Tissue plant culture as a novel industrial strategy to produce biopharmaceuticals from endangered plants.

ECHEVERRI DEL SARTO, J.; GALLIA, M. C.; FERRARI, A.; BONGIOVANNI, G

Barcelona

Conferencia; 24th International Academic Conference.; 2016

Global natural antioxidants market is anticipated to grow on account of its increasing demand in food& beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and animal feed. In this regard, we found high content offlavonoids and antioxidant activity (including antioxidant oligoelements) in the seeds of Araucariaaraucana (piñones). However, bulk production of these antioxidants is ecologically non-viable sinceA. araucana is assessed as endangered species with increased extinction risk based in part by anextensive human harvesting of edible piñones. In this context, plant cell culture represents a usefulproduction alternative to direct extraction of valuable secondary metabolites because: (a) a stableand uniform year-round supply of seed tissues or cells is guaranteed since biomass can becontinuously produced in vitro, independent of seasonal variations, (b) selected compounds can beproduced under controlled conditions, and moreover, (c) industrial production can be achieved whilepreserving the species. On the other hand, healthy plants can be easy obtained by micropropagationand then, the new plants can be acclimated to replant degraded areas of logged forest. At present,tissue and cell cultures from leaves and seeds, as well as plants, had been obtained in vitro from A.araucana and other native species. Furthermore, data of optimum conditions for in vitro productionof antioxidants are being collected. The aim of these experiments is determine the varieties moreadequate for the sustainable bio-based production of natural antioxidants by eco-efficientbio-processes and renewable bioresources.