Production of natural 2-phenylethanol: From biotransformation to purified product

•S. cerevisiae JM2014 strain exhibits desirable properties for 2-PE production.•Ethyl acetate can be used for the efficient extraction of 2-PE from broth.•Competitive technology of natural 2-PE production to traditional method.

2-Phenylethanol (2-PE) is a volatile substance widely used in food, fragrance and cosmetics industries. Nowadays, most 2-PE originates from chemical synthesis. Since there is an increasing demand for natural products, we designed an alternative method of 2-PE production. The utilization of yeast biomass in the production of natural 2-PE is a promising alternative for both chemical synthesis and expensive plant extraction. Here, we investigated the JM2014 yeast strain, which we recently isolated from a fermented milk drink and classified as a species of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To produce 2-PE, we used a 4 L batch culture of the JM2014 strain in a laboratory-scale bioreactor and, subsequently, developed a method of isolation and purification of 2-PE from the broth. Within 72 h, the not-genetically modified JM2014 strain produced 3.60 g L−1 of 2-PE in the simple batch culture, which corresponds to an overall efficiency of the biotransformation step of 97.21%. Through the application of appropriately selected techniques and reagents, we extracted 2-PE that meets the criteria for a natural product with a 78% efficiency and a purity of >98% (GC). This is the first report documenting a complete methodology for 2-PE production, from biotransformation to purification of the final product.