THE DEMAND FOR VANILLA FLAVORING HAS LONG EXCEEDED THE SUPPLY OF VANILLA BEANS.
As of 2001, the annual demand for vanillin was 12,000 tons, but only 1800 tons of natural vanillin was produced.
Vanillin is most prominent as the principal flavor and aroma compound in vanilla. Cured vanilla pods contain approximately 2% by dry weight vanillin; on cured pods of high quality, relatively pure vanillin may be visible as a white dust or "frost" on the exterior of the pod.
At smaller concentrations, vanillin contributes to the flavor and aroma profiles of foodstuffs as diverse as olive oil, butter, and raspberry and lychee fruits. Aging in oak barrels imparts vanillin to some wines and spirits. In other foods, heat treatment evolves vanillin from other chemicals. In this way, vanillin contributes to the flavor and aroma of coffee, maple syrup, and whole grain products including corn tortillas and oatmeal.
The largest single use of vanillin is as a flavoring, usually in sweet foods. The ice cream and chocolate industries together comprise 75% of the market for vanillin as a flavoring, with smaller amounts being used in confections and baked goods.
Vanillin is also used in the fragrance industry, in perfumes, and to mask unpleasant odors or tastes in medicines, livestock fodder, and cleaning products.
BENEFITS OF VANILLIN, LIKE MANY POLYPHENOLS FOUND IN PLANTS, VANILLIN HAS ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTI-TUMOR ACTIVITY.
Vanillin Research Update
VANILLIN SUPPRESSES IN VITRO INVASION AND IN VIVO METASTASIS OF MOUSE BREAST CANCER CELLS.
Eur J Pharm Sci. 2005 May;25(1):57-65.
Vanillin, a food flavoring agent, has been reported to show anti-mutagenic activity and to inhibit chemical carcinogenesis. In this study, we examined the effect of vanillin on the growth and metastasis of 4T1 mammary adenocarcinoma cells in BALB/c mice. Mice orally administered with vanillin showed significantly reduced numbers of lung metastasized colonies compared to controls. In vitro studies revealed that vanillin, at concentrations that were not cytotoxic, inhibited invasion and migration of cancer cells and inhibited enzymatic activity of MMP-9 secreted by the cancer cells. Vanillin also showed growth inhibitory effect towards cancer cells in vitro. However, vanillic acid, a major metabolic product of vanillin in human and rat, was not active in these in vitro activity assays. Our findings suggest that vanillin has anti-metastatic potential by decreasing invasiveness of cancer cells. Since vanillin is generally regarded as safe, it may be of value in the development of anti-metastatic drugs for cancer treatment.
INHIBITION OF PEROXYNITRITE-MEDIATED REACTIONS BY VANILLIN.
J Agric Food Chem. 2004 Jan 14;52(1):139-45.
Several neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzeimer's and Parkinson's as well as septic shock and inflammation involve formation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species that include peroxynitrite (PON). PON can also react with endogenous antioxidants. Therefore, dietary supplementation with antioxidants may help in these diseases. An exogenous antioxidant, vanillin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde), used widely as a food flavoring agent, was evaluated for its ability to scavenge PON and inhibit PON-mediated reactions. Nitration of tyrosine by PON was assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This reaction was inhibited by vanillin. The oxidation of dihydrorhodamine 123 to fluorescent rhodamine 123 was also inhibited by vanillin. The kinetics of reaction between PON and vanillin was studied by stopped-flow technique. The products of this reaction were analyzed by HPLC, and hydroxyvanillin was identified as one of the five products with absorption at 350 nm. These data demonstrate that vanillin effectively scavenges PON in cell-free systems.
VANILLINS--A NOVEL FAMILY OF DNA-PK INHIBITORS.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2003 Oct 1;31(19):5501-12.
Non-homologous DNA end-joining (NHEJ) is a major pathway of dou
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