Valorization of lignocellulosic waste (coconut coir) for bio-vanillin production having antioxidant and anticancer activity against human breast cancer cells (MCF-7)

The usage of agro-waste for producing natural flavor has gained research interest. Vanillin is a vital flavoring compound widely used in food industries. In the present study, Bacillus aryabhattai NCIM 5503 efficiently utilizes the temple waste coconut coir as the sole carbon source for bio-vanillin production. The most influential process variables, i.e., temperature, pH, and trace metal solution, were identified based on central composite rotary design. Response surface methodology was employed to optimize these process variables, and an enhanced bio-vanillin yield (14.78 %) was obtained. The result demonstrated that a yield of 0.528 ± 0.04 g/100 g bio-vanillin was obtained under optimum conditions (temperature 30 ℃; pH 9; trace metal solution 1.27 mL) after 72 h of fermentation. The predicted response was experimentally validated, resulting in a maximum bio-vanillin of 0.533 ± 0.03 g/100 g. High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) of extracted bio-flavor showed a distinct fingerprinting profile similar to bio-vanillin. The bio-flavor produced by B. aryabhattai was characterized as bio-vanillin by FTIR and GC-MS. The antioxidant and anticancer potential of bio-vanillin were also studied. The result revealed that the extracted bio-vanillin has anticancer activity against human breast cancer cells (MCF-7). The experimental results showed the feasibility of SSF as an alternative for producing bio-vanillin through agro-waste valorization.