Metabolic engineering strategies for food additive ferulic acid production

Ferulic acid, found mainly in plant cells, is a precious chemical widely used in food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and other fields. Served as a food additive, ferulic acid is paid more attention. Previously, chemical synthesis was manufactured for ferulic acid, which resulted in environmental pollution. Currently, metabolic engineering and synthetic biology approaches have promoted vigorous development in the bio-industry. The production of ferulic acid using a metabolic engineering strategy showed low cost and environmental advantages. This paper reviews the application of metabolic engineering for ferulic acid production and the associated challenges. Finally, the techno-economic feasibility of metabolic engineering to produce ferulic acid and the development prospects of synthetic biology are discussed.