Tokyo university reveals plant-waste vanillin with economic potential to disrupt vanilla market
Professor, students at the Tokyo University of Science develop enzyme that converts plant waste into vanillin
Researchers from Tokyo University of Science, a specialized private research university in Japan, revealed the successful development of an enzyme that converts a white crystalline acid from plants into vanillin, a flavor compound of vanilla.
The cutting-edge process takes ferulic acid produced from plant waste and combines it with the enzyme at room temperature to produce vanillini, which is the world's most popular flavor extract, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Vanillin is widely regarded as a staple in the food industry, from the local coffee shop down the block to common household brands and cosmetic corporations as a fragrance booster.
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"The starting material, ferulic acid, is recovered from agro-industrial wastes including wheat and rice bran," professor Toshiki Furuya from Tokyo University of Science told Fox News Digital via email.
"Vanillin can be produced simply by adding this ferulic acid and the bioengineered enzyme to water and shaking at room temperature."
Vanillin is the most popular flavor compound across the globe. (Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union/File / Getty Images)
The recent study published in early May by Furuya and two graduate students, Shizuka Fujimaki and Satsuki Sakamoto, has considerable economic potential to affect the retail sector by making premium-tasting vanilla more affordable.
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Pure vanilla extract retails for around $7 for two ounces.
For an eight fluid ounce bottle of vanilla, a consumer will shell out around $25.
Vanillin is used by both the food and cosmetic industries as a flavor and scent enhancer. (Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/File / Getty Images)
Chemically produced vanilla is kinder to consumers' pockets at major retail locations.
However, imitation vanilla often tastes half-finished and is produced from petroleum-derived compounds using a chemical catalyst, according to Furuya.
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"Vanillin obtained from vanilla plants is very expensive because the yield of vanillin obtained from the beans of the vanilla orchid is very low and dependent on the weather," Furuya said.
Vanilla bean from a well-pollinated flower matures in around nine months, and the four-step curing process adds a few more, according to the University of Florida.
Natural vanilla extract goes through an extensive process, which is dependent on climate, and the demand for the product is so high that production is lagging. (Richard Bouhet/AFP/File / Getty Images)
Vanillin produced from natural materials can create a greener future and offer sustainability to the market.
Due to the demand for natural vanilla, which is not quickly produced, prices seem unreasonable to the average consumer.
But Furuya said that though mouthfeel and flavor comparisons have not yet been confirmed, the enzyme-produced vanillin will draw consumers' attention.
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"Enzymatically produced vanillin is expected to be priced between vanillin obtained from vanilla plants and chemically produced vanillin," Furuya said.
"Our approach can provide a new option: enzyme-made natural vanillin."
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