Cell culture of Saussurea medusa in a periodically submerged air-lift bioreactor

Medicinal plant cell suspension cultures: pharmaceutical applications and high-yielding strategies for the desired secondary metabolites

The development of plant tissue (including organ and cell) cultures for the production of secondary metabolites has been underway for more than three decades. Plant cell cultures with the production of high-value secondary metabolites are promising potential alternative sources for the production of pharmaceutical agents of industrial importance. Medicinal plant cell suspension cultures (MPCSC), which are characterized with the feature of fermentation with plant cell totipotency, could be a promising alternative "chemical factory". However, low productivity becomes an inevitable obstacle limiting further commercialization of MPCSC and the application to large-scale production is still limited to a few processes. This review generalizes and analyzes the recent progress of this bioproduction platform for the provision of medicinal chemicals and outlines a range of trials taken or underway to increase product yields from MPCSC. The scale-up of MPCSC, which could lead to an unlimited supply of pharmaceuticals, including strategies to overcome and solution of the associated challenges, is discussed.

Saussurea medusa cell suspension cultures for flavonoid production

Saussurea medusa Maxim. is a valuable traditional Chinese herb. The flavonoids are the main active pharmaceutical compounds in this medicinal plant species and have effective anti-tumor and anti-inflammation properties. This species is now almost extinct in China because of over-exploitation. The establishment of plant cell cultures would be a promising alternative to avoid extinction of this species and establish cultivation for the production of bioactive flavonoids. The callus is induced from leaf explants of S. medusa on Murashiage and Skoog medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L 6-BA, 2 mg/L NAA, 30 g/L sucrose, and 5 g/L agar. A fine cell suspension is established from the induced light-yellow calluses in the MS liquid medium with 30 g/L sucrose, 0.5 mg/L BA, and 2.0 mg/L NAA for biosynthesis of flavonoids. The kinetics of cell growth and flavonoid accumulation in the cell suspension cultures are investigated. The highest dry weight and flavonoid production reach 17.2 g/L and 607.8 mg/L respectively after 15 d. Significantly high antioxidant activity and flavonoids accumulate in the cell suspension cultures of S. medusa.

Development and application of medicinal plant tissue cultures for production of drugs and herbal medicinals in China

In the search for new drugs and natural remedies, medicinal plants or herbs used in folk and traditional medicines are promising candidates. For the naturally rare and slowly growing plant species, plant tissue culture in bioreactors provides a cost-effective, sustainable and well-controlled means for mass production of the active principles of medicinal plants, and enables fuller utilization of their biosynthetic capacity. Recognizing that natural resources and agricultural land in China are limited,many Chinese research groups have engaged in the development of plant tissue culture techniques and processes for the cultivation and rapid propagation of medicinal plants, and for the biosynthesis and biotransformation of phytomedicines. This review primarily aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the major achievements in this and related research areas in China over the last three decades, but also to identify the difficulties and predict future trends in developing plant tissue culture biotechnology for the manufacture of bioactive natural products.