Sinapic alcohol

The branch pathway of lignin biosynthesis is shown in Fig. 2. The first steps are shared with the general phenylpropanoid pathway. Cinnamic acid is transformed by hydroxylation and methylation to produce acids with different substitutions on the aromatic ring. The 4-coumaric, ferulic and sinapic acids are then esterified by hydroxycinnamate CoA ligase to produce cinnamyl-CoAs, which are reduced by cinnamyl-CoA reductase (CCR) to produce the three aldehydes. These in turn are reduced by CAD to the three cinnamyl alcohols which are then polymerised into lignins. 

Fig. 4-2. Simplified reaction route illustrating the formation of lignin precursors. 1, 5-Dehydroquinic acid 2, shikimic acid 3, phenylpyruvic acid 4, phenylalanine 5, cinnamic acid 6, ferulic acid (Ri=H and R2=OCH3), sinapic acid (R,= R2=OCH3), and p-coumaric acid (R1=R2 = H) 7, coniferyl alcohol (Ri = H and R2=OCH3), sinapyl alcohol (Rj = R2=OCH3), and p-coumaryl alcohol (R =R2=H) 8, the corresponding glucosides of 7.

Suberins. The cork cells in the outer bark contain polyestolides or su-berins. The suberin content in the outer layer of the cork oak bark (cork) is especially high and amounts to 20-40% in the periderm of birch bark. Polyestolides are complicated polymers composed of co-hydroxy monobasic acids which are linked together by ester bonds. In addition, they contain a,/3-dibasic acids esterified with bifunctional alcohols (diols) as well as ferulic and sinapic acid moieties. The chain lengths vary but suberins are enriched with molecules having 16 and 18 carbon atoms. There are also double bonds and hydroxyl groups through which ester and ether cross-links are possible. The outer layer of the epidermis contains so-called cutin, which is heavily branched and has a structure similar to suberin. 

COMT (EC 2.1.1.68) was detected as an enzyme methylating caffeic acid to ferulic acid with the help of SAM and later it was shown that 5-hydroxyferulic acid is also methylated to sinapic acid. Mostly, other substrates will be accepted as well (Roje, 2006). Nowadays, however, there are strong indications that the hydroxycinnamic aldehydes and/or alcohols will be preferentially methylated by COMTs (Parvathi et al, 2001). Kinetic investigations of the... 

L-Phenylalanine,which is derived via the shikimic acid pathway,is an important precursor for aromatic aroma components. This amino acid can be transformed into phe-nylpyruvate by transamination and by subsequent decarboxylation to 2-phenylacetyl-CoA in an analogous reaction as discussed for leucine and valine. 2-Phenylacetyl-CoA is converted into esters of a variety of alcohols or reduced to 2-phenylethanol and transformed into 2-phenyl-ethyl esters. The end products of phenylalanine catabolism are fumaric acid and acetoacetate which are further metabolized by the TCA-cycle. Phenylalanine ammonia lyase converts the amino acid into cinnamic acid, the key intermediate of phenylpropanoid metabolism. By a series of enzymes (cinnamate-4-hydroxylase, p-coumarate 3-hydroxylase, catechol O-methyltransferase and ferulate 5-hydroxylase) cinnamic acid is transformed into p-couma-ric-, caffeic-, ferulic-, 5-hydroxyferulic- and sinapic acids,which act as precursors for flavor components and are important intermediates in the biosynthesis of fla-vonoides, lignins, etc. Reduction of cinnamic acids to aldehydes and alcohols by cinnamoyl-CoA NADPH-oxido-reductase and cinnamoyl-alcohol-dehydrogenase form important flavor compounds such as cinnamic aldehyde, cin-namyl alcohol and esters. Further reduction of cinnamyl alcohols lead to propenyl- and allylphenols such as... 

Later, Tressl et al. (1976) also proceeded to the thermic degradation (2 h, 200 JC) of ferulic acid (H.87) and identified the same phenols as Fiddler et al., plus 4-isopropylguaiacol and vanillin alcohol (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzenemethanol) which have not been found in coffee. For isoeugenol (H.38), the formula is written as the (E)-( trans -) isomer, but nothing was specified in the text. Tressl et al. (1976) also published the results of thermal decomposition of cinnamic, p-coumaric (H.84) and sinapic (H.90) acids. Many of the simple phenols (and other aromatic compounds) formed have also been identified in roasted coffee volatiles. A thermic fragmentation of quinic acid (E.62) has shown that simple acids, phenols and polyphenols originate from this precursor (Tressl et al., 1978a). 

We now know that the three hydroxylation steps necessary for the production of sinapyl alcohol and sinapic acid are catalyzed by cytochrome P450s. Their membrane-bound nature, instability, and low abundance make plant P450s difficult... 

---