abstract
We report a simple enzymatic approach to synthesise phenethyl esters as natural flavouring materials.
Chemical and lipase-catalysed esterification reactions between fatty acids of C4–C18 and 2-phenethyl
alcohol were studied. Both methods were compared qualitatively and quantitatively by GC–MS/FID.
The acid and thermal stabilities of 2-phenethyl esters were excellent and can meet the requirements
of food matrices under most processing conditions. Sensory evaluation showed that each 2-phenethyl
ester with a different carbon-chain-length fatty acid had unique sensory notes. Moreover, through Lipozyme
TL IM-mediated transesterification, valuable 2-phenethyl alcohol-derived esters were synthesised
from butter oil and 2-phenethyl alcohol. The influence of several physicochemical parameters (temperature,
substrate molar ratio, enzyme loading, shaking speed and time) on the transesterification reaction
was investigated to give optimal reaction conditions, leading to a high yield of 80.0%