Enzymatic hydrolysis of capsaicins for the production of vanillylamine using ECB deacylase from Actinoplanes utahensis

Echinocandin acylase from Actinoplanes utahensis NRRL 12052 (ECB deacylase) was used for the hydrolysis of capsaicins (trans-8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide and 8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonanamide) into vanillylamine. Caspaicins were extracted from Capsicum annuum var. Red Cayenne. The enzyme was partially purified and used for improving molar conversion and reaction rate of the biotransformation. Under optimised conditions, the preparative biotransformation of 8.2 mM capsaicins on 200 ml scale allowed for 92% molar conversions and 59% of recovered vanillylamine.