Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology (May 2022)

Recent Progress on Feasible Strategies for Arbutin Production

  • Ke-Xin Xu,
  • Meng-Ge Xue,
  • Zhimin Li,
  • Bang-Ce Ye,
  • Bin Zhang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2022.914280
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10

Abstract

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Arbutin is a hydroquinone glucoside and a natural product present in various plants. Arbutin potently inhibits melanin formation. This property has been exploited in whitening cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Arbutin production relies mainly on chemical synthesis. The multi-step and complicated process can compromise product purity. With the increasing awareness of sustainable development, the current research direction prioritizes environment-friendly, biobased arbutin production. In this review, current strategies for arbutin production are critically reviewed, with a focus on plant extraction, chemical synthesis, biotransformation, and microbial fermentation. Furthermore, the bottlenecks and perspectives for future direction on arbutin biosynthesis are discussed.

Keywords