RESUMEN
The history of iris extracts, and of the isolation and enzyme-mediated synthesis of their odoriferous principle, the "irones", will be used to describe the improvement brought about by chemistry and biocatalysis in the development of natural fragrances. In particular, this tutorial review will discuss how the progress in the field of enzyme chemistry allowed the optimisation of accelerated procedures for the preparation of natural irone extracts, and the synthesis of all the ten isomers of irone, starting from commercial irone alpha.
Asunto(s)
Norisoprenoides/química , Norisoprenoides/metabolismo , Perfumes/química , Biocatálisis , Enzimas/metabolismo , Humanos , Género Iris/metabolismo , Estructura Molecular , Extractos Vegetales/química , Extractos Vegetales/metabolismo , EstereoisomerismoRESUMEN
Our sense of smell is enantioselective. This review reports interesting examples of single stereoisomers of natural and synthetic odorants, prepared via bioorganic routes, that support this statement. This article is the summary of a talk given at the Flavours & Fragrances 2004 conference in Manchester at the MCC/UMIST, 12-14 May, 2004.