Plant tissue culture as a perpetual source for production of industrially important bioactive compounds

Highlights

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  Secondary metabolites are used in pharmaceutical industries, cosmetics, dietary supplements, fragrances, flavors, dyes, etc.

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  Metabolic engineering is an important biological tool to produce commercially importance metabolites.

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  The biosynthetic pathways for production of secondary metabolites in plants are derived from the shikimate, terpenoid, and polyketide pathways.

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  A huge number of medicinal plants and their metabolites have been produced by in vitro techniques.

Abstract

Plants have been used throughout the world for its medicinal powers since ancient time. The pharmacological properties of plants are based on their phytochemical components especially the secondary metabolites which are outstanding sources of value added bioactive compounds. Secondary metabolites have complex chemical composition and are produced in response to various forms of stress to perform different physiological tasks in plants. They are used in pharmaceutical industries, cosmetics, dietary supplements, fragrances, flavors, dyes, etc. Extended use of these metabolites in various industrial sectors has initiated a need to focus research on increasing the production by employing plant tissue culture (PTC) techniques and optimizing their large scale production using bioreactors. PTC techniques being independent of climatic and geographical conditions will provide an incessant, sustainable, economical and viable production of secondary metabolites. This review article intends to assess the advantages of using plant tissue culture, distribution of important secondary metabolites in plant families, strategies involved for optimal metabolite production and the industrial importance of selected secondary metabolites.