Production of ferulic acid from dried bamboo shoots for the biotransformation into vanillin using a novel microbe Enterobacter aerogenes

In this investigation, the valorization of dried bamboo shoots and finding novel microbe that helps to produce high-yield biovanillin to meet market demand was discussed. An agro-industrial waste product dried bamboo shoots resists natural deterioration and when it builds up, it pollutes the environment. Ferulic acid was extracted from dried bamboo shoots by alkaline hydrolysis. The obtained ferulic acid with a yield of 63.40 µg/mL was characterized using FTIR, HPLC, and SEM analysis. Furthermore, ferulic acid was optimized by one-factor-at-a-time method, the Plackett–Burmann method, and response surface method. It was observed a sevenfold increase of ferulic acid after optimization with a maximum yield of 576.4 µg/mL. The extracted ferulic acid was used as a substrate for biotransformation of biovanillin by Enterobacter aerogenes. The obtained biovanillin with a yield of 11.43 µg/mL was characterized using FTIR, HPLC, and SEM analysis. This led to the biotransformation of ferulic acid into vanillin after it was extracted from dried bamboo shoots.