Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026

A Customizable Approach for the Enzymatic Production and Purification of Diterpenoid Natural Products
Published on: October 4, 2019
Microbial transformation of propenylbenzenes for natural flavour production
Ping Xu1, Dongliang Hua, Cuiqing Ma
1Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, PR China. pingxu@sdu.edu.cn
Abstract:
Propenylbenzenes are common aromatic compounds that are often used as starting compounds for the production of various flavours. Recently, microbial transformation has emerged as an important approach for producing natural flavours in high quantities. Because the biotransformation processes are environmentally friendly and the products are considered 'natural', flavour production using this method is attracting more and more attention. This paper reviews recent advances in the application of microbial metabolism to propenylbenzenes and in subsequent flavour production. Vanillin, a valuable aromatic compound, is used as a model to show recent progress in high-value natural flavour production. Future research should focus on metabolic-mechanism characterisation and on optimisation of biotransformation to improve the yields of target products for scale-up and industrial use.
Related Concept Videos
Transformation
Microbes in Food Production
Microbes in the Production of Fermented Foods
Bacterial Transformation
Aromatic Compounds: Overview
In 1825, Faraday isolated benzene...
Microbes in Beverage Production

