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Vanillin: Biosynthesis, Biotechnology, and Bioproduction

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Orchids Phytochemistry, Biology and Horticulture

Part of the book series: Reference Series in Phytochemistry ((RSP))

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Abstract

Further understanding of Vanilla flavor compounds synthesis, in Vanilla plants, is lacking in literature. This can aid in better production of flavor compounds. Additionally, commercial importance of Vanilla pods can then be improved. Although vanillin amounts in pod, predominates among flavor compounds, the natural flavor is made of over 200 chemicals. Despite being low cost to produce, synthetic pure vanillin alone does not match the much sought complex notes of the natural product, used in products with high-quality attributes. This, despite the natural product being more than 200 times the price of the synthetic version, fungal biotransformation reactions of vanillin precursors yield “natural” vanillin. Endophytic fungi form symbiotic relationships with asymptomatic plants, where they produce secondary metabolites. In some cases, such metabolites were previously thought to be produced by the plant, but later revised to originate from the fungi. In this view, Vanilla flavor metabolites may be due to fungal participation, within the plant. Those fungi may either participate partially or completely, on the vanillin biosynthetic pathway, within the plant. This potential participation requires to be elucidated, to gain a better understanding of the still debatable vanillin biosynthesis, within the plant. The occurrence of different fungal endophyte species, across plant culture regions, may contribute to the observed terroir effect on pod flavor. The study of fungal endophytes within Vanilla plants, and their biosynthetic potential, is thus warranted.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Natural Products Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Shahnoo Khoyratty & Rob Verpoorte

  2. Université de La Réunion, UMR QualiSud, La Réunion, Cedex 9, France

    Shahnoo Khoyratty & Hippolyte Kodja

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  1. Shahnoo Khoyratty
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  2. Rob Verpoorte
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  3. Hippolyte Kodja
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst.des Sci.de la Vigne et du Vin, Université de Bordeaux, Villenave d'Ornon, France

    Jean-Michel Merillon

  2. University of La Réunion, Saint-Denis, France

    Hippolyte Kodja

Section Editor information

  1. Groupe d’Etude des Substances VGroupe d’Etude des Substances VInstitut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin, Université de Bordeaux, Villenave d’Ornon, France

    Jean-Michel Mérillon

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Khoyratty, S., Verpoorte, R., Kodja, H. (2021). Vanillin: Biosynthesis, Biotechnology, and Bioproduction. In: Merillon, JM., Kodja, H. (eds) Orchids Phytochemistry, Biology and Horticulture. Reference Series in Phytochemistry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11257-8_14-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11257-8_14-2

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  1. Latest

    Vanillin: Biosynthesis, Biotechnology, and Bioproduction
    Published:
    03 March 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11257-8_14-2

  2. Original

    Vanillin: Biosynthesis, Biotechnology, and Bioproduction
    Published:
    07 November 2020

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11257-8_14-1

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