Main description:

Two aspects of the biotechnology of medicinal and aromatic plants are of immediate application. (1) Micropropagation under controlled germ- free conditions which enables their fast multiplication and availability throughout the year irrespective of external environment - this is specially useful for elite and rare plants. (2) A large-scale culture and low-temperature storage of cells enables retention of their biosynthetic potential for the production of important secondary metabolites, med- icines, flavours and other pharmaceutical products. This book has been compiled with a view to bringing together information and literature on the biotechnology and the present state of the art of plant cell cultures for their potential use in the pharmaceutical industry.
This volume comprises 29 chapters on the biotechnology of med- icinal and aromatic plants grouped into three sections, (1) microprop- agation, immobilization, cryopreservation, bioreactors, production of secondary metabolites and their impact in pharmacy, (2) production through cell cultures of antitumour compounds, lrDopa, shikonin, an- thraquinone, morphinan alkaloids, caffeine, berberine, valeoptriates, rosmarinic acid, quinine, tropanes, hypoxoside, ellipticine, paeoniflorin, saponins, cardenolides etc, and (3) distribution, economic importance, conventional propagation, review of the tissue culture work on micropropagation and the in vitro production of compounds of medicinal and pharmaceutical interest in various species of Cannabis, Centaurium, Cinchona, Digitalis, Duboisia, Hypoxia, Lithospermum, Ochrosia, Paeonia, Panax, Papavar, Rehmannia, Rhamnus and Rhaza.

Contents:

Section I Micropropagation, Immobilization, Cryopreservation, Bioreactors, Production of Secondary Metabolites and Its Impact on Pharmacy.- I.1 Medicinal, Aromatic, and Industrial Materials from Plants.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Secondary Metabolites.- 3. Future Prospects for Discovering New and Useful Bioactive Compounds from Plants.- 4. Plant Cell Tissue Cultures as New Alternative Sources of Secondary Natural Products.- 5. Summary and Conclusions.- References.- I.2 Formation of Secondary Metabolites in Cultured Plant Cells and Its Impact on Pharmacy.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Establishment of Productive Cell Culture Systems.- 3. De-Novo Synthesis of Known Drugs by Cell Cultures.- 4. Plant Cell Cultures as a Source of Novel Active Compounds.- 5. The Use of the Enzymatic Potential of Plant Cell Culture.- 6. Outlook.- 7. Summary and Conclusion.- References.- I.3 Biotechnology of the Micropropagation of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants.- 1. Medicinal Plant Biotechnology.- 2. In Vitro Propagation of Plants.- 3. Conclusions and Prospects of Medicinal Plant Biotechnology.- References.- I.4 Bioreactors for the Large-Scale Culture of Plant Cells.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Design of Culture Plant.- 3. Batch Culture.- 4. Semi-Continuous Culture.- 5. Continuous Culture.- 6. Application of Large-Scale Production to Obtain Useful Materials.- References.- I.5 Enhanced Production of Secondary Substances: Addition of Artificial Accumulation Sites to Cultures.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Two-Phase Batch Culture.- 3. Cell Strain Selection by Means of Second Phases.- References.- I.6 Immobilization of Higher Plant Cells.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Techniques for Plant Cell Immobilization.- 3. The Employment of Immobilized Cell Systems for the Production of Plant Metabolites.- 4. Other Uses of Immobilized Cells.- 5. Concluding Remarks.- References.- I.7 Nonfrozen Storage of Plant Cell Cultures and Its Effect on Metabolites.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Viability of Cells After Nonfrozen Storage.- 3. Morphogenetic Ability After Nonfrozen Storage.- 4. Effect of Nonfrozen Storage on Metabolites.- 5. Concluding Remarks.- References.- I.8 Cryopreservation and the Retention of Biosynthetic Potential in Cell Cultures of Medicinal and Alkaloid-Producing Plants.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Significance of Cryopreservation.- 3. Protocol and General Guidelines for Cryopreservation.- 4. Cryopreservation of Callus and Cell Suspensions.- 5. Cryopreservation of Protoplasts.- 6. Cryopreservation of Anthers and Pollen Embryos.- 7. Cryopreservation of Pollen.- 8. Genetic Stability and Biosynthetic Potential.- 9. Conclusions and Prospects.- References.- Section II Production of Medicinal and Aromatic Compounds by Plant Cell Cultures.- II.1 Antitumor Compounds: Production by Plant Cell Cultures.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Screening Method.- 3. Plant Tissue Culture.- 4. Antitumor Compound Production by Plant Tissue Culture.- 5. Conclusions and Prospects.- References.- II.2 L-DOPA Production in Plant Cell Cultures.- 1. Introduction.- 2. In Vitro Production of L-DOPA.- References.- II.3 Shikonin: Production by Plant (Lithospermum erythrorhizon) Cell Cultures.- 1. Introduction.- 2. In Vitro Approaches.- 3. Conclusions and Prospects.- References.- II.4 Anthraquinone: Production by Plant Cell Culture.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Review of In Vitro Production of Anthraquinones.- 3. In Vitro Studies on Anthraquinone Formation by Rubia cordifolia Cells.- 4. Conclusion.- References.- II.5 Morphinan Alkaloids: Biosynthesis in Plant (Papaver spp.) Tissue Cultures.- 1. Introduction.- 2. In Vitro Approaches to Alkaloid Production.- 3. Conclusion and Prospects.- References.- II.6 Caffeine: Production by Plant (Coffea spp.) Cell Cultures.- 1. Introduction: Caffeine and Man.- 2. Tissue and Cell Culture of Coffee.- 3. Growth and Productivity of Coffee Tissue Cultures.- 4. Biotransformation Potential.- 5. Conclusions and Prospects.- References.- II.7 Berberine: Production Through Plant (Thalictrum spp.) Cell Cultures.- 1. Introduction.- 2. In Vitro Approaches.- 3. Conclusion and Prospects.- References.- II.8 Valepotriates: Production by Plant Cell Cultures.- 1. Introduction.- 2. In Vitro Production of Valepotriates.- 3. Conclusions and Prospects.- References.- II.9 Rosmarinic Acid: Production in Plant Cell Cultures.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Establishment of Rosmarinic Acid-Producing Cultures.- 3. Characteristics of Rosmarinic Acid-Producing Cell Suspension Cultures.- 4. Summary and Prospects.- 5. Protocols.- References.- Section III Biotechnology of Medicinal Plants.- III.1 Cannabis sativa: In Vitro Production of Cannabinoids.- 1. Introduction.- 2. In Vitro Approaches.- 3. Summary and Conclusions.- References.- III.2 Centaurium erythraea Rafn: Micropropagation and the Production of Secoiridoid Glucosides.- 1. Introduction.- 2. In Vitro Approaches.- 3. Protocol.- 4. Conclusion and Prospect.- References.- III.3 Cinchona spp.: Micropropagation, and the In Vitro Production of Quinine and Quinidine.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Cinchona In Vitro.- 3. Discussion.- 4. Protocol.- References.- III.4 Digitalis spp.: In Vitro Culture, Regeneration, and the Production of Cardenolides and Other Secondary Products.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Tissue and Cell Cultures.- 3. Regeneration.- 4. Cardenolides and Other Secondary Products.- 5. Concluding Remarks and Future Prospects.- References.- III.5 Duboisia spp.: In Vitro Regeneration, and the Production of Tropane and Pyridine Alkaloids.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Establishment of Tissue Culture.- 3. Alkaloid Composition.- 4. Atropine Esterase Activity.- 5. Conclusion.- References.- III.6 Hypoxis spp.: Micropropagation and In Vitro Production of Hypoxoside.- 1. Introduction.- 2. In Vitro Approaches.- References.- III.7 Ochrosia spp.: In Vitro Production of Ellipticine, an Antitumor Agent.- 1. Introduction.- 2. In Vitro Approaches.- 3. Conclusion and Prospects.- References.- III.8 Paeonia spp.: In Vitro Culture and the Production of Paeoniflorin.- 1. Introduction.- 2. In Vitro Approaches.- 3. Conclusion and Prospects.- References.- III.9 Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer: Micropropagation and the In Vitro Production of Saponins.- 1. Introduction.- 2. In Vitro Approaches.- 3. Conclusions and Prospects.- References.- III.10 Rehmannia glutinosa: Tissue Culture and Its Potential for Improvement.- 1. Introduction.- 2. In Vitro Approaches.- 3. Conclusions and Prospects.- References.- III.11 Rhamnus spp.: In Vitro Production of Anthraquinones, Anthrones, and Dianthrones.- 1. Introduction.- 2. In Vitro Approaches.- 3. Conclusions and Prospects.- References.- III.12 Rhazya stricta Decaisne: In Vitro Culture, and the Production of Indole Alkaloids.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Tissue Culture Studies on Rhazya stricta.- 3. Conclusion and Prospects.- References.