Sustainable (–)-Ambrox Production: Chemistry Meets Biocatalysis

(-)-Ambrox, the most prominent olfactive component of ambergris, is one of the most widely used biodegradable fragrance ingredients. It is traditionally produced from the diterpene sclareol chemically modified and cyclized into (-)-ambrox. The availability of the new feedstock (E)-β-farnesene produced by fermentation opened new routes to (E,E)-homofarnesol as a precursor to (-)-ambrox. Combining the chemical transformation of (E)-β-farnesene to (E,E)-homofarnesol and its enzymatic cyclization with an engineered Squalene Hopene Cyclase provided a new sustainable route for the production of (-)-ambrox at industrial scale. Compared to the traditional synthesis from sclareol, the new and innovative route from (E)-β-farnesene improves atom and step economy, reduces waste production, solvent and energy consumption.