Guaiacol

May 11, 2023
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Guaiacol is an organic compound with the formula C6H4(OH)(OCH3). It is a phenolic compound containing a methoxy functional group. Guaiacol appears as a viscous colorless oil, although aged or impure samples are often yellowish. It occurs widely in nature and is a common product of the pyrolysis of wood.

Occurrence

Guaiacol is usually derived from guaiacum or wood creosote.

It is produced by a variety of plants. It is also found in essential oils from celery seeds, tobacco leaves, orange leaves, and lemon peels. The pure substance is colorless, but samples become yellow upon exposure to air and light. The compound is present in wood smoke, resulting from the pyrolysis of lignin. The compound contributes to the flavor of many substances such as whiskey and roasted coffee.

  • Duffey, S. S.; Aldrich, J. R.; Blum, M. S. (1977). “Biosynthesis of phenol and guaiacol by the hemipteran Leptoglossus phyllopus“. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology B. 56 (2B): 101–102. doi:10.1016/0305-0491(77)90029-3. PMID 830476.
  • Burdock, G. A. (1995). Encyclopedia of Food and Color Additives. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. pp. 1244–1245. ISBN 978-0849394126.
  • Gallegos, Jenna (August 17, 2017). “The best way to drink whiskey, according to science”. The Washington Post. Guaiacol is what gives whiskey that smoky, spicy, peaty flavor.
  • Dorfner, R.; Ferge, T.; Kettrup, A.; Zimmermann, R.; Yeretzian, C. (Sep 2003). “Real-time monitoring of 4-vinylguaiacol, guaiacol, and phenol during coffee roasting by resonant laser ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry”. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 51 (19): 5768–5773. doi:10.1021/jf0341767. ISSN 0021-8561. PMID 12952431.

Preparation

The compound was first isolated by Otto Unverdorben in 1826. Guaiacol is produced by methylation of o–catechol, for example using potash and dimethyl sulfate:C6H4(OH)2 + (CH3O)2SO2 → C6H4(OH)(OCH3) + HO(CH3O)SO2

Laboratory methods

Guaiacol can be prepared by diverse routes in the laboratory. o-Anisidine, derived in two steps from anisole, can be hydrolyzed via its diazonium derivative. (Anisole aka methoxybenzene, a colorless liquid with a smell reminiscent of anise seed and a precursor to perfumes, insect pheromones, and pharmaceuticals. Synthetic anethole is prepared from anisole.) Guaiacol can be synthesized by the dimethylation of catechol followed by selective mono-demethylation. C6H4(OCH3)2 + C2H5SNa → C6H4(OCH3)(ONa) + C2H5SCH3

Uses and chemical reactions

Syringyl/guaiacyl ratio

Lignin, comprising a major fraction of biomass, is sometimes classified according to the guaiacyl component. Pyrolysis of lignin from gymnosperms gives more guaiacol, resulting from removal of the propenyl group of coniferyl alcohol. These lignins are said to have a high guaiacyl (or G) content. In contrast, lignins derived from sinapyl alcohol affords syringol. A high syringyl (or S) content is indicative of lignin from angiosperms. Sugarcane bagasse is one useful source of guaiacol; pyrolysis of the bagasse lignins yields compounds including guaiacol, 4-methylguaiacol and 4-vinylguaiacol.

Chemical intermediate

Guaiacol is a useful precursor for the synthesis of other compounds. Being derived from biomass, it is a potential component or precursor to “green fuels”.

Guaiacol is also a useful reagent for the quantification of peroxidases, as in the presence of hydrogen peroxide these enzymes will catalyse with it the formation of tetraguaiacol, a coloured compound that can be quantified by its absorbance at 420–470 nm, following the equation:

4 guaiacol (colourless) + 2 H2O2 → tetraguaiacol (coloured) + 8 H2O.

Medicinal and food

Guaiacol is a precursor to various flavorants, such as eugenol, an allyl chain-substituted guaiacol, a member of the allylbenzene class of chemical compounds. Eugenol is a colorless to pale yellow, aromatic oily liquid extracted from certain essential oils especially from clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, basil and bay leaf. It is present in concentrations of 80–90% in clove bud oil and at 82–88% in clove leaf oil. Eugenol is used as a flavor or aroma ingredient in teas, meats, cakes, perfumes, cosmetics, flavorings, and essential oils. Eugenol is an ingredient in some insecticides. Where readily available, it presents a humane method to euthanize sick and diseased fish either by direct overdose or to induce sleep before an overdose of eugenol. Eugenol is an ingredient in some fungicides and weed control products used in agricultural practices in the European Union. It is used in hundreds of household products, such as pesticides, pet care, laundry, cleaning, and paper or vehicle products. Taken orally in high doses for chronic periods, eugenol may cause liver toxicity. An overdose is possible, causing a wide range of symptoms from blood in the urine, to convulsions, diarrhea, nausea, unconsciousness, dizziness, rapid heart rate, or acute kidney injury. N-acetylcysteine may be used to treat people with eugenol or clove oil overdose. That’s very interesting. Eugenol is subject to restrictions on its use in perfumery

An estimated 85% of the world’s supply of vanillin comes from guaiacol. Because consumers tend to prefer natural vanillin to synthetic vanillin, methods such as microbial fermentation have been adopted. The route entails the condensation reaction of glyoxylic acid with guaiacol to give mandelic acid, which is oxidized to produce phenylglyoxylic acid. This acid undergoes a decarboxylation to afford vanillin. The crude vanillin product can then be purified with vacuum distillation and recrystallization.

  • Allen, C. F. H.; Gates, J. W., Jr (1955). “o-Eugenol”. Organic Syntheses.; Collective Volume, vol. 3, p. 418
  • Esposito, Lawrence J.; Formanek, K.; Kientz, G.; Mauger, F.; Maureaux, V.; Robert, G.; Truchet, F. (1997). “Vanillin”. Kirk–Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. Vol. 24 (4th ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 812–825.

Guaiacol is also used medicinally as an expectorant, antiseptic, and local anesthetic.

Guaiacol is produced in the gut of desert locusts, Schistocerca gregaria, by the breakdown of plant material. This process is undertaken by the gut bacterium Pantoea agglomerans (Enterobacter). It is one of the main components of the pheromones that cause locust swarming.

Safety

Methoxyphenols are potential biomarkers of biomass smoke exposure, such as from inhalation of woodsmoke. Dietary sources of methoxyphenols overwhelm the contribution from inhalational exposures to woodsmoke.

See also

References

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  5. Burdock, G. A. (1995). Encyclopedia of Food and Color Additives. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. pp. 1244–1245. ISBN 978-0849394126.
  6. Gallegos, Jenna (August 17, 2017). “The best way to drink whiskey, according to science”. The Washington Post. Guaiacol is what gives whiskey that smoky, spicy, peaty flavor.
  7. Dorfner, R.; Ferge, T.; Kettrup, A.; Zimmermann, R.; Yeretzian, C. (Sep 2003). “Real-time monitoring of 4-vinylguaiacol, guaiacol, and phenol during coffee roasting by resonant laser ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry”. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 51 (19): 5768–5773. doi:10.1021/jf0341767. ISSN 0021-8561. PMID 12952431.
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