Vanillic acid is a dihydroxybenzoic acid derivative used as a flavoring agent. It is an oxidized form of vanillin. It is also an intermediate in the production of vanillin from ferulic acid. A two-step batch fermentation-bioconversion of vanillin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde) to vanillic acid (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic acid) was developed, utilizing whole cells of Streptomyces viridosporus T7A. In the first step, cells were grown in a yeast extract-vanillin medium under conditions where cells produced an aromatic aldehyde oxidase. In the second step, vanillin was incubated with the active cells and was quantitatively oxidized to vanillic acid which accumulated in the growth medium. Vanillic acid was readily recovered from the spent medium by a combination of acid precipitation and ether extraction at greater than or equal to 96% molar yield and upon recrystallization from glacial acetic acid was obtained in greater than or equal to 99% purity.
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