Anomer-selective glucosylation of l-menthol using lyophilized cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract

A novel glucoside of l-menthol was synthesized from l-menthol and maltose by reaction with the lyophilized cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Conditions for the synthetic reaction were examined and optimized. When 50 mg of l-menthol and 1.4 M maltose in 10 mM citrate-10 mM phosphatebuffer (pH 7.0) were incubated with the lyophilized cells for 96 h at 40°C, l-menthyl α- d-glucopyranoside (α-MenG) was selectively obtained as a product, and the maximum molar conversion yield based on l-menthol supplied reached 19.8%.