Production and optimisation of rosmarinic acid by Satureja hortensis L. callus cultures

Cyanobacterial elicitor enhances the biomass of Mentha piperita L. and improves the production of high-value rosmarinic acid under in vitro culture of apical meristem

BACKGROUND

Rosmarinic acid (RA), like other phenolic compounds, is sources of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents in medicinal plants. In vitro culture of plants can improve the medicinal plants' metabolite profile and phenolic compound quantity. To date, various methods have been proposed to increase this medicinal metabolite in plants, among which the use of bioelicitors can be mentioned. In the present study, a native isolate of heterocystous cyanobacteria, Nostoc spongiaeforme var. tenue ISB65, was used to stimulate the production of biomass and content of RA in Mentha piperita L. (peppermint) grown in vitro from apical meristem. Mentha piperita L. explants were inoculated in half strength Murashige and Skoog (1/2 MS) medium containing cyanobacterial lysate (CL). After 50 days of culturing, the growth indices, the content of photosynthetic pigments, and RA in control and treated plants were measured.

RESULTS

CL inoculation resulted in a significant enhancement in the vegetative growth indices of peppermint, including root and shoot length, plant biomass and leaf number. The content of photosynthetic pigments also increased in cyanobacteria-treated plants. Inoculation with CL increased the RA content by 2.3-fold, meaning that the plants treated with CL had the highest RA content (7.68 mg. g- 1 dry weight) compared to the control (3.42 mg. g- 1 dry weight). Additionally, HPLC analysis revealed the presence of several auxins in CL.

CONCLUSIONS

The presence of auxins and the chemical content of CL such as K+ and Ca2+, as regulators of metabolic pathways and molecular activities of cells, may be responsible for the enhanced growth and phenolic compounds of plants under tissue culture conditions. An improvement in RA content in the tissue culture of medicinal plants treated with CL was reported for the first time in this investigation.

Novel landmarks on the journey from natural products to pharmaceutical formulations: Phytochemical, biological, toxicological and computational activities of Satureja hortensis L

This study examined the ethanolic extract of the Satureja hortensis L. plant's aerial parts to describe its phytochemical makeup, biological functions, toxicity tests, and in-silico molecular docking tests. The GC-MS analysis was used to evaluate the phytochemical composition of the tested extract, and the ABTS and hydrogen peroxide antioxidant assays were used to measure antioxidant activity. Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Proteus vulgaris were tested for antimicrobial potential. On cell lines such as HepG-2, MCF-7, A-549, and Panc-1, the in-vitro toxicity was also examined. The A-549 cell line was also used for flow cytometry analysis of apoptosis and cell cycle. Additionally, the compounds discovered by the GC-MS analysis were used in silico tests against biological targets. Eight different phytocompounds were tentatively identified as a result of the GC-MS analysis. The compounds also demonstrated significant antioxidant potential for the ABTS and H2O2 assays (IC50: 2.44 and 28.04 μg/ml, respectively). The tested extract was found to have a range of inhibition zones and to be significantly active against the tested bacterial and fungal strains. Apoptosis and cell cycle analysis for the A-549 cell line showed that the cell cycle was arrested at S-phase, and the extract was also found to be most active against this cell line with an IC50 value of 113.05 μg/ml. The docking studies have emphasized the compounds' interactions and binding scores with the EGFR-TK target as determined by the GC-MS.

Hypoglycemic effect of rosmarinic acid-rich infusion (RosCE) from Origanum vulgare in alloxan-induced diabetic rats

Origanum vulgare, known for its medicinal value, is officially accepted in many countries. The flowers and leaves are used globally in homeopathy. In Brazilian folk medicine, O. vulgare has been used to treat diabetes mellitus. This study evaluated the hypoglycemic activity of an infusion extract (RosCE) of commercially available O. vulgare leaves in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Oral administration of RosCE resulted in the reduction of blood glucose levels after the first day of treatment, compared to the diabetic control group. These results showed that RosCE displays hypoglycemic activity, which may be due to the combined effect of rosmarinic acid, and other minor compounds. Reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection was used to identify and quantify the major constituents of RosCE. This study presents evidence that supports the folkloric use of O. vulgare for the treatment of hyperglycemia, confirming the use of its infusion as an antidiabetic herbal medicine.

Computation Screening of Multi-Target Antidiabetic Properties of Phytochemicals in Common Edible Mediterranean Plants

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease and one of the leading causes of deaths worldwide. Numerous studies support that the Mediterranean diet has preventive and treatment effects on diabetes. These effects have been attributed to the special bioactive composition of Mediterranean foods. The objective of this work was to decipher the antidiabetic activity of Mediterranean edible plant materials using the DIA-DB inverse virtual screening web server. A literature review on the antidiabetic potential of Mediterranean plants was performed and twenty plants were selected for further examination. Subsequently, the most abundant flavonoids, phenolic acids, and terpenes in plant materials were studied to predict their antidiabetic activity. Results showed that flavonoids are the most active phytochemicals as they modulate the function of 17 protein-targets and present high structural similarity with antidiabetic drugs. Their antidiabetic effects are linked with three mechanisms of action, namely (i) regulation of insulin secretion/sensitivity, (ii) regulation of glucose metabolism, and (iii) regulation of lipid metabolism. Overall, the findings can be utilized to understand the antidiabetic activity of edible Mediterranean plants pinpointing the most active phytoconstituents.

In vitro strategies for the enhancement of secondary metabolite production in plants: a review

BACKGROUND

Plants are the prime source of vital secondary metabolites (SMs) which are medicinally important for drug development, and these secondary metabolites are often used by plants in the various important tasks like defense against herbivory, interspecies defenses and against different types of stresses. For humans, these secondary metabolites are important as medicines, pigments, flavorings and drugs. Because most of the pharmaceutical industries are highly dependent on medicinal plants and their extraction, these medicinal plants are getting endangered.

MAIN BODY

Plant cell culture technologies are introduced as a viable mechanism for producing and studying SMs of plants. Various types of in vitro strategies (elicitation, hairy root culture system, suspension culture system, etc.) have been considerably used for the improvement of the production of SMs of plants. For the enhancement of SM production, suspension culture and elicitation are mainly used, but hairy root culture and other organ cultures are proved to satisfy the demand of secondary metabolites. Now, it is easy to control and manipulate the pathways that produce the plant secondary metabolites.

CONCLUSIONS

Techniques like plant cell, tissue and organ cultures provide a valuable method for the production of medicinally significant SMs. In recent years, most of the in vitro strategies are used due to knowledge and regulation of SM pathway in commercially valuable plants. In future, these things will provide a valuable method to sustain the feasibility of medicinal plants as the renewable sources of medicinally important compounds, and these methods will provide successful production of desired, important, valuable and also unknown compounds.

High accumulation of tilianin in in-vitro cultures of Agastache mexicana and its potential vasorelaxant action

Agastache mexicana has gained importance during the last decade as a natural source of bioactive compounds, mainly due to the antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic, and vasorelaxant effects derived from its flavonoids, particularly tilianin. The goal of this work was to evaluate the production of tilianin during the in-vitro process of morphogenesis leading to plant regeneration and to investigate the vasorelaxant activity of its methanolic extracts. The cultures were established from nodal segments and leaf explants, inoculated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) media supplemented with various concentrations of benzyl aminopurine (BAP) alone or in combination with 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). Callus inductions were obtained in all treatments from both types of explants, but the presence of auxin was essential. Maximal shoot multiplication and elongation was achieved with 0.1 mg/l 2,4-D and 1.0 mg/l BAP from nodal- segment explants. Shoots were rooted in 75% MS medium and the plantlets were transferred to a greenhouse with 33% average survival. Analysis of tilianin production in methanolic extracts from calli (0.15-2.01 ± 0.06 mg/g dry weight), shoots (4.45 ± 0.01 mg/g DW), and whole plants (9.77 ± 0.02 mg/g DW) derived from in-vitro cultured nodal segments reveals that tilianin accumulation is associated with high cell differentiation and morphogenetic response to the plant-growth regulators. All of the extracts showed strong vasorelaxant activity, as compared to those of wild plant extracts. These results indicate that plant-tissue cultures of A. mexicana possess vast potential as a source of tilianin and other bioactive compounds.

Anticancer potential of rosmarinic acid and its improved production through biotechnological interventions and functional genomics

Rosmarinic acid (RA) is a highly valued natural phenolic compound that is very commonly found in plants of the families Lamiaceae and Boraginaceae, including Coleus blumei, Heliotropium foertherianum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Perilla frutescens, and Salvia officinalis. RA is also found in other members of higher plant families and in some fern and horned liverwort species. The biosynthesis of RA is catalyzed by the enzymes phenylalanine ammonia lyase and cytochrome P450-dependent hydroxylase using the amino acids tyrosine and phenylalanine. Chemically, RA can be produced via methods involving the esterification of 3,4-dihydroxyphenyllactic acid and caffeic acid. Some of the derivatives of RA include melitric acid, salvianolic acid, lithospermic acid, and yunnaneic acid. In plants, RA is known to have growth-promoting and defensive roles. Studies have elucidated the varied pharmacological potential of RA and its derived molecules, including anticancer, antiangiogenic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities. The demand for RA is therefore, very high in the pharmaceutical industry, but this demand cannot be met by plants alone because RA content in plant organs is very low. Further, many plants that synthesize RA are under threat and near extinction owing to biodiversity loss caused by unscientific harvesting, over-collection, environmental changes, and other inherent features. Moreover, the chemical synthesis of RA is complicated and expensive. Alternative approaches using biotechnological methodologies could overcome these problems. This review provides the state of the art information on the chemistry, sources, and biosynthetic pathways of RA, as well as its anticancer properties against different cancer types. Biotechnological methods are also discussed for producing RA using plant cell, tissue, and organ cultures and hairy-root cultures using flasks and bioreactors. The recent developments and applications of the functional genomics approach and heterologous production of RA in microbes are also highlighted. This chapter will be of benefit to readers aiming to design studies on RA and its applicability as an anticancer agent.

Food additives and bioactive substances from in vitro systems of edible plants from the Balkan peninsula

During the last few years there is an increasing demand to the natural biologically active compounds. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) about 11% of the conventional medicines are of plant origin. Nowadays, plant biotechnologies are modern and reliable tool for producing valuable bioactive compounds. Recently, the potential of plant cells as foods also was confirmed. The advantages of plant in vitro systems over the intact plants are well known: growing under controlled and optimized laboratory conditions; independence of climatic and soil differences; preservation of rare and endangered plant species; cultivation in diverse bioreactor systems for increasing production yields of target metabolites. There have been developed many in vitro systems for production of various plant bioactive compounds with potential application in food industries. But potential for industrial implementation of this technology depends on solving problems with the scale-up of bioreactor cultivation, development of additional approaches for improving/modification of bioactivities of the target plant secondary metabolites, and to find way to exclude or replace in the culture media the carcinogenic plant growth regulator 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) with its safety analogs, such as α-naphtaleneacetic acid (NAA) and/or indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). The aim of the current mini review is to summarize information about different in vitro systems of edible plants from the Balkan Peninsula with potential for producing food additives and biologically active substances and to describe prospects for successful industrial implementation of this technology.

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds and essential oils from Calamintha nepeta L

Background Essential oils, infusion and decoction extracts of Calamintha nepeta L. were evaluated for their bioactive substances (polyphenols and essential oils) and antioxidant activities. Methods The amounts of phenolic compounds were determined by colorimetric assays and identified by high performance and liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV) method. The chemical composition of essential oils was determined by gas-chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method. For the evaluation of the antioxidant activity of essential oils and extracts, two different assays (reducing power and DPPH radical scavenging activity) were used. Results Infusion extract presented the highest phenolic content, followed by the decoction one, while the lowest amount was observed in essential oils. The amount of flavonoids of the decocted extract was higher than that of the infused one. The phenolic profile of C. nepeta infusion and decoction extracts revealed the presence of 28 and 13 peaks, respectively. Four phenolics compounds were identified in infusion (gallic acid (GA), rosmarinic acid (RA), caffeine (C) and caffeic acid (CA)) and two were identified in decoction (GA and RA). The chemical composition of essential oils revealed the presence of 29 compounds, accounting for the 99.7% of the total oils. Major compounds of essential oil (EO) were trans-menthone (50.06%) and pulegone (33.46%). Infusion and decoction extracts revealed an interesting antioxidant activity which correlates positively with their total phenolic contents. Conclusions These results showed that Calamintha nepeta could be considered as a valuable source of phenolics and essential oils with potent antioxidant activity.

Effect of cytokinins on in vitro multiplication, volatiles composition and rosmarinic acid content of Thymus leucotrichus Hal. shoots

An efficient in vitro multiplication protocol was designed to Thymus leucotrichus, a subshrub and perennial herb growing naturally in the Northwest of Turkey. Of all basal media studied, Murashige and Skoog medium was found to be superior to the others, providing higher shoot formation and the maximum shoot length. Varying concentrations of cytokinins, i.e., 6-benzyladenine, thidiazuron, 2-isopentenyladenine and kinetin were supplemented in the nutrient media to observe their effects on shoot development and biomass. Rosmarinic acid content and volatile compositions of both naturally growing plants and in vitro multiplied plantlets were also evaluated. 6-benzyladenine (1.0 mg/L) and kinetin (0.5 mg/L) were found to be optimum for shoot number and shoot elongation, respectively. Thidiazuron (1.0 mg/L) was superior for biomass production. Rosmarinic acid content of in vitro multiplied plants was found to be higher than that of wild plants, reaching a maximum with 0.5 mg/L 2-isopentenyladenine, which yielded 10.15 mg/g dry weight. The highest thymol content was obtained with 1.0 mg/L kinetin (55.82%), while thidiazuron (0.1 mg/L) increased carvacrol production (12.53%). Overall, Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/L kinetin was determined to be the most favorable medium studied.

Chemical composition and biological properties of Satureja avromanica Maroofi

Satureja avromanica is an indigenous plant which is frequently used as a spice in Avraman-Kurdistan region of Iran. The present study aimed to investigate the chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of the S. avromanica. In addition, rosmarinic acid and total phenolic content of S. avromanica was assessed by spectrophotometric method and HPTLC. The essential oil and methanolic extract were isolated by hydrodistillation and maceration methods, respectively. A total of 32 compounds representing 98.6% of the essential oil were identified by GC-MS and GC-FID. The main constituents were n-pentacosane (23.8%), spathulenol (11.5%), β-bourbonen (11.3%) and n-docosane (11.0%). The antibacterial activity of samples were carried out by disc diffusion method and evaluate the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) essential oil and methanolic extract were found to be effective against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus pumilus. The highest scavenging activity was found for methanolic extract of S. avromanica (21.58 µg/mL) and the total phenolics of methanolic extract of S. avromanica was 95.3 mg GAE/g. The rosmarinic acid content of S. avromanica methanolic extract was 0.83 mg/g plant. Antioxidant activity and rosmarininc acid content of S. avromanica suggests that the essential oil and methanolic extract of S. avromanica has great potential for application as a natural antimicrobial and antioxidant agent to preserve food.

Yeast Extract and Silver Nitrate Induce the Expression of Phenylpropanoid Biosynthetic Genes and Induce the Accumulation of Rosmarinic Acid in Agastache rugosa Cell Culture

The present study aimed to investigate the role of yeast extract and silver nitrate on the enhancement of phenylpropanoid pathway genes and accumulation of rosmarinic acid in Agastache rugosa cell cultures. The treatment of cell cultures with yeast extract (500 mg/L) and silver nitrate (30 mg/L) for varying times enhanced the expression of genes in the phenylpropanoid pathway and the production of rosmarinic acid. The results indicated that the expression of RAS and HPPR was proportional to the amount of yeast extract and silver nitrate. The transcript levels of HPPR under yeast extract treatment were 1.84-, 1.97-, and 2.86-fold higher than the control treatments after 3, 6, and 12 h, respectively, whereas PAL expression under silver nitrate treatment was 52.31-fold higher than in the non-treated controls after 24 h of elicitation. The concentration of rosmarinic acid was directly proportional to the concentration of the applied elicitors. Yeast extract supplementation documented the highest amount of rosmarinic acid at 4.98 mg/g, whereas silver nitrate addition resulted in a comparatively lower amount of rosmarinic acid at 0.65 mg/g. In conclusion, addition of yeast extract to the cell cultures enhanced the accumulation of rosmarinic acid, which was evidenced by the expression levels of the phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway genes in A. rugosa.

Establishment and characterization of a Satureja khuzistanica Jamzad (Lamiaceae) cell suspension culture: a new in vitro source of rosmarinic acid

An in vitro approach to the production of rosmarinic acid (RA), a medicinally important caffeic acid ester, in a cell suspension culture (CSC) of Satureja khuzistanica Jamzad (Lamiaceae) has been investigated for the first time. The CSC was established from friable calli derived from shoot tip explants in Gamborg's B5 liquid medium supplemented with 30 g/L sucrose, 20 mg/L L-glutamine, 200 mg/L casein hydrolysate, 5 mg/L benzyladenine (BA) and 1 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). The effect of nitrogen source (KNO3 and (NH4)2SO4) and their different concentrations on the fresh and dry weight (g/L), as well as RA content (mg/g dry weight) were measured. CSC growth measurements indicated a maximum specific cell growth rate of 1.5/day, a doubling time of 7.6 days and a high percentage of cell viability (96.4 %) throughout the growth cycle. Maximum cell fresh weight (353.5 g/L), dry weight (19.7 g/L) and RA production (180.0 mg/g) were attained at day 21 of culture. Cell growth and RA content were affected by nitrogen deficiency. Media containing 8.3 mM of total nitrogen (¼ of B5 standard medium) led to a minimum cell fresh weight (243.0 g/L), dry weight (17.4 g/L) and RA content (38.0 mg/g) after 21 days. The established CSC provided useful material for further optimization experiments aimed at a large-scale production of RA.

A pharmacological and phytochemical overview on Satureja

CONTEXT

Satureja (Lamiaceae) species are used as flavoring compounds in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries because of its sweetness and simple cultivation characteristics. They have traditionally been used as muscle pain relievers, tonic, and carminative agents to treat stomach and intestinal disorders such as cramps, nausea, indigestion, and diarrhea, due to their considerable phytochemical characteristics.

OBJECTIVE

This review evaluates some information published since 1989 on Satureja genus from a systematic perspective in terms of its pharmacological and phytochemical characteristics.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases were searched up to March 2014. "Satureja" was used as a research term without narrowing or limiting research elements. After obtaining all reports from database (a total number is about 637), the papers were carefully analyzed in order to find data related to the topic of this review.

RESULTS

In this review, 453 reports were used which were published between 1989 and 2014. The study was compiled into two sections (Pharmacology and Phytochemistry). In the pharmacology section, more than 50 different activities were studied. In the second section, in addition to other compounds and inorganic substances, volatiles, phenolic acids, and flavonoids were discussed.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

According to our contemporary information, Satureja species have been evaluated for their wide range of biological activities. However, a small part of these studies have been carried out on the active principles. Therefore, in the future, more studies should be carried out to identify responsible phytochemicals for the various activities.

Enhanced rosmarinic acid biosynthesis in Solenostemon scutellarioides culture: a precursor-feeding strategy

The aim of this study was to employ precursor-feeding strategy for the improved production of rosmarinic acid (RA) in Solenostemon scutellarioides in vitro. The cultures were fed with precursors, namely l-phenylalanine (Phe), l-tyrosine (Tyr) and cucumber juice (CJ), at different concentrations. Phe (100 mg L(-1)) and Tyr (400 mg L(-1)) caused ∼1.5- and 2.1-fold increase in RA accumulation within 48 h. CJ (50 mg L(-1)) feeding displayed highest RA content (∼1.6-fold) in 72 h. In this study, we focused on the function of individual precursor on key enzymes involved in RA biosynthesis. The phenylalanine ammonia lyase activity was significantly upregulated after Phe (100 mg L(-1)) feeding, while tyrosine aminotransferase and hydroxyphenylpyruvate reductase activities were improved with Tyr (400 mg L(-1)) treatment. However, rosmarinic acid synthase activity was significantly enhanced by all three precursors. In synergy study, Phe (100 mg L(-1)) + Tyr (400 mg L(-1)) could enhance (∼3.1-fold) RA biosynthesis within 48 h.

Boesenbergia rotunda: From Ethnomedicine to Drug Discovery

Boesenbergia rotunda is a herb from the Boesenbergia genera under the Zingiberaceae family. B. rotunda is widely found in Asian countries where it is commonly used as a food ingredient and in ethnomedicinal preparations. The popularity of its ethnomedicinal usage has drawn the attention of scientists worldwide to further investigate its medicinal properties. Advancement in drug design and discovery research has led to the development of synthetic drugs from B. rotunda metabolites via bioinformatics and medicinal chemistry studies. Furthermore, with the advent of genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, new insights on the biosynthetic pathways of B. rotunda metabolites can be elucidated, enabling researchers to predict the potential bioactive compounds responsible for the medicinal properties of the plant. The vast biological activities exhibited by the compounds obtained from B. rotunda warrant further investigation through studies such as drug discovery, polypharmacology, and drug delivery using nanotechnology.

Phytochemical and morphological characterization of Satureja khuzistanica Jamzad populations from Iran

Satureja khuzistanica is an endemic herb growing wild in Iran with interesting pharmacological and biological properties. Here, as an initial step of the domestication process, the variability of phytochemical and morphological traits among 69 individuals of eight natural populations of the plant was studied. The investigated characteristics were the essential oil content and composition, the rosmarinic acid (RA) content, and the leaf and flower morphologies. The Abdanan and Kaver populations showed the highest oil contents. The characterization by GC-FID and GC/MS analyses of the oils revealed that all 69 sampled individuals had carvacrol as the main component with very high contents (89.59-95.41%). The content of RA of the MeOH extracts of S. khuzistanica showed a high level of variability (coefficient of variation (CV) 50.0%) ranging from 0.59% (w/w) in the Paalam population to 1.81% (w/w) in the Abdanan population. The peduncle length and the leaf surface area (CVs of 47.39 and 47.21%, resp.) were the most variable morphological characteristics among the examined populations. The high level of phytochemical and morphological variability among the studied populations suggests a breeding approach during the domestication, to gain new, promising, and homogenous cultivars, attractive for the industry and agriculture.

Protection against LPS-induced cartilage inflammation and degradation provided by a biological extract of Mentha spicata

BACKGROUND

A variety of mint [Mentha spicata] has been bred which over-expresses Rosmarinic acid (RA) by approximately 20-fold. RA has demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory activity in vitro and in small rodents; thus it was hypothesized that this plant would demonstrate significant anti-inflammatory activity in vitro. The objectives of this study were: a) to develop an in vitro extraction procedure which mimics digestion and hepatic metabolism, b) to compare anti-inflammatory properties of High-Rosmarinic-Acid Mentha spicata (HRAM) with wild-type control M. spicata (CM), and c) to quantify the relative contributions of RA and three of its hepatic metabolites [ferulic acid (FA), caffeic acid (CA), coumaric acid (CO)] to anti-inflammatory activity of HRAM.

METHODS

HRAM and CM were incubated in simulated gastric and intestinal fluid, liver microsomes (from male rat) and NADPH. Concentrations of RA, CA, CO, and FA in simulated digest of HRAM (HRAMsim) and CM (CMsim) were determined (HPLC) and compared with concentrations in aqueous extracts of HRAM and CM. Cartilage explants (porcine) were cultured with LPS (0 or 3 microg/mL) and test article [HRAMsim (0, 8, 40, 80, 240, or 400 microg/mL), or CMsim (0, 1, 5 or 10 mg/mL), or RA (0.640 microg/mL), or CA (0.384 microg/mL), or CO (0.057 microg/mL) or FA (0.038 microg/mL)] for 96 h. Media samples were analyzed for prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), interleukin 1beta (IL-1), glycosaminoglycan (GAG), nitric oxide (NO) and cell viability (differential live-dead cell staining).

RESULTS

RA concentration of HRAMsim and CMsim was 49.3 and 0.4 microg/mL, respectively. CA, FA and CO were identified in HRAMsim but not in aqueous extract of HRAM. HRAMsim (> or = 8 microg/mL) inhibited LPS-induced PGE2 and NO; HRAMsim (> or = 80 microg/mL) inhibited LPS-induced GAG release. RA inhibited LPS-induced GAG release. No anti-inflammatory or chondroprotective effects of RA metabolites on cartilage explants were identified.

CONCLUSIONS

Our biological extraction procedure produces a substance which is similar in composition to post-hepatic products. HRAMsim is an effective inhibitor of LPS-induced inflammation in cartilage explants, and effects are primarily independent of RA. Further research is needed to identify bioactive phytochemical(s) in HRAMsim.

The Production of 9-methoxycanthin-6-one from Callus Cultures of (Eurycoma longifolia Jack) Tongkat Ali

Plant cell culture technology is potentially useful in producing high-valued secondary metabolites. Eurycoma longifolia root extracts are consumed as a health tonic but more popularly used as an aphrodisiac. Studies on the aphrodisiac properties and the possible compounds involved have been widely studied. There are many potentially useful compounds reported from the root extracts of E. longifolia. However, studies on the in vitro production of useful compounds from this plant have not been reported. This chapter will describe methods of callus induction and extraction of 9-methoxycanthin-6-one from E. longifolia Jack explants with emphasis on the tap and fibrous roots. This compound, known to have anti-tumour activity, is present in intact plant parts and in callus tissues of different explants.

Production of secondary metabolites using plant cell cultures

Plant cell cultures represent a potential source of valuable secondary metabolites which can be used as food additives, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals. The synthesis of phytochemicals by the cell cultures in contrast to these in plants is independent of environmental conditions and quality fluctuations. In many cases, the chemical synthesis of metabolites is not possible or economically feasible. Moreover, the natural food additives are better accepted by consumers in contrast to those which are artificially produced. In this chapter, the process for obtaining the secondary metabolites from plant cell cultures is represented as a multi-stage strategy, and each link should be described according to specifications of cell cultures or products. For the establishing of high-producing and fast-growing cell lines, the parent plants should be selected. The expression of synthetic pathways can be influenced by environmental conditions, the supply of precursors, and the application of elicitors, and it can be altered by special treatments such as biotransformation and immobilization. The efficiency of bioprocessing can be increased by the simplification of methods for product recovery, based on the principle of continuous product release into the cultivation media. This can be induced through influencing membrane permeability by chemical or physical factors, e.g., high electric field pulses. The combined research in the fields of establishment of in vitro cultures, targeting of metabolite synthesis, and development of technologies for product recovery can exploit the potential of plant cells as sources of secondary metabolites.