Eugenol and isoeugenol, characteristic aromatic constituents of spices, are biosynthesized via reduction of a coniferyl alcohol ester.

ABSTRACT: Phenylpropenes such as chavicol, t-anol, eugenol, and isoeugenol are produced by plants as defense compounds against animals and microorganisms and as floral attractants of pollinators. Moreover, humans have used phenylpropenes since antiquity for food preservation and flavoring and as medicinal agents. Previous research suggested that the phenylpropenes are synthesized in plants from substituted phenylpropenols, although the identity of the enzymes and the nature of the reaction mechanism involved in this transformation have remained obscure. We show here that glandular trichomes of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum), which synthesize and accumulate phenylpropenes, possess an enzyme that can use coniferyl acetate and NADPH to form eugenol. Petunia (Petunia hybrida cv. Mitchell) flowers, which

SUBMITTER: Koeduka T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1502517 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature