Nanoelicitation: A Promising and Emerging Technology for Triggering the Sustainable In Vitro Production of Secondary Metabolites in Medicinal Plants

Abstract

AbstractTo obtain larger amounts of secondary metabolites is essentially needed by the global industrial market that is not feasible by traditional methods because these are time-consuming and result in eradication of plant stock by overexploitation. Therefore, in vitro culturing techniques are adopted to obtain the maximum quantity of secondary metabolites in a minimum time. Elicitors are key players for getting desired yields of secondary metabolites in plants. Eliciting the in vitro cell and tissue cultures is an efficient approach for the production of medicinally important plant secondary metabolites. Different parameters of optimized micropropagation protocols are exploited to be used as elicitors for further enhancement of secondary metabolites from medicinal plant species. The secondary metabolites produced by the plant cells include phenolics, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and tannins. These metabolites are boosted under stressful conditions, whether biotic or abiotic in origin. The potential role of nanoparticles in the enhancement of secondary metabolic products in medicinal plants is a recent hot topic in the field of medicinal plant biotechnology. Nanoparticles have evolved as potent novel elicitors that significantly stimulate medicinal plant secondary metabolism. Various kinds of nanoparticles including metallic and metallic oxide nanoparticles and carbon-based nanomaterials are believed to induce abiotic stress to medicinal plants under in vitro conditions by which plant defense system is elicited, triggering biochemical as well as physiological responses, consequently producing enhanced and sustainable quantities of secondary metabolites. These industrially important bioactive metabolites are beneficial for the prevention of multiple diseases in the health-care system. Therefore, nanoelicitation should be applied as an effective tool for ameliorated stimulation and accumulation of secondary metabolites. However, in some cases, after the efficient uptake and translocation, nanoparticles produce deleterious effects causing phytotoxicity.KeywordsNanoparticlesElicitationSecondary metabolitesMedicinal plantsBiotechnology