In nature, it has long been assumed that p-hydroxycinnamyl alcohols occur exclusively in their trans (E) stereoisomeric form. However, in beech bark (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) only the corresponding cis (Z) monomers were found. Experiments with beech bark and 2-¹⁴C-labelled E ferulic acid, E coniferaldehyde, and E coniferyl alcohol revealed that these compounds were efficiently incorporated into both E and Z isomers of coniferyl alcohol. On the other hand, low incorporation of 2-¹⁴C-labelled Z ferulic acid indicated that this isomer was not a preferred substrate. Our results suggest that Z coniferyl alcohol is produced by E + Z isomerization of the corresponding E isomer. Experimental evidence excluded the possibility of this unusual isomerization occurring by either chemical or photochemical means; instead it is concluded that isomerization is enzymatically mediated by a novel isomerase. / M.S.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/101178 |
| Date | January 1987 |
| Creators | Dubelsten, Paul |
| Contributors | Forest Products |
| Publisher | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Text |
| Format | x, 67 leaves, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Relation | OCLC# 16679443 |
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