Biobased flavors production Example of the dairy lactone

Lactones are molecules belonging to the family of aromatic compounds, ubiquitous elements responsible for the tastes and scents that surround us. There are many ways of accessing them, and processes have been developed to meet the needs of the food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and personal care industries. Two production strategies are generally explored: biotechnology and synthesis, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

The biotechnological route has the advantage of being natural and biosourced by the very nature of its process, but productivity is generally a brake and optimization of the culture media and/or strains used is necessary. The synthetic route, on the other hand, offers very good yields, but is generally dependent on petroleum-based products. However, solutions are being developed to make the synthesis pathway biosourced, for example from glutamic acid or sawdust.

The example of dairy lactone perfectly illustrates this reality and adds a new variable: enantioselectivity. This aroma has a chiral center that can modify the compound's aromatic properties. In this case, one of the enantiomers gives the expected taste, while the other imparts a rancid aftertaste. Unfortunately, optimizing the biotechnological route had a negative impact on the enantioselectivity of the process, leading to a racemic mixture of dairy lactones. In response to this problem, an enantioselective synthesis route was developed and optimized, focusing on the use of biobased precursors. The example of obtaining biosourced dairy lactone, whether by biotechnological or synthetic means, is a perfect illustration of the desire of players in the flavor market to develop products of natural origin via eco-designed processes.