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The enantiomeric pure and natural (+)-Lactones (C ≤ 14) with aromas obtained from fruits and milk are considered flavoring compounds. The flavoring value is related to the lactones' ring size and chain length, which blend in varying concentrations to produce different stone-fruit flavors. The nature-identical and enantiomeric pure (+)-lactones are only produced through whole-cell biotransformation of yeast. The industrially important γ-decalactone and δ-decalactone are produced by a four-step aerobic-oxidation of ricinoleic acid (RA) following the lactonization mechanism. Recently, metabolic engineering strategies have opened up new possibilities for increasing productivity. Another strategy for increasing yield is to immobilize the RA and remove lactones from the broth regularly. Besides flavor impact, γ-, δ-, ε-, ω-lactones of the carbon chain (C8-C12), the macro-lactones and their derivatives are vital in pharmaceuticals and healthcare. These analogues are isolated from natural sources or commercially produced via biotransformation and chemical synthesis processes for medicinal use or as active pharmaceutical ingredients. The various approaches to biotransformation have been discussed in this review to generate more prospects from a commercial point of view. Finally, this work will be regarded as a magical brick capable of containing both traditional and genetic engineering technology while contributing to a wide range of commercial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pre-treatment is the key to unlock renewable lignocellulosic biomass for the production of valuable polysaccharides and biochemicals. Mentha arvensis represent an essential oil crop widely cultivated in world for producing high value flavour constituent like menthol (75.8%). After extraction of essential oil (0.93%), the remaining biomass is generally treated as distilled lignocellulosic biomass. Present study aimed to report the potential of newly developed chemical process for the isolation of major biopolymers from distilled M. arvensis biomass and saccharification of isolated cellulose to glucose. The terpene free distilled biomass was used for the isolation of cellulose (38%), hemicellulose (20%) and lignin (8%). The physical and chemical characteristics of fresh and distilled biomass were carried out using bomb calorimeter, XRD, TGA, ICP-MS, FT-IR and CHNS. Isolated cellulose was further enzymatically hydrolysed using Cellic CTec2 (114 FPU/ml) and Trichoderma reesei enzymes (68 FPU/ml) for the maximum glucose production in shake flask method. Our studies showed that Cellic CTec2 is more suitable enzyme for the production of glucose from distilled M. arvensis biomass with the enzyme loading of 10 FPU/g isolated cellulose in 48 h at 50 °C and 4.8 pH. The maximum glucose concentration obtained experimentally was 615 mg/g of isolated cellulose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]