Enhanced anthocyanins and resveratrol production in Vitis vinifera cell suspension culture by indanoyl-isoleucine, N-linolenoyl-l-glutamine and insect saliva

Endophytic fungus Penicillium steckii DF33 promoted tanshinones biosynthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza by regulating the expression of CYP450 genes

Salvia miltiorrhiza, a prominent traditional Chinese medicinal resource, has been extensively employed in the management of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular ailments. Ensuring the consistency of S. miltiorrhiza raw materials revolves around the imperative task of maintaining stable tanshinones content and composition. An effective approach in this regard involves the utilization of endophytic fungi as inducers. Within this context, our study spotlights an endophytic fungus, Penicillium steckii DF33, isolated from the roots of S. miltiorrhiza. Remarkably, this fungus has demonstrated a significant capacity to boost the biosynthesis and accumulation of tanshinones. The primary objective of this investigation is to elucidate the underlying regulatory mechanism by which DF33 enhances and regulates the biosynthesis and accumulation of tanshinones. This is achieved through its influence on the differential expression of crucial CYP450 genes within the S. miltiorrhiza hairy roots system. The results revealed that the DF33 elicitor not only promotes the growth of hairy roots but also enhances the accumulation of tanshinones. Notably, the content of cryptotanshinone was reached 1.6452 ± 0.0925 mg g-1, a fourfold increase compared to the control group. Our qRT-PCR results further demonstrate that the DF33 elicitor significantly up-regulates the expression of most key enzyme genes (GGPPS, CPS1, KSL1, CYP76AH1, CYP76AH3, CYP76AK1, CYP71D411) involved in the tanshinone biosynthesis pathway. This effect is particularly pronounced in certain critical CYP450 genes and Tanshinone ⅡA synthase (SmTⅡAS), with their expression levels peaking at 7 days or 14 days, respectively. In summary, endophytic P. steckii DF33 primarily enhances tanshinone biosynthesis by elevating the expression levels of pivotal enzyme genes associated with the modification and transformation stages within the tanshinone biosynthesis pathway. These findings underscore the potential of employing plant probiotics, specifically endophytic and root-associated microbes, to facilitate the biosynthesis and transformation of vital constituents in medicinal plants, and this approach holds promise for enhancing the quality of traditional Chinese medicinal materials.

Anthocyanin Production from Plant Cell and Organ Cultures In Vitro

Anthocyanins are water-soluble pigments found in plants. They exist in various colors, including red, purple, and blue, and are utilized as natural colorants in the food and cosmetics industries. The pharmaceutical industry uses anthocyanins as therapeutic compounds because they have several medicinal qualities, including anti-obesity, anti-cancer, antidiabetic, neuroprotective, and cardioprotective effects. Anthocyanins are conventionally procured from colored fruits and vegetables and are utilized in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. However, the composition and concentration of anthocyanins from natural sources vary quantitively and qualitatively; therefore, plant cell and organ cultures have been explored for many decades to understand the production of these valuable compounds. A great deal of research has been carried out on plant cell cultures using varied methods, such as the selection of suitable cell lines, medium optimization, optimization culture conditions, precursor feeding, and elicitation for the production of anthocyanin pigments. In addition, metabolic engineering technologies have been applied for the hyperaccumulation of these compounds in varied plants, including tobacco and arabidopsis. In this review, we describe various strategies applied in plant cell and organ cultures for the production of anthocyanins.

Screening of Indanoyl-Type Compounds as Elicitors of Isoflavonoid Phytoalexins in Colombian Common Bean Cultivars

Eleven indanoyl derivatives were synthesized and, along with methyl jasmonate, evaluated as isoflavonoid-phytoalexin elicitors in two cultivars of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cvs. ICA-Cerinza and Uribe Rosado, tolerant and susceptible to anthracnose, respectively). Indanoyl derivatives (an ester, two amides, and eight indanoyl-amino acid conjugates) were obtained from 1-oxo-indane-4-carboxylic acid. In general, the accumulation of isoflavonoid-type phytoalexins, such as isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, and 2′-hydroxygenistein), isoflavanones (dalbergioidin and kievitone), isoflavan (phaseollinisoflavan), coumestrol, and pterocarpans (phaseollidin and phaseollin), was dependent on the common bean cultivar, the post-induction time, and the elicitor structure. Isoflavones, dalbergioidin, and coumestrol reached their highest amounts during the first 48 to 72 h, whereas kievitone, phaseollinisoflavano, and the pterocarpans reached maximum levels between 72 and 96 h. The 1-oxo-indanoyl-L-isoleucine methyl ester elicited the highest levels of phytoalexins (similar to those elicited by the methyl jasmonate) and showed no significant phytotoxic effects on common bean seedlings. The indanoyl-type synthetic elicitor, 1-oxo-indanoyl-L-isoleucine methyl ester, may represent a promising agronomic alternative for disease control in common bean by enhancing the accumulation of antimicrobial isoflavonoid phytoalexins.

Impact of Environmental Factors on Stilbene Biosynthesis

Stilbenes are a small family of polyphenolic secondary metabolites that can be found in several distantly related plant species. These compounds act as phytoalexins, playing a crucial role in plant defense against phytopathogens, as well as being involved in the adaptation of plants to abiotic environmental factors. Among stilbenes, trans-resveratrol is certainly the most popular and extensively studied for its health properties. In recent years, an increasing number of stilbene compounds were subjected to investigations concerning their bioactivity. This review presents the most updated knowledge of the stilbene biosynthetic pathway, also focusing on the role of several environmental factors in eliciting stilbenes biosynthesis. The effects of ultraviolet radiation, visible light, ultrasonication, mechanical stress, salt stress, drought, temperature, ozone, and biotic stress are reviewed in the context of enhancing stilbene biosynthesis, both in planta and in plant cell and organ cultures. This knowledge may shed some light on stilbene biological roles and represents a useful tool to increase the accumulation of these valuable compounds.

Plant in vitro Culture Technologies; A Promise Into Factories of Secondary Metabolites Against COVID-19

The current pandemic has caused chaos throughout the world. While there are few vaccines available now, there is the need for better treatment alternatives in line with preventive measures against COVID-19. Along with synthetic chemical compounds, phytochemicals cannot be overlooked as candidates for drugs against severe respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The important role of secondary metabolites or phytochemical compounds against coronaviruses has been confirmed by studies that reported the anti-coronavirus role of glycyrrhizin from the roots of Glycyrrhiza glabra. The study demonstrated that glycyrrhizin is a very promising phytochemical against SARS-CoV, which caused an outbreak in 2002-2003. Similarly, many phytochemical compounds (apigenin, betulonic acid, reserpine, emodin, etc.) were isolated from different plants such as Isatis indigotica, Lindera aggregate, and Artemisia annua and were employed against SARS-CoV. However, owing to the geographical and seasonal variation, the quality of standard medicinal compounds isolated from plants varies. Furthermore, many of the important medicinal plants are either threatened or on the verge of endangerment because of overharvesting for medicinal purposes. Therefore, plant biotechnology provides a better alternative in the form of in vitro culture technology, including plant cell cultures, adventitious roots cultures, and organ and tissue cultures. In vitro cultures can serve as factories of secondary metabolites/phytochemicals that can be produced in bulk and of uniform quality in the fight against COVID-19, once tested. Similarly, environmental and molecular manipulation of these in vitro cultures could provide engineered drug candidates for testing against COVID-19. The in vitro culture-based phytochemicals have an additional benefit of consistency in terms of yield as well as quality. Nonetheless, as the traditional plant-based compounds might prove toxic in some cases, engineered production of promising phytochemicals can bypass this barrier. Our article focuses on reviewing the potential of the different in vitro plant cultures to produce medicinally important secondary metabolites that could ultimately be helpful in the fight against COVID-19.

Cascading effects of polyphenol-rich purple corn pericarp extract on pupal, adult, and offspring of tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta L.)

A major bottleneck in the commercialization of plant-based pest management compounds is that the extraction methods are complex, time-consuming, and even highly expensive. Using a recently developed inexpensive extraction and quantification methodology to isolate polyphenols (including anthocyanins and condensed tannins) from purple corn pericarp, we examined their effects on Manduca sexta, a common insect herbivore. Following up on our previous work which demonstrated the negative impacts of polyphenol-rich extract on larval stages, we further examined whether there are any cascading effects on subsequent life stages (pupal and adult) including any possible transgenerational effects. Our results show that polyphenol-rich purple corn extract-fed caterpillars had significantly lower pupal mass and survival. Moreover, adult moths also had lower mass when eclosed from caterpillars reared on the extract diet. To test whether there were any transgenerational effects, we allowed male and female adults fed on purple corn extract diet and control diet to mate and lay eggs in a full factorial experiment. We found that purple corn extract-fed adult pair laid a lower number of eggs compared to other treatments. In addition, we also found that second instar M. sexta caterpillars hatched from eggs laid by any mating combination with at least one parent reared on purple corn extract gained significantly lower mass compared to caterpillars with both parents reared on the control diet. Taken together, our results show that there are cascading negative effects for feeding purple corn pericarp extract on pupal, adult, and second generation of M. sexta, reaffirming its potential application as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly pest deterrent.

Polyphenolic profiling of roots (Vitis spp.) under grape phylloxera (D. vitifoliae Fitch) attack

Many plants respond to herbivore attacks by the formation of secondary metabolites, such as polyphenols. Grape phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliaeFitch) induces organoid root galls on fibrous root tips of tolerant Vitis spp. rootstocks. We aim to understand if and how secondary metabolites are involved in the compatible interaction of D. vitifoliae and tolerant Vitis ssp. rootstocks belowground. We hypothise that D. vitifoliae infestation triggers the accumulation of phenolic key compounds in root gall tissue without preventing the compatible host-parasite interaction on two tolerant rootstocks with different genetic background: Teleki 5C (V. berlandieri x V. riparia) and Fercal (B.C. n°1B x 31 Richter). Plants and insects are grown in isolated climate chambers to sample root tips of non-infested plants (control) as well as root tips and galls of D. vitifoliae infested plants (5-14 dai). HPLC-MS-based analyses of phenolic key compounds are compared with gene expression levels of the biosynthetic phenylpropanoid pathway analysing temporal sequences of D. vitifoliae infested root tissue. The results show that the induction of the phenylpropanoid pathway by D. vitifoliae infestation plays an important role in the plant response. Concentrations of phenolic key compounds vary significantly among the rootstocks tested. Both rootstocks display an accumulation of flavan-3-ols and stilbenes in infested root gall tissue. Comparing the host responses of the two rootstocks Fercal shows a stronger accumulation of stilbenes locally in infested root galls, whereas Teleki 5C indicates elevated amounts of stilbenes in non-infested root tip tissue.

Elicitation of silver nanoparticles enhanced the secondary metabolites and pharmacological activities in cell suspension cultures of bitter gourd

This study describes the influence of bio-synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on phytochemicals and their pharmacological activities in the cell suspension cultures (CSC) of bitter gourd. To standardize the effect of sucrose, plant growth regulators, medium, AgNPs and growth kinetics for the biomass and bioactive compounds accumulation in CSC of bitter gourd. The medium comprising MS salts, sucrose (30 g/L) with 2,4-D (1.0 mg/L) and TDZ (0.1 mg/L) at 28 days of CSC was appropriate for biomass and bioactive compound accumulation. The contents of silver, malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide were highly elevated in AgNPs (10 mg/L)-elicited CSC when compared with non-elicited CSC. AgNPs (5 mg/L) elicited CSC extracts had significantly enhanced the production of total phenolic (3.5 ± 0.2 mg/g), and flavonoid (2.5 ± 0.06 mg/g) contents than in the control CSC extracts (2.5 ± 0.1 and 1.6 ± 0.05 mg/g). AgNPs (5 mg/L) elicited CSC showed a higher amount of flavonols (1822.37 µg/g), hydroxybenzoic (1713.40 µg/g) and hydroxycinnamic (1080.10 µg/g) acids than the control CSC (1199, 1394.42 and 944.52 µg/g, respectively). Because of these metabolic changes, the pharmacological activities (antioxidant, antidiabetic, antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer) were high in the AgNPs (5 mg/L)-elicited CSC extracts in bitter gourd. The study suggested the effectiveness of elicitation process in enhancing the accumulation of phenolic compounds and pharmacological activities. AgNPs-elicited CSC offered an effective and favorable in vitro method to improve the production of bioactive compounds for potential uses in pharmaceutical industries.

Resveratrol and Related Stilbenoids, Nutraceutical/Dietary Complements with Health-Promoting Actions: Industrial Production, Safety, and the Search for Mode of Action

This paper reviews the potential of stilbenoids as nutraceuticals. Stilbenoid compounds in wine are considered key factors in health-promoting benefits. Resveratrol and resveratrol-related compounds are found in a large diversity of vegetal products. The stilbene composition varies from wine to wine and from one season to another. Therefore, the article also reviews how food science and technology and wine industry may help in providing wines and/or food supplements with efficacious concentrations of stilbenes. The review also presents results from clinical trials and those derived from genomic/transcriptomic studies. The most studied stilbenoid, resveratrol, is a very safe compound. On the other hand, the potential benefits of stilbene intake are multiple and are apparently due to downregulation more than upregulation of gene expression. The field may take advantage from identifying the mechanism of action(s) and from providing useful data to show evidence for specific health benefits in a given tissue or for combating a given disease.

Meristem Plant Cells as a Sustainable Source of Redox Actives for Skin Rejuvenation

Recently, aggressive advertisement claimed a “magic role” for plant stem cells in human skin rejuvenation. This review aims to shed light on the scientific background suggesting feasibility of using plant cells as a basis of anti-age cosmetics. When meristem cell cultures obtained from medicinal plants are exposed to appropriate elicitors/stressors (ultraviolet, ultrasound ultraviolet (UV), ultrasonic waves, microbial/insect metabolites, heavy metals, organic toxins, nutrient deprivation, etc.), a protective/adaptive response initiates the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Highly bioavailable and biocompatible to human cells, low-molecular weight plant secondary metabolites share structural/functional similarities with human non-protein regulatory hormones, neurotransmitters, pigments, polyamines, amino-/fatty acids. Their redox-regulated biosynthesis triggers in turn plant cell antioxidant and detoxification molecular mechanisms resembling human cell pathways. Easily isolated in relatively large quantities from contaminant-free cell cultures, plant metabolites target skin ageing mechanisms, above all redox imbalance. Perfect modulators of cutaneous oxidative state via direct/indirect antioxidant action, free radical scavenging, UV protection, and transition-metal chelation, they are ideal candidates to restore photochemical/redox/immune/metabolic barriers, gradually deteriorating in the ageing skin. The industrial production of plant meristem cell metabolites is toxicologically and ecologically sustainable for fully “biological” anti-age cosmetics.

An Overview of Stress-Induced Resveratrol Synthesis in Grapes: Perspectives for Resveratrol-Enriched Grape Products

Resveratrol is the most important stilbene phytoalexin synthesized naturally or induced in plants, as a part of their defense mechanism. Grapes and their derivative products, including juice and wine, are the most important natural sources of resveratrol, consisting of notably higher amounts than other natural sources like peanuts. Consumption of red wine with its presence of resveratrol explained the "French Paradox". Hence, the demand of resveratrol from grapes is increasing. Moreover, as a natural source of resveratrol, grapes became very important in the nutraceutical industry for their benefits to human health. The accumulation of resveratrol in grape skin, juice, and wine has been found to be induced by the external stimuli: microbial infection, ultrasonication (US) treatment, light-emitting diode (LED), ultra violet (UV) irradiation, elicitors or signaling compounds, macronutrients, and fungicides. Phenylalanine ammonia lyase, cinnamate-4-hydroxylase, coumaroyl-CoA ligase, and stilbene synthase play a key role in the synthesis of resveratrol. The up-regulation of those genes have the positive relationship with the elicited accumulation of resveratrol. In this review, we encapsulate the effect of different external stimuli (biotic and abiotic stresses or signaling compounds) in order to obtain the maximum accumulation of resveratrol in grape skin, leaves, juice, wine, and cell cultures.

Resveratrol suppresses microcirculatory disturbance in a rat model of severe acute pancreatitis

The present study sought to understand the mechanisms of attenuation of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) by resveratrol (RES). SAP was experimentally induced in rats by injection of 4% sodium taurocholate in the retrograde pancreatic duct. Three study groups were evaluated: Group I (sham-operated animals), Group II (SAP animals), and Group III (SAP animals treated with RES at 20 mg/kg/body weight, 5 min after induction of SAP). The study outcomes were histopathologic changes and alterations in biochemical markers: plasma renin activity and levels of angiotensin II, endothelin, and nitric oxide in plasma. Biochemical markers were evaluated at 3, 6, and 12 h after induction of SAP. SAP was associated with significant (p < 0.05) histopathologic changes (saponification spots in the intraperitoneal cavity, severe pancreatic edema, blood congestion, varying degrees of necrosis, etc.), as well as with elevation of biochemical markers in blood plasma. RES treatment significantly (p < 0.05) attenuated changes of both histopathologic and biochemical markers induced by SAP. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that RES treatment is a promising therapeutic approach to suppress microcirculatory disturbance in SAP.

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.

Treatment strategies for high resveratrol induction in Vitis vinifera L. cell suspension culture

Bioprocesses capable of producing large scales of resveratrol at nutraceutical grade are in demand. This study herein investigated treatment strategies to induce the production of resveratrol in Vitis vinifera L. cell suspension cultures. Among seven investigated elicitors, jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid, β-glucan (GLU), and chitosan enhanced the production of intracellular resveratrol manyfold. The combined treatment of JA and GLU increased extracellular resveratrol production by up to tenfold. The application of Amberlite XAD-7 resin for in situ removal and artificial storage of secreted resveratrol further increased resveratrol production by up to four orders of magnitude. The level of resveratrol produced in response to the combined treatment with 200 g/L XAD-7, 10 μM JA and 1 mg/mL GLU was approximately 2400 mg/L, allowing the production of resveratrol at an industrial scale. The high yield of resveratrol is due to the involvement of a number of mechanisms working in concert.