Nootkatone, known for its persistent fragrance, low odor threshold, environmental friendliness, anti-proliferative, and pro-apoptotic activities, has broad applications across various industries, including food, fragrances, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, animal feed additives, and cosmetics. Nootkatone is primarily used to formulate various citrus-based fragrances, including grapefruit and orange scents. In August 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved Nootkatone for use as an insect repellent or insecticide, further expanding its application landscape.
Nootkatone is a natural sesquiterpene compound. In its pure form, Nootkatone appears as a colorless crystalline substance, and when diluted, it becomes a colorless or pale yellow oily liquid. Nootkatone is the most important aromatic compound in grapefruit, and it is also found in products such as Alaska yellow cedar, vetiver, lemon oil, citrus oil, and citronella oil.
Nootkatone can be produced through various methods, including natural extraction, chemical synthesis, and biological fermentation. Among these, biological fermentation stands out due to its advantages in raw material sourcing, production efficiency, environmental friendliness, and cost-effectiveness, making it a hotspot for research and development globally.
For example, Swiss company Evolva has successfully developed raw materials such as resveratrol, vanillin, and Nootkatone using its yeast-based platform and proprietary precision fermentation technology. Firmenich, leveraging the Manus Bio cell factory engineering platform, launched "bio-based Nootkatone" derived from non-GMO sugar sources. Additionally, a team from South China University of Technology used hydrolyzed kelp as a substrate for yeast-engineered strains to achieve efficient bio-based Nootkatone fermentation at a kilogram-scale production level.
In recent years, China has seen several significant Nootkatone-related projects, including Chuan Ning Bio's Green Circular Industrial Park Project, which has an annual Nootkatone production of 10 tons; Nengte Technology Co., Ltd.'s Key Pharmaceutical Intermediates Project, also with an annual Nootkatone production of 10 tons; Anhui Jinhe Industrial Co., Ltd.'s 10,000-ton/year Green Bio-manufacturing Health Industry Project, producing 5 tons of Nootkatone annually; and Jinkai Biotechnology's 980-ton/year Agrochemical Products Project, which boasts an annual Nootkatone production of 100 tons.
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