Cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenases (CAD; ) catalyse the reversible conversion of p-hydroxycinnamaldehydes to their corresponding alcohols, leading to the biosynthesis of lignin in plants. Outside of plants their role is less defined. The gene for cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase from Helico-bacter pylori(HpCAD) was cloned in Escherichia coliand the recombinant enzyme characterized for substrate specificity. The enzyme is a monomer of kDa found predominantly in the cytosol of the bacterium
