Vitamins and Nutraceuticals from the Perspective of Process Research

Abstract

The development of efficient, sustainable low-cost processes is the basis for providing high-quality products for daily life applications in human and animal nutrition. In this account, the importance of chemical process research towards ecologically benign and competitively advantageous processes for the large-scale preparation of various vitamins, nutraceuticals and fine chemicals is highlighted. Selected and representative examples are given, including contributions from collaborations with external partners. General trends include the shift from stoichiometric to catalytic protocols and from batch to continuous processes. In addition, the use of renewable (bio-based) raw materials as an alternative to access key building blocks for the production of vitamins is addressed.

Discrimination of stereoisomers by one‐dimensional 13C NMR: All 16 stereoisomers of 4‐hydroxy‐α‐tocopherol resolved

“…In the course of our studies on vitamin E syntheses, [18] we obtained 4-hydroxy-α-tocopherol (1) as an intermediate in the reduction of 4-oxochromanone 5 (Scheme 1). Under conditions of the Kabbe-Heitzer condensation reaction, [19,20] acetophenone derivative 2 [21] was transformed with hexahydrofarnesylacetone (4, [22] obtained from 3) to ketone 5, which was subsequently reduced by borohydride to 1.…”

Italy's nutraceutical industry: a process and bioeconomy perspective into a key area of the global economy

“…Showing further evidence of this ongoing change, a leading researcher in the fine chemical and vitamin industry (whose company supplies nutraceutical ingredients to companies across the world) noted in his 2018 account on vitamins and nutraceuticals from the perspective of process research that there were three ‘general trends’ concerning the large‐scale preparation of vitamins, nutraceuticals, and fine chemicals: (i) the shift from stoichiometric to catalytic protocols, (ii) the shift from batch to continuous processes, and (iii) the use of bio‐based raw materials in place of petroleum‐derived materials to access key building blocks …”

“…32 Showing further evidence of this ongoing change, a leading researcher in the fine chemical and vitamin industry (whose company supplies nutraceutical ingredients to companies across the world) noted in his 2018 account on vitamins and nutraceuticals from the perspective of process research that there were three 'general trends' concerning the large-scale preparation of vitamins, nutraceuticals, and fine chemicals: (i) the shift from stoichiometric to catalytic protocols, (ii) the shift from batch to continuous processes, and (iii) the use of bio-based raw materials in place of petroleum-derived materials to access key building blocks. 33 For instance, the company mentioned above using coenzyme Q10 to produce its nanostructured nutraceutical, manufactures the coenzyme Q via molybdenum-catalyzed allylic substitution for the coupling of protected aromatic precursors with the C 50 side chain of isodecaprenol obtained from tobacco-derived solanesol, developed by Netscher, Bonrath, and co-workers at the company's research laboratories. 34,33…”

“…For instance, the company mentioned above using coenzyme Q10 to produce its nanostructured nutraceutical, manufactures the coenzyme Q via molybdenum‐catalyzed allylic substitution for the coupling of protected aromatic precursors with the C 50 side chain of isodecaprenol obtained from tobacco‐derived solanesol, developed by Netscher, Bonrath, and co‐workers at the company's research laboratories …”