Plant secondary metabolome contains a huge and various numbers of metabolites which contribute to a broad spectrum of bioactivities, from antimicrobic to anticancer properties, giving them a prominent role in the modern medicine. For instance, artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone isolated in the leaves of Artemisia annua, is considered as one of the most potent antimalarial and it is recommended from WHO as first choice treatment of malarial disease. Despite its effectiveness, artemisinin yield from plants is rather low, ranging from 0,01% to 1,5% DW in the leaves, highlighting the necessity to find alternative approaches to increase the production. In this frame, Plant cell culture (PCC) and Vertical Farming (VF) techniques represent an attractive and sustainable alternative if compared to the traditional methods of phytopharmaceutical production that, often, still rely on the harvesting of plants from the wild. Due to the possibility of an optimization of the growth conditions, both PCC and VF allow the establishment of controlled and continuous production of a highly standardized product, independently from seasonal and climatic changes. In this work, we have investigated the application of alternative methods for secondary metabolites production, with a focus on artemisinin. Adaptation and suitability of an artemisinin high-yielding A. annua variety to be grown in a VF system was explored. We also evaluated the impact of different light quantity on the synthesis of artemisinin and biomass accumulation. Parallelly, various PCC lines from Artemisia spp. were established and characterized, through the use of an UPLC-HR-MS platform. Growth medium with different composition and hormones have been employed in particular to A. annua derived cell cultures to investigate the effects on artemisinin accumulation.
Alternative methods for high value secondary metabolites productions: from artemisinin to other potentially bioactive compounds
Pietrolucci F.;Venco A.;Negri S.;Commisso M.;Avesani L.
;Guzzo F.
2024-01-01
Abstract
Plant secondary metabolome contains a huge and various numbers of metabolites which contribute to a broad spectrum of bioactivities, from antimicrobic to anticancer properties, giving them a prominent role in the modern medicine. For instance, artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone isolated in the leaves of Artemisia annua, is considered as one of the most potent antimalarial and it is recommended from WHO as first choice treatment of malarial disease. Despite its effectiveness, artemisinin yield from plants is rather low, ranging from 0,01% to 1,5% DW in the leaves, highlighting the necessity to find alternative approaches to increase the production. In this frame, Plant cell culture (PCC) and Vertical Farming (VF) techniques represent an attractive and sustainable alternative if compared to the traditional methods of phytopharmaceutical production that, often, still rely on the harvesting of plants from the wild. Due to the possibility of an optimization of the growth conditions, both PCC and VF allow the establishment of controlled and continuous production of a highly standardized product, independently from seasonal and climatic changes. In this work, we have investigated the application of alternative methods for secondary metabolites production, with a focus on artemisinin. Adaptation and suitability of an artemisinin high-yielding A. annua variety to be grown in a VF system was explored. We also evaluated the impact of different light quantity on the synthesis of artemisinin and biomass accumulation. Parallelly, various PCC lines from Artemisia spp. were established and characterized, through the use of an UPLC-HR-MS platform. Growth medium with different composition and hormones have been employed in particular to A. annua derived cell cultures to investigate the effects on artemisinin accumulation.
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