ferulic acid

In plants, vanillin is synthesized by the conversion of ferulic acid by the enzyme -- VpVAN.

Addressing these challenges, Professor Toshiki Furuya from the Department of Applied Biological Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, and his graduate students Shizuka Fujimaki and Satsuki Sakamoto, successfully developed an enzyme that generates vanillin from plant-derived ferulic acid.

"Ferulic acid, the raw material, is a compound that can be obtained in abundance from agricultural waste such as rice bran and wheat bran. Vanillin is generated simply by mixing ferulic acid with the developed enzyme at room temperature. So, the established technology can provide a simple and environmentally friendly method for producing flavor compounds," explains Prof. Furuya.

In its native state, it does not have the ability to convert ferulic acid into vanillin.

Using structural modeling analysis, the researchers were able to predict amino acid changes in Ado which would enable its interaction with ferulic acid.