Short History & Appearances of Pyrazines, Extraction from
Molasses
Humankind has always been fascinated by the food it eats. Historically,
herbs and spices were used to improve the taste and preserve the shelf
life of food [1]. Later, thermal processing such as frying, cooking
and baking marked the beginning of changing the properties and flavors
of foods, indifferent about the occurrence of triggered organic
reactions at high temperatures. Both, the advent of modern organic
chemistry and the increasing demand of food flavors - from strawberry to
vanilla – are the reasons why chemically synthesized flavors have
appeared in our food. Many of these have been inspired by naturally
occurring fermentation processes with the help of further achievements
in chemistry, microbiology, biochemistry and genetics [2]. To cover
global demands, further progress is necessary. For example, the world’s
strawberry harvest can cover only a small amount for strawberry flavored
products such as strawberry jams, dairy products, ice cream, shampoos,
room fragrances etc . and is often enriched in flavour with
chemical or biological synthesized flavorings [personal consultations
with Axxence Slovakia s.r.o.].
Today, most flavorings are produced by chemical synthesis or derived
from natural sources. However, market analysis shows a customer trend
craving products that are ‘natural‘ or at least containing ‘natural
flavor‘ which means that ingredients are coming from natural sources
such as a spice, fruit, or vegetable (see part of the EU regulation in
chapter 2.4 (EEC No 1334/2008)). The legislation of the
regulations varies from country to country. Most commercial flavor
compounds do not qualify to be labelled ’natural’ despite being the
structural equivalent of natural flavors because they are synthesized
[3] chemically. Biological preparation is more often hindered due to
high production costs of compatible unit operations or deficiency in
availability of sources. Vanilla flavor is a popular example since only
less than 1% of its global consumption derives from vanilla orchids
[4].{Kundu, 2017 #420;Fache, 2016 #424} Thousands of tons of
vanillin are produced chemically, although ‘biovanillin’ is emerging
[5]. Public perception increases the pressure on industrial
processes towards more sustainability. However, extraction from plants
is often limited by low concentrations of the desired compounds and
their appearance in variable and complex mixtures.