In 1879,Phenylalanine was discovered first time by Scholze and Barbieri.

In 1960s,L-phenylalanine was successfully produced by fermentation in a Japanese company, and was put into large scale production by Kyowa Hakko kogoyo Co., Ltd.. 

In 1956,A trial to produce L-phenylalanine by a ammonia-transfer enzyme was conducted in Japan.

In 1961, Koukol and Conn found phenylalanine ammonia lyase(PAL)(E.C.4.1.15).

In 1982,Erlenmeyer and Lipe synthesized a-amino-b-phenyl propionitrile  from  hyacinthin ,ammonia and  hydrocyanic acid, then  got  phenylalanine by saponification.

In 1983,Plochl synthesized phenylalanine from benzaldehyde and acetyl glycine.

In 1983,Genex, an American company, produced L-Phenylalanine from  cinnamic acid using phenylalanine ammonia lyase(PAL)in large scale.

In 1983,Ajinomoto and Searle produced L-phenylalanine by fermentation.

In 1998, The Nutralab of Vitasweet Co., Ltd. started trials on production of L-phenylalanine.

In 2002,Vitasweet started to produce L-phenylalanine  in large scale.