Methyl p-coumarate

This acid, CHgO. C,jH. CH CH. COOH, is methyl-p-coumaric acid, and is present in kaempferia oil. It is a crystalline solid melting at 171°. 

The pure enzyme was tested for activity against several methylated phenolic and cinnamic acids (Table 2). The enzyme was active on methyl esters of cinnamic acids caffeio p-coumaric> ferulic, and is therefore termed a cinnamoyl esterase (CinnAE). 

Xylans are the major hemicelluloses of many plant materials, where they often contribute to the rigidity of plant cell walls. Most xylans are heteropolysaccharides with a homopolymeric backbone chain of 1,4-linked j8-D-xylo-pyranose units. The degree and t pe of substitution of the backbone is dependent on the plant origin of a xylan. In addition to xylose, xylans may contain L-arabinose, D-glucuronic acid or its 4-O-methyl ether, and acetic, p-coumaric, and ferulic acids. 

The PAL activity that is necessary for lignin formation occurs in the cytoplasm or bound to the cytoplasmic surface of the endoplasmic reticulum membranes. The cinnamic acid produced is probably carried on the lipid surface of the membranes, since it is lipophilic, and it is sequentially hydroxylated by the membrane-bound hydroxylases (47,50). In this way there is the possibility of at least a two-step channeling route from phenylalanine to p-coumaric acid. The transmethylases then direct the methyl groups to the meta positions. There is a difference between the transmethylases from angiosperms and those from gymnosperms, since with the latter... 

Some of the pathways of animal and bacterial metabolism of aromatic amino acids also are used in plants. However, quantitatively more important are the reactions of the phenylpropanoid pathway,173-1743 which is initiated by phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (Eq. 14-45).175 As is shown at the top of Fig. 25-8, the initial product from phenylalanine is trails-cinnam-ate. After hydroxylation to 4-hydroxycinnamate (p-coumarate) and conversion to a coenzyme A ester,1753 the resulting p-coumaryl-CoA is converted into mono-, di-, and trihydroxy derivatives including anthocyanins (Box 21-E) and other flavonoid compounds.176 The dihydroxy and trihydroxy methylated products are the starting materials for formation of lignins and for a large series of other plant products, many of which impart characteristic fragrances. Some of these are illustrated in Fig. 25-8. 

Table 9.1.8. Pyrolysis products of p-coumaric, ferulic and sinapic acid with and without methylation.

Several simple phenylpropanoids (C6-C3) are produced from cinnamate via a series of hydroxylation, methylation, and dehydration reactions these include p-coumaric, caffeic, ferulic and sinapic acids and simple coumarins. The free acids rarely accumulate to any great extent within plant cells but are usually conjugated to sugars, cell wall carbohydrates, or organic acids (quinic, malic, tartaric, etc.). Lignin and suberin are complex polymers formed from a mixture of simple phenylpropanoids, and will not be considered in the present review. 

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