The Use of Enzyme Systems of the Genus Prunus for the Production of Benzaldehyde

Abstract Aim Benzaldehyde occurs in a number of plants, especially in the family Rosaceae and in particular in the genus Prunus. In nature, there are more than 100 genera and 3,000 species in the Rosaceae family. The objective of this study was to investigate the chemical composition of leaf essential oil of peach (Prunus persica L.) and cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus L.) as a new potential source of natural benzaldehyde. Methods The essential oil was prepared by hydrodistillation, and chemical constituents were determined by GC-FID, GC-MS and chromatographic profiles were compared with each other. Results The results show that essential oil obtained from peach and cherry laurel leaves appear to be a promising source of natural benzaldehyde. Under laboratory conditions the benzaldehyde content in peach and cherry laurel leaves reached 95.5% and 99.7%, respectively. Conclusions Laboratory and pilot experiments confirmed that by processing of 200–300 kg of green leaves of various species of the genus Prunus, especially peach and cherry laurel, 1 kg of benzaldehyde can be obtained.