Cell Culture for Production of Secondary Metabolites

Abstract

Phytochemicals derived from secondary metabolism have long been processed for pharmaceuticals, food additives, flavors and fragrances, and for products like latex and tannins. Traditionally, phytochemicals have been obtained by extraction from plants growing in the wild or in plantations. Wild plants, however, have become the subject of environmental concerns and may not be open to harvesting as before. Plantation crops are subject to biological and climatic adversities, as well as economic and political instabilities. Alternatives to collecting wild plants and growing plantations are the result of new technology, in particular, the development of plant tissue and cell culture. The in vitro mode of production, however, has yet to prove its profitability and may in future be surpassed by medicinal and industrial plants improved by plant breeding and genetic engineering. Still, the demonstration of secondary metabolites in plant cell cultures and strategies to exploit their potential is valid (Constabel, 1990).