3. Introduction
• For million of years, humankind is completely
dependent on plants as source of food and shelter.
• Nearly 70%-80% of world population depends upon
herbal drugs (WHO).
• Unlike primary metabolites secondary metabolites do
not appear to participate directly in growth and
reproduction.
• They play a major role in the adaptation of plants to
their environment & also represent an important
source of pharmaceuticals.
• They are phytochemicals having great utility as dyes,
polymers, fibers, glues, oils, waxes, flavoring agents,
perfumes and drugs rather than academic.
4. Rationale of the study
• To search the possibility of using methods and
mechanisms of recent technologies for the production
of various human health promoting plant secondary
metabolites in the coming future.
• To fulfill the commercial goal of useful secondary
metabolites.
• Production of many desired metabolites are limited
due to particular precursors, genetic manipulation &
metabolic engineering may have solution.
5. Why Current Approaches?
Natural processes:
• Rarely found in nature and slow synthesis.
• The quantity obtained in is trace amounts.
• Can not fulfill the commercial goal.
• Production affected by environmental condition.
Current approaches:
• Independent of climatic changes or soil conditions.
• Free of microbes and insects.
• Large-scale production.
• Reduced labor costs and improve productivity.
6. Approaches
• Plant tissue cultures / cell and
organ culture
• Precursor addition
• Elicitation of in vitro products
• Genetic engineering in Hairy
Root Culture
• Endophytes in in vitro
production
• Bioreactors Scaling up
• Immobilization Scaling up
• Metabolic Engineering
7. Precursor Addition for the Improvement
of Secondary Metabolites
• Fungal carbohydrate & yeast
extract was studied & effective
outcome came for Taxol
production.
• Amino acids , valine , isoleucine ,
leucine manifold increased the
production of certain plant
secondary metabolites under
experimental conditions.
Plant cell
treatment with
biotic and/or
abiotic elicitors
has shown a
effective
procedure to
mass production
of secondary
metabolite in
cell culture. As,
8. Elicitation of in vitro products
Plants and/or plant cells in vitro show
physiological and morphological responses to
microbial, physical, or chemical factors which
are known as “elicitors”. In this process the
synthesis secondary metabolites is increased
that plant ensure there survival, persistance &
competitiveness.
Abiotic elicitors to enhance growth and
ginseng saponin biosynthesis in the hairy
roots of P. ginseng. Generally, elicitor
treatments were found to inhibit the growth
of the hairy roots, although simultaneously
enhancing ginseng saponin biosynthesis.
Tannic acid profoundly inhibited the hairy root
growth during growth period.
9. Conclusion
• In vitro plant cell cultures have potential for commercial
production of secondary metabolites.
• Knowledge of the biosynthetic pathways of desired
compounds and strategies are consequently needed to
develop information based on a cellular and molecular
level.
• We hope that a continuation and intensification efforts in
this field will lead to great success.
