Enhanced vanillin production from eugenol by Bacillus cereus NCIM-5727

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Microbial biotransformation
• Green chemistry

Background:

• Vanillin is a widely used flavoring agent.
• Current vanillin production methods often rely on synthetic routes.
• Biovanillin offers a sustainable alternative derived from natural precursors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To optimize the bioproduction of vanillin from eugenol using a wild strain of Bacillus cereus NCIM-5727.
• To maximize vanillin yield and productivity through process optimization.
• To investigate the stability of the biotransformation process.

Main Methods:

• Shake flask optimization of key parameters including cell concentration, eugenol concentration, temperature, pH, buffer volume, and shaking speed.
• Small-scale bioreactor optimization with controlled aeration and agitation rates.
• Utilized resting cells of Bacillus cereus NCIM-5727 for bioconversion.

Main Results:

• Shake flask optimization yielded a molar yield of 71.2% and global volumetric productivity of 0.18 g(Lh)⁻¹ at 36 hours.
• Bioreactor optimization enhanced global volumetric productivity to 0.28 g(Lh)⁻¹ at 25 hours.
• The highest vanillin molar yield reached 75.2% and remained stable for 10 hours.

Conclusions:

• Bacillus cereus NCIM-5727 is an effective microbial catalyst for biovanillin production from eugenol.
• Process optimization in a bioreactor significantly improves vanillin productivity.
• The optimized biotransformation process demonstrates good stability, making it suitable for industrial application.