One-Pot Conversion of Cinnamaldehyde to 2‑Phenylethanol via a Biosynthetic Cascade Reaction Amanda Vorster, Martha S. Smit, and Diederik J. Opperman* Department of Biotechnology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa * S Supporting Information ABSTRACT: A novel biosynthetic pathway for the produc- tion of natural 2-phenylethanol from cinnamaldehyde is reported. An ene-reductase (OYE)-mediated selective hydro- genation of cinnamaldehyde to hydrocinnamaldehyde is followed by a regioselective Baeyer-Villiger oxidation (BVMO) to produce the corresponding formate ester that either spontaneously hydrolyzes to 2-phenylethanol in water or is assisted by a formate dehydrogenase (FDH). This cascade reaction is performed in a one-pot fashion at ambient temperature and pressure. High selectivity and complete conversion were achieved. 2-Phenylethanol (2-PE) is an aromatic alcohol with a roselike aroma. 1 It is an important chemical used in the food and fragrance industry, with annual production of 2-PE estimated at more than 10000 tons. 2 Traditionally natural 2-PE is extracted and purified from flowers, specifically the hydro- distillation of rose petals. 3 This natural route, however, yields very low product recovery with very high cost implications. To meet the current global demands for 2-PE, most 2-PE is thus currently synthesized chemically. 2-PE can be chemically synthesized by a Grignard reaction from chlorobenzene 4 or via Friedel-Crafts alkylation of benzene. 5 Both of these chemical routes have several drawbacks including the use of hazardous or corrosive chemicals, difficult separation mixtures, and low selectivity. Alternatively, 2-PE production has been demon- strated via the catalytic hydrogenation of styrene oxide. Originally proven using Raney nickel as catalyst and hydrogen gas, 6 other nonpyrophoric catalysts have been developed. 7-9 Although the cost of chemical 2-PE is significantly lower than that of natural 2-PE, chemically synthesized 2-PE is limited in its use as an aroma compound in food, beverages, and cosmetics. Not only do these reactions rely on petrochemical feedstocks, but the formation of various side products, which at even very low concentrations can destroy the aroma of 2-PE. The increased demand for natural products has seen the rapid development of biotechnological routes to 2-PE. 2,10-12 The US Food and Drug Administration and European legislation state that products from biotechnological (enzy- matic or microbiological) processes can be classified as natural if the substrate used is of natural origin. 13,14 Yeasts such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Kluyveromyces marxianus can convert L-phenylalanine via the Ehrlich pathway 15-17 to 2-PE via phenylpyruvate and phenylacetaldehyde when actively metabolizing cells are given L-Phe as the sole nitrogen source. The intermediates can, however, be overoxidized via endogenous dehydrogenases present in these yeasts. Addition- ally, 2-PE can also be further metabolized and degraded. 2-PE production is also eventually limited by its toxicity to growing cells. For the efficient production of 2-PE from L-Phe in situ product removal to avoid 2-PE toxicity is thus essential. Much research has been done on improving the productivity of this biological route, e.g., biphasic or in situ product removal 18-21 to overcome the toxicity of 2-PE and genetic engineering of yeasts strains to increase space-time yields (STY). 22 Engineered bacterial strains mimicking the Ehrlich pathway have also been created for the production of 2-PE from L- Phe 23-25 or from glucose by exploiting the shikimate pathway. 26-28 More recently, an E. coli strain coexpressing styrene monooxygenase (SMO), styrene oxide isomerase (SOI), and phenylacetaldehyde reductase (PAR) was shown to catalyze the hydration of styrene to 2-PE. 29 2-PE production via this styrene pathway was also recently extended, enabling the conversion of L-Phe to styrene by introducing phenyl- alanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and phenylacrylic acid decarboxylase (PAD). 30 Similarly, an engineered styrene producing E. coli strain 31 was further modified through the introduction of SMO and SOI for 2-PE production from glucose. 32 Although product titers of ca. 2 g L -1 were reached, high glucose loading was required with yields of only 61 mg 2- PE g -1 glucose. 2-PE production from glucose could be significantly improved (ca. 5-fold) by utilizing two E. coli strains to couple L-Phe production from glucose and its further conversion to 2-PE. 33 Despite improved 2-PE titers, the system likewise required high glucose concentrations with L-Phe yields of only 60 mg g -1 glucose. We propose a new synthetic route for natural 2-PE production from inexpensive and abundant cinnamaldehyde Received: July 25, 2019 Published: August 19, 2019 Letter pubs.acs.org/OrgLett Cite This: Org. Lett. 2019, 21, 7024-7027 © 2019 American Chemical Society 7024 DOI: 10.1021/acs.orglett.9b02611 Org. Lett. 2019, 21, 7024-7027 Downloaded via UNIV OF THE FREE STATE on October 11, 2019 at 18:07:46 (UTC). See https://pubs.acs.org/sharingguidelines for options on how to legitimately share published articles.