Citrus Research Institute, Southwest University, Xiema, Beibei, Chongqing, China.
Citrus Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Florida, USA.
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2021;61(12):2047-2060. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2020.1769547. Epub 2020 May 28.
Historically, spices have played an important economic role, due to their large applications and unique flavor. The supply and cost of spice materials and their corresponding natural products are often affected by environmental, geopolitical and climatic conditions. Secondary metabolite composition, including certain flavor compounds in spice plants, is recognized and considered closely related to plant classification. Both genes and enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of spice flavors are constantly identified, which provides insight into metabolic engineering of flavor compounds (i.e. aroma and pungent compounds) from spice plants. In this review, a systematic meta-analysis was carried out based on a comprehensive literature survey of the flavor profiles of 36 spice plants from nine families. We also reviewed typical biosynthetic pathways and metabolic engineering of most representative aroma and pungent compounds that may assist in the future study of spice plants as biosynthetic factories facing a new challenge in creating spice products.
从历史上看，香料因其广泛的应用和独特的风味而发挥了重要的经济作用。香料材料及其相应的天然产物的供应和成本通常受到环境、地缘政治和气候条件的影响。次级代谢产物组成，包括香料植物中的某些风味化合物，已被认识到并被认为与植物分类密切相关。参与香料风味生物合成的基因和酶不断被鉴定出来，这为香料植物中风味化合物（即香气和刺激性化合物）的代谢工程提供了依据。在本综述中，对来自 9 个科的 36 种香料植物的风味特征进行了全面的文献调查，在此基础上进行了系统的荟萃分析。我们还回顾了大多数代表性香气和刺激性化合物的典型生物合成途径和代谢工程，这可能有助于未来研究香料植物作为生物合成工厂，以应对创造香料产品的新挑战。
