Antioxidant canolol production from a renewable feedstock via an engineered decarboxylase

Canolol (4-vinylsyringol, VS), a potent antioxidant and an alkylperoxyl radical scavenger originally discovered in crude canola oil (rapeseed), is produced by decarboxylation of sinapic acid (SA) during canola seed roasting. Chemical syntheses of VS from SA require thermal or microwave induced decarboxylation in the presence of a base. A laboratory-evolved enzyme, designated SA decarboxylase (SAD), was developed in this study. In a biphasic bioreactor system, SAD was shown to produce VS from SA extracts prepared from canola meal with an overall yield of 3.0 mg VS per g of canola meal. In addition, we investigated the application of VS in polymerization to produce polyvinylsyringol (PVS) as a potential biodegradable polymer. The characteristics of PVS determined by thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and nanoindentation tests are described.