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AIR1-CT92-0026
New Processes for the Biological Transformation of Agricultural Residues for the Production of High Added Value Flavours |
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Contract No | AIR1-CT92-0026 |
| Total Cost | 1 948 033 | |
| EC Contribution | 1 250 000 | |
| Start Date | 01/01/1993 | |
| Duration | 36 months |
SUMMARY
Methods have been developed which enable vanillin (the source of the most widely used food flavour - vanilla) of natural origin to be produced from agricultural waste. The basic process combines enzyme degradation of plant cell walls with fungal fermentations to isolate ferulic acid and ferment this to vanillin. The work included examination of various wastes such as beet pulp, and brans of cereals (maize, wheat), determination of the structure of cell wall components carrying ferulic acid residues, identification of enzymes and conditions for release of ferulic acid, concentration of the product and then development of several (patented processes) to obtain good yields of the required product. Work is being scaled up, with support from the EU under contract FAIR 1099 (Item NFI/079), to develop several patented processes.
OBJECTIVE
The objectives of the proposed project are to evaluate the potential for the development of natural flavours (vanillin, the prime flavour compound used in the European food industry, and furanone- or pyranone-like compounds) by microbial and enzymatic conversion of specific components (ferulic acid, rhamnose, xylose) of low grade plant cellwall residues : brans derived from wheat or maize (the major residues from the milling industries) and sugar beet pulp (the residue from the sugar refinery industries). To achieve this goal, a research programme has been formulated that capitalizes on the pre-industrial, industrial and basic scientific skills and expertise of the partners. The definition of "natural" products accepted by the EC includes products modified by living cells or their components, especially enzymes. The programme is divided into two main phases:
The precursors (rhamnose and ferulic acid from beet pulp, ferulic acid and xylose from cereal brans) will be obtained on a laboratory scale by extensive degradation / solubilization of the cell-walls containing these precursors by enzyme mixtures and by more selective actions of some highly purified enzymes (ferulic acid esterase, arabinanases, polygalacturonases, xylanases). The isolation of the precursors will involve mainly membrane and chromatographic systems (ion-exchange or ion-retardation chromatography, partition chromatography). Production of suitable enzymes and isolation procedures will be scaled up in order to obtain appreciable quantities of precursors.
The microbial bioconversion of the precursors to vanillin and furanone or pyranone derivatives will be investigated. The production of vanillin will especially involve the basidiomycete Pycnoporus cinnabarinus, and a programme of strain improvement will be developed on the basis of vanillin biosynthesis pathway knowledge. For the production of pyranone or furanone derivatives, a cumulative screening of the yeasts that are able to metabolize rhamnose and xylose by the pentosephosphate pathway will be carried out. The selection of highly productive strains will be done through the analysis of the whole flavour compound by high performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography mass spectometry.
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New processes for the biological transformation of agricultural residues for the production of high added value flavours |
Contacts
Coordinator
EC Scientific Officer
Participant
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