Natural flavourings from biotechnology for foods and beverages - Natural Food Additives, Ingredients and Flavourings - page 229

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Natural fl avourings from biotechnology
for foods and beverages
A. Paula Dionísio, G. Molina, D. Souza de Carvalho, R. dos Santos , J. L.
Bicas and G. M. Pastore, CNPAT/EMBRADA, Federal University of São
João Del Rey and University of Campinas, Brazil
Abstract: Natural fl avor compounds obtained by biotechnological processes are playing
an increasing role in the food, cosmetic, chemical and pharmaceutical industries due to
increasing consumer demand for natural food additives. There has been extensive
research into the biotechnological production of fl avor compounds during the past
decade. Biotechnological production is a particularly attractive alternative for fl avor
production since it occurs under mild conditions, presents high regio- and enantio-
selectivity, does not generate toxic wastes and produces products that may be labeled as
'natural'. The biotechnological production of aroma compounds may be performed in
two basic ways: through de novo synthesis or by biotransformation. De novo synthesis
refers to the production of complex substances from simple molecules through complex
metabolic pathways. Biotransformations are single reactions catalyzed enzymatically to
result in a product structurally similar to the substrate molecule. This chapter describes
the main groups of fl avoring compounds obtained by both methods.
Key words: natural, fl avor, biotransformation, de novo synthesis, biotechnology.
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11.1 Introduction
Flavors and fragrances have a wide application in the food, feed, cosmetic,
chemical and pharmaceutical sectors (Vandamme 2003). Nowadays, the total
market for fl avors and fragrances is estimated at USD 18 billion, with eight major
global companies sharing 60% of the world market (Guentert 2007). The largest
markets are in Europe (36%) and North America (32%), followed by the Asian
Pacifi c region (26%) (Schwab et al. 2008). Many fl avor compounds on the
market are still produced via chemical synthesis. Due to the high cost or lack
of availability of natural fl avor extracts, most commercial fl avorants are
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