Abstract
Plant cell culture technologies have made possible the production of a wide variety of pharmaceuticals such as alkaloids, terpenoids, steroids, saponins, monoterpenes, flavonoids and amino acids. The standardization of technologies for the production of plant metabolites through cell cultures helps in understanding the biology of their biosynthesis and accumulation. Various factors such as physical, chemical, nutritional, and genetic influence the production of metabolites in plant cell cultures. The controlled production of plant metabolites through cell cultures provides a suitable alternative not only in relieving pressure from natural habitats of plant species but also provides conditions suitable for year-round production of metabolites. The production of plant metabolites has been enhanced by exposing the cultured cells to biotic and abiotic elicitors. Off late, the induction of hairy roots has been found suitable in the production of metabolites synthesized in various parts of plants. The lack of proper understanding about the biology of biosynthesis of plant metabolites has been a major stumbling block, in addition to poor amenability of medicinal and aromatic plant species to in vitro conditions. Continuous efforts are required to be made in upscaling the production of metabolites on large scale. Least attention has been given towards working out the cost-effectiveness of metabolite production through cell cultures.
Highlights
The plant kingdom has provided a wide variety of natural products with diverse chemical structures and a vast array of biological activities, many of which found applications in health sciences
Some of the notable cell culture methods which have been employed for large scale production of metabolites are production of taxol from cell suspension cultures of Taxus mairei [6]; production of paclitaxel and its related taxanes from different Taxus species; production of berberine through cell suspension culture of Coptis japonica; production of vincristine and vinblastine from Catharanthus roseus [7, 8], and production of taxoids from cell suspension cultures of Taxus cuspidate [9] (Table 1)
The prime importance of choosing a right explant for the production of phytochemicals lies in the fact that the biosynthesis and accumulation of metabolites is very specific to tissues and organs along with their developmental stages
Summary
The plant kingdom has provided a wide variety of natural products with diverse chemical structures and a vast array of biological activities, many of which found applications in health sciences. The reckless collection of plants has put several of them under the categories of endangered or at the verge of extinction This has prompted industries and scientists to find the alternative technologies for the production of phytopharmaceuticals so that the natural habitat of plants can be preserved. Plant cell cultures have served as potential renewable resources for the production of valuable medicinal compounds, flavors, fragrances, pigments, dyes, cosmetics and fine chemicals. All these compounds belong to a group collectively known as secondary metabolites. The current review is a survey and analysis of current status of various plant cell culture technologies used for the production of medicinally important metabolites. The future prospects of cell culture technologies in light of successful case studies have been reviewed and possible improvements are suggested
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