Microbial lactones: A systematic bibliometric review of γ-lactone production by biotechnological processes and technological prospection with focus on γ-dodecalactone

Abstract

The global lactone market, although it has expanded over the years, has still been little explored. The objective of this review was to provide a percentage quantification of γ-lactone production from papers published in Web of Science™ (WoS). To this end, a systematic search was carried out to identify the main raw materials and microorganisms for biotransformation of hydrophobic material and the main γ-lactones produced in the process along with the main gaps exists. The results obtained in this review suggest that on an average the number of publications is around three papers per year, relatively low compared to those in other areas. Castor oil and its derivatives represent 80% of the raw materials used for biotransformation into γ-lactones, due to the high concentration of ricinoleic acid. Yarrowia lipolytica represents around 55.26% of the total application in the papers evaluated. The γ-decalactone, with nuances of peach aroma, is the γ-lactone most reported in this review, representing around 84.21% of the total papers published in WoS. Liquid-liquid extraction has been a favorite of researchers, and diethyl ether is the organic solvent most used in the recovery of lactones, representing 44.73% of the papers evaluated. This review demonstrates the need to explore new oilseed sources such as fruit seed oil considered as waste, but also the need to produce other lactones such as γ-dodecalactone due to the biotransformation of oleic acid, fatty acid present in most vegetable oils, and its production process under optimized conditions.