved during heating. All the salts were hydrated containing from 4 to 7.5 H2O. After dehydration these salts decomposed releasing the nitrogenous base followed by the ribose group, and producing pyrophosphates as final residue. Evolved Gas Analysis (EGA) reveled the release of water, isocyanic acid and hydrocyanic acid during decomposition of the organic moiety. It was observed only water loss up to 200 °C. At temperatures above 200 °C, the nucleotides were unstable and decomposed, implying that foods containing those additives should be processed below this temperature. Finally, a general mechanism for the decomposition of the inosinates was proposed.