Production of hydrocinnamic acid by clostridia

Hydrocinnamic acid was found in acid extracts of spent growth medium from cultures of Clostridium sporogenes. The acid was identified by mass spectrometry and its identity was confirmed by gas chromatography. The acid was produced in relatively large amounts (2 to 3 mumoles/ml of medium) by C. sporogenes, toxigenic types A, B, D, and F of C. botulinum, and some strains of C. bifermentans. Other strains of C. bifermentans and strains of C. sordellii and C. caproicum produced only small amounts (0.1 to 0.4 mumoles/ml) of the acid. The acid was not detected in spent medium from toxigenic types C and E of C. botulinum or from 25 other strains representing eight Clostridium species. Resting cell suspensions exposed to l-phenylalanine produced hydrocinnamic and cinnamic acid; the latter compound probably functions as an intermediate in the metabolism of l-phenylalanine.