Biosynthesis of the allylphenols eugenol and methyleugenol in Ocymum basilicum L.

Abstract

The allylphenols eugenol and methyleugenol are synthesized in O. basilicum from ferulic acid and coniferyl alcohol whose sidechains are converted into allyl groups with retention of all carbon atoms, and hydrogen atoms of the hydroxy-group are quantitatively incorporated into the allyl group; a previous hypothesis for the biosynthesis of these compounds, which involved loss of the C-1 from these precursors, has therefore to be rejected.