BASIC RESEARCH AT SYMRISE
New products depend on R&D – and that’s why the basic research program at Symrise is so extensive. For both divisions, biotech methods and renewable resources play a major role in this research. Dr. Marcus Eh and Dr. Jens-Michael Hilmer report on advances in 2010.
Scent & Care
“By optimizing or replacing chemical production processes through the use of microorganisms, enzymes or other natural production systems, white – i.e., industrial – biotechnology is pointing the way to the future of the Scent & Care division. The objective here is to achieve more environmentally friendly processes and to reduce or eliminate the amount of emissions that our chemical processes produce. The use of enzymes in laundry detergents is presumably the most common and well-known example of white biotechnology. Other applications of biotech production, however, include vitamins and the amino acids used in fields such as medicines or cosmetics.
Dr. Marcus Eh, Director Evaluation New Fragrance Molecules, is responsible for global evaluation and introduction of new, innovative aroma chemicals for Symrise research.Renewable resources play an important role here, because we want to become increasingly independent from fossil-based raw materials such as petroleum. We are currently working on multiple research projects. Our participation in “BioIndustrie 2012,” a project sponsored by the German government, has led to the development of new musk aroma chemicals using renewable resources. Musks are indispensable in perfumery: They go into hair-care and personal care products, laundry detergents and household products. They improve the stability of a fragrance and help it last longer. And they contribute to the overall effect of a fragrance by lending it warm, fresh or clean notes. We have sailed into utterly uncharted waters here – and are conducting ground-breaking basic research. Right now we’re working on using our modern methods of molecular biology to clarify the metabolic pathways in natural processes and translating these pathways into biotech processes.
We have already had considerable success with renewable resources, as evidenced by products such as Ambrocenide®, Symroxane, Ysamber K and Limonenal. Demand for these solutions is currently very high, because they meet consumers’ and clients’ demands for more natural products. Our most recent success in 2010 is an innovative aroma chemical called Terranol®. 100% of the carbon backbone of this compound is derived from renewable resources, namely turpentine oil. Its high degree of stability makes Terranol® ideally suited for use in countless products ranging from deodorant sticks and hair-care products to soaps and fabric softeners. We are, of course, very proud of this innovation. And we are also certain that it will be followed by many more fragrances based on renewable resources.”
Flavor & Nutrition
“Health is what shapes the basic research conducted within the F&N Division. One focus of our research is on secondary phytochemicals, i.e., chemical compounds in certain plant cell types that can have a positive effect on human health. These compounds are either generally very difficult to obtain or can only be obtained through chemical means. We are therefore studying a sustainable method – biocatalytic production processes, which we intend to use for producing flavonoids, a group of natural dyes found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, tea and cocoa. Flavonoids can help human beings by supporting the body’s own defense mechanisms with their ability to reduce the risk of cancer, regulate blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels and strengthen the immune system. Plus, flavonoids also have anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties.
Dr. Jens-Michael Hilmer, Director Natural & Savory Flavor Innovations, is responsible for developing new, natural flavoring systems and for managing the Symrise global project pipeline for savory applications.Methods for extracting flavonoids are already in existence. In most plants, however, the concentrations of these compounds are very low, which, in turn, requires a complex isolation process and makes the purified material expensive. Most of all, however, existing chemical processes violate the idea of sustainability, as they consume water, energy and, especially, fossil-based resources.
We are now turning our attention to biocatalysis as a means of producing flavonoids that is at once sustainable, natural and economical. We already have experience in the area: we now use biocatalysis methods to produce vanillin from renewable resources – a move that has brought with it many advantages. It has, for instance, allowed us to eliminate the use of chlorine-containing starting materials and fossil resources; now we can also avoid the undesirable by-products that arise with traditional catalytic methods. The process runs at room temperature, which saves energy, and the resulting wastewater is pH-neutral.
In 2010 we identified still more enzymes that could be used as biocatalysts, after having tested several thousand potentially suitable enzymes to assess their feasibility. Ten possible candidates were studied further, two of which ultimately emerged from the rigorous selection process – and these enzymes are extremely promising. We are currently working on ways of applying the identified enzymes to suitable production systems. This will be followed by the scale-up process, one of the final stages on the way to industrial-scale production. Once this has been done, there is little standing in the way of a demo plant for production-scale manufacturing. That is an amazing success.
While the focus of this kind of development is on health, of course, good taste does play a role. It used to be enough for a product to taste like blueberries. But modern consumers want more. They want a product that tastes like blueberries, but, at the same time, they expect the product to help them stay healthy. That is the kind of product concept that we will be able to deliver. And our flavonoid research has taken us a major step forward toward that goal.”
