Status of research on lactones used as aroma: A bibliometric review

The lactones belong to a class of organic compounds relevant to the flavors and fragrances industry by imparting fruity, creamy, and aromatic notes with application in various products in the food, beverage, and cosmetics. The aim of this review was providing the status of the published research and the panorama of patents filed under biotechnological production of aroma lactones (BPAL). Therefore, a bibliometric analysis and a technological prospection were carried out on the BPAL between 2000 and 2022. These tools permitted to identify relevant publications, research networks, and prominent journals, authors, institutions, and countries. One hundred and nine scientific publications were recovered in Scopus® and Web of Science™, while in 1161 patent documents were reviewed in The Lens platform. The results showed that both scientific and technological productions on BPAL have been developing in recent years. Biotechnology Letters and Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology were the two journals with more BPAL research publications. Portugal stood out in the number of scientific publications, and China had the highest number of patent applications. Shanghai Institute of Technology and Konkuk University have not only excelled in scientific production, but also in production technology. The low prevalence of international cooperation consolidated networks was observed. Initially, the research focused on the production of γ-decalactone from the biotransformation of methyl ricinoleate by Yarrowia lipolytica yeast. This review revealed that, in recent years, the researchers have also investigated the production of other lactones, e. g. γ-dodecalactone, from non-hydroxylated fatty acids using enzymatic hydrolysis.