Bioconversion of ferulic acid into aroma compounds by newly isolated yeast strains of the Latin American biodiversity.

Nine yeast strains isolated from Latin American biodiversity were screened for ferulic acid (FA) consumption and conversion into aroma compounds such as vanillin, vanillic acid (VA), and 4-vinylguaiacol (VG). Selected strains (Rhodotorula mucilaginosa UFMG-CM-Y3647, UFMG-CM-Y2190, UFMG-CM-Y665) were evaluated in flask experiments to investigate the influence of the pH media on bioconversion and a two-step process was conducted to maximize the metabolites production. The effect of pH was found to be significantly important for FA bioconversion, as acidic conditions (pH < 6.