Medicinal Orchids: Production of Bioactive Compounds and Biomass

Abstract

Orchids are considered to be the most highly differentiated and horticulturally important plants. Additionally, orchids have been used as traditional medicines in many countries since ancient times. Different organs of orchid plants, such as leaves, stems, and bulbs, contain various biologically active substances such as alkaloids, phenolics, terpenoids, and derivatives thereof. These bioactive compounds are secondary metabolites synthesized from primary metabolites of plants. To improve the utility of orchids, it is important to identify the pharmacological function of these plants. Moreover, the establishment of technologies for the large-scale production of a biomass of orchid plants using field cultivation or biotechnological methods is needed to prevent the overaccumulation of these plants in the natural state, which would ultimately result in these plants being enlisted as endangered species. Among various factors affecting the in vitro culture of medicinal orchids, growth regulators, light, sugar and activated charcoal are the most important. To establish a successful mass production system, it is necessary to determine the optimal concentration at which these factors maximize the production of biomass and bioactive compounds. In this chapter, we provide an overview of medicinal orchids and review recent studies on the in vitro production of biomass and bioactive compounds from these plants.