Vanillin biosynthesis from sucrose ex-sugarcane: authentication of an alternative vanillin source through stable isotope data analysis

As one of the largest volume flavor ingredients, vanillin remains an attractive target for development of a cost-effective and sustainable process to manufacture. Presented here is newly available data on the production of vanillin via fermentation in an engineered strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae grown on sucrose ex-sugarcane. The use of the C4 plant source of carbohydrate resulted in a δ(13)C mean stable isotope ratio of -14.43 ‰ (SD = 0.24) relative to the V-PDB standard and a δ(2)H mean stable isotope ratio of -122.8 ‰ (SD = 2.9) relative to the SMOW standard by IRMS. The abundance of (14)C in the fermentation derived vanillin averaged 14.01 dpm/gC (SD = 0.09) by AMS measurement. These data are compared to historical data collected on vanillin derived from a number of sources to provide a more holistic view on vanillin bulk isotope data based on its method of manufacture.