Abstract
The hairy root clones of Gentiana dinarica cl-B, cl-D, cl-3, and cl-14 were cultivated in parallel in diverse simple bioreactors, including temporary immersion systems RITA® (TIS RITA®), bubble column bioreactors (BCB), and Erlenmeyer flasks (EF), and evaluated for biomass production and xanthone content. The obtained results showed that TIS RITA® and BCB containing ½ MS medium with 4% sucrose provided equally good growth conditions in which the majority of the clones displayed the higher percentage of dry matter (DM%), and xanthones norswertianin-1-O-primeveroside (nor-1-O-prim) and norswertianin production than those cultivated in EF. Thin and well branched hairy root clone cl-B grown in BCB for 7 weeks was superior regarding all growth parameters tested, including growth index (19.97), dry weight (2.88 g), and DM% (25.70%) compared to all other clones. Cl-B cultured in TIS RITA® contained the highest amount of nor-1-O-prim (56.82 mg per vessel). In BCB with constant aeration, cl-B accumulated the highest norswertianin content reaching 18.08 mg/vessel. The optimized conditions for cultivation of selected G. dinarica hairy root clones in highly aerated TIS RITA® and BCB systems contribute to the development of bioreactor technology designed for the large scale commercial production of xanthones nor-1-O-prim and norswertianin.
Highlights
The demands for plant-derived bioactive compounds for healthy food production and for the pharmaceutical industry are permanently increasing making the large scale production of these compounds economically interesting
To establish the optimal conditions for growth and xanthone production, the hairy roots of G. dinarica were cultured in three simple bioreactor systems characterized by diverse aeration mode and media agitation, including Erlenmeyer flasks, bubble column bioreactors and temporary immersion systems (TIS) RITA® bioreactors (Figure 1)
Dry matter percentage significantly depended on sucrose concentration, bioreactor type, and sucrose concentration x bioreactor type interaction, while the influence of the type of hairy root clone was insignificant
Summary
The demands for plant-derived bioactive compounds for healthy food production and for the pharmaceutical industry are permanently increasing making the large scale production of these compounds economically interesting. Despite the significant advance in development of synthetic chemistry techniques, the plants are still the most important source of new bioactive compounds and drugs. The species comprising the Gentianaceae family are interesting for the pharmaceutical industry as they contain numerous compounds with important phytochemical properties [1]. As in the case of other medicinal plants, bioactive compounds in Gentians are present in quantities insufficient for pharmaceutical trials and mass production. In vitro techniques enable plant cultivation in controlled environmental conditions offering establishment of facilities suitable for large scale production of plant biomass and diverse bioactive compounds [4,5]
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