Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Nov 30;11(23):3311.
doi: 10.3390/plants11233311.

Vanilla beyond Vanilla planifolia and Vanilla × tahitensis: Taxonomy and Historical Notes, Reproductive Biology, and Metabolites

Renatha Tavares de Oliveira  1 , Joana Paula da Silva Oliveira  1 , Andrea Furtado Macedo  1
Affiliations
Review

Vanilla beyond Vanilla planifolia and Vanilla × tahitensis: Taxonomy and Historical Notes, Reproductive Biology, and Metabolites

Renatha Tavares de Oliveira et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

Vanilla is a worldwide cherished condiment, and its volatile market is associated with the so-called "vanilla crisis". Even though only two species (Vanilla planifolia and V. × tahitensis) are cultivated on a large scale for commercial purposes, the Vanilla genus is comprised of 140 species. The present review article discusses the facets of this crisis, and vanilla crop wild relatives (WRs) are showcased as alternatives to overcome them. Historical, taxonomic, and reproductive biology aspects of the group were covered. Emphasis was given to the metabolic characterization of the vanilla crop WRs, highlighting their main chemical classes and the potential flavor descriptors. Many of these species can produce important flavor compounds such as vanillin, vanillic acid, and acetovanillone, among others. Overall, this review compiles valuable information that can help unravel new chapters of the history of this treasured product by evidencing the biotechnological potential of vanilla crop WRs.

Keywords: Orchidaceae; flavor; food; fruits; phytochemistry.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Habit of Vanilla planifolia in the Orchid Garden of the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro, city of Rio de Janeiro (RJ, Brazil). Photo by: Aires Vanessa C. dos Santos.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Open fruit of Vanilla sp. with vanillin crystals. Photo by: Marcelo Kuhlmann retrieved from “Frutos Atrativos do Cerrado” Project (http://www.frutosatrativosdocerrado.bio.br and @marcelo_kuhlmann Instagram profile, Accessed on 20 October 2022).
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) Flower and floral buds of Vanilla siamensis. (b) Flower after labellum removal, with the column in evidence. (c) Longitudinal section of the column showing the anther bearing the pollen mass (Po), rostellum membrane (R), and stigma (St). The figure was adapted from Chaipanich et al. [51].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Ants’ predatory behavior in Vanilla flowers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (A) Ant with predatory behavior in Vanilla planifolia flower; (B) Vanilla bahiana flower damaged by ants. Photos by: (A) Aíres Vanessa Cavalcante dos Santos; (B) Renatha Tavares de Oliveira.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Pool of the most frequent chemical (A) classes and (B) subclasses correlated to compounds identified in vanilla crop WR and hybrid species.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Pool of the most frequent flavor descriptors, retrieved from the Flavor DB, associated with molecules identified in the fruits of vanilla crop WR and hybrid species. The numbers represent the count in which each descriptor is reported.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gallage N.J., Møller B.L. Vanilla: The Most Popular Flavour. In: Schwab W., Lange B.M., Wüst M., editors. Biotechnology of Natural Products. Springer International Publishing; Cham, Switzerland: 2018. pp. 3–24.
    1. Karremans A.P., Chinchilla I.F., Rojas-Alvarado G., Cedeño-Fonseca M., Damián A., Léotard G. A Reappraisal of Neotropical Vanilla. With a Note on Taxonomic Inflation and the Importance of Alpha Taxonomy in Biological Studies. Lankesteriana. 2020;20:395–497. doi: 10.15517/lank.v20i3.45203. - DOI
    1. Fraga C.N.D., Couto D.R., Pansarin E.R. Two New Species of Vanilla (Orchidaceae) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Phytotaxa. 2017;296:63. doi: 10.11646/phytotaxa.296.1.4. - DOI
    1. Andriamihaja C.F., Ramarosandratana A.V., Grisoni M., Jeannoda V., Besse P. The Leafless Vanilla Species-Complex from the South-West Indian Ocean Region: A Taxonomic Puzzle and a Model for Orchid Evolution and Conservation Research. Diversity. 2020;12:443. doi: 10.3390/d12120443. - DOI
    1. Ranadive A.S. Vanillin and Related Flavor Compounds in Vanilla Extracts Made from Beans of Various Global Origins. J. Agric. Food Chem. 1992;40:1922–1924. doi: 10.1021/jf00022a039. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources