Vanilla bahiana

Vanilla bahiana is endemic to Brazil's Atlantic rainforest. It is closely related to Vanilla planifolia, a main producer of vanilla.

The vanillin content of the samples studied is within the same order of magnitude as in the commercial varieties of V. planifolia. The plant expresses some of the most important enzymes in the biosynthesis of vanilla flavor compounds, such as vanillin synthase, which is crucial for transforming ferulic acid into vanillin. Vanillin, anisyl acetate, 4-methyl guaiacol, p-cresol, benzyl alcohol and 2,3-butanediol were identified as volatile compounds in a chemical study of four Brazilian vanilla species that included V. bahiana.

Three mature green pods of V. bahiana were collected in the Sugarloaf Mountain and Urca Natural Monument area of Rio de Janeiro city, an area of protected Atlantic rainforest. Analysis of the pods identified a total of 2,236 proteins, including a wide range related to flowering, fruiting and vanilla-flavor production. Of these, 75 were highlighted as useful for the synthesis of compounds related to vanilla flavor, such as vanillin synthase.

The pods were freeze-dried and powdered, and six extraction solutions were tested on them. Vanillin synthase was extracted successfully with 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate, which also widened the variety of proteins recovered.

Extracts of four Brazilian vanilla species, V. bahiana among them, were applied to teas and creams in consumer acceptance tests. Vanilla tea from V. pompona was accepted best, and every cream sample reached an acceptance rate above 80%.

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