Vanillin: One Drug, Many Cures
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Vanillin: One Drug, Many Cures∗ Oshin Gulsia
Chemically, ‘vanillin’ belongs to the class of benzaldehydes, its structural formula being 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde. It is one of the key constituents of vanilla pods, primarily from the species of Vanilla planifolia. However, since it is uneconomical to grow vanilla on a large scale, it is prepared synthetically to meet the diverse demands of growing food and pharmaceutical industries. Recently, vanillin has warranted the attention of the scientific community because of its versatility and utility. From the medicine cabinet to your savory platter, its ubiquitous presence is what makes one wonder, “is this the next-gen supermolecule we had been waiting for?”
Oshin Gulsia is currently pursuing her doctorate in Food Business Management from NIFTEM (de-novo Institute under MoFPI). Her doctoral research-work
Introduction
constitutes of modeling agripreneurship development prospects in Haryana. Her other interests are food
The term ‘vanillin’ has been derived from vanilla, its origin being science, neuromarketing, and the Spanish word vainilla, a diminutive form of vaina or sheath poetry. [1]. Vanillin, an aromatic compound, is known to occur naturally as a glycoside bound to sugar (such as glucovanillin in vanilla pods) or as a precursor bound to the large lignin molecules in wood. It has a white crystalline structure and a characteristic pleasant flavor. Researchers have identified it as a phytochemical— glucoumarin—amongst 171 aromatic compounds found in vanilla bean [2]. Vanilla pods consist of vanillic acid, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, sugars, lipids, minerals, water, and cellulose besides vanillin [3]. Chemically, vanillin is a methylester of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid—a ring compound that contains a carboxyl group and a hydroxyl group (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde) (Figure 1). Keywords Vanillin imparts its typical delicate and mellow flavor to a wide
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Vanillin, vanilla, food, flavoring, preservative, drug, antimicrobial.
Vol.25, No.7, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-020-1013-z
RESONANCE | July 2020
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GENERAL ARTICLE
Figure 1. Chemical structure of vanillin. (Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
O H HO OCH3
The chemical structure of Vanillin was worked out by Tiemann and Haarmann in 1874, who reported it to be 3-methoxy-4hydroxybenzaldehyde.
Isolating vanillin from the vanilla pods is a costly and a laborious process. Scientific evidence shows that approximately 500 kg of vanilla pods are required to produce 1 kg of vanillin. The cost of natural vanillin, therefore, is high and fluctuates with the availability of vanilla pods!
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range of raw and processed foods such as lychee, raspberry, potatoes, olive oil, coffee, maple syrups, oatmeal, Peru balsam, and clove oil. Nicolas Theodore Gobley first isolated it from the seed pods of Vanilla planifolia in 1858 by evaporating the vanilla extract to dryness and further re-crystallizing the resulting solids from hot water (hence, the name vanillin). Its chemical nature was worked ou
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