Background: Bilobalide and ginkgolides are reported to be present only in Ginkgo biloba. However, only trace amounts of bilobalide and ginkgolides are contained in the ginkgo leaves. Nowadays, there has been considerable interest in plant cell cultures as a potential alternative to traditional agriculture for the industrial production of secondary metabolites. Much effort has been put into the use of in vitro cultures as one attractive biotechnological strategy for producing bilobalide and ginkgolides of commercial interest. The aim of this study was to enhance the production of bilobalide and ginkgolides A, B, and C in cell cultures of G. biloba using immobilized cell cultures and the process of elicitation.Results: Based on the effect of the immobilization components on the free cell suspension cultures, it was considered that the jute fiber acted as an elicitor and forced the cells to release the product into the culture media. The resulting biomass was approximately 1.4 times higher than in the cell suspension cultures, and the production of bilobalide and ginkgolides A, B, and C increased 5.0, 3.3, 6.1, and 4.1 times, respectively. Eliciting with methyl jasmonate (MJ) and salicylic acid (SA) in the immobilized cells enhanced bilobalide and ginkgolides A, B, and C, compared with the unelicited controls. The highest accumulation was observed using a combination of 0.1 mM MJ + 0.1 mM SA in the immobilized cells, which produced 1.78, 1.95, 2.05, and 2.95 times more bilobalide and ginkgolides A, B, and C, respectively, than the controls. Conclusions:The positive effects of immobilized cell cultures using jute fiber and the synergism effect of SA and MJ on immobilized cells of G. biloba appear to be the optimal conditions for continuous in vitro production for commercial purposes. This is the first report on analyzing the effects of jute fiber as immobilized cell material on G. biloba cell cultures and the synergism of MJ and SA on bilobalide and ginkgolide production.

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) management can lead to various benefits for community livelihood and forest sustainability. However, such management has not been carried out optimally and sustainably in Indonesia, due to various limiting factors including ineffective policies, undeveloped cultivation technologies, and inadequate innovation in processing technologies. Further, the diversity of NTFPs species requires that policy-makers determine the priority species to be developed. Agarwood (Aquilaria spp. and Gyrinops spp.), benzoin (Styrax spp.), sandalwood (Santalum album L.), and cajuput (Melaleuca cajuputi Powell) are aromatic NTFPs species in Indonesia that forest-dwellers have utilized across generations. This paper reviews the current governance, cultivation systems, processing and valuation, and benefits and uses of these species. We also highlights the future challenges and prospects of these NTFPs species, which are expected to be useful in designing NTFPs governance, in order to maximize the associated benefits for the farmers and all related stakeholders.

Two antioxidant active compounds were isolated from the methanol extract of Camellia sasanqua using various in vitro assays: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), β-carotene bleaching and reducing power assays. The ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fraction of the methanol extract had the highest DPPH radical-scavenging activity with an Inhibition Concentration (IC50) value of 18.3 ± 1.63 μg mL(-1). Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography was used to separate the EtOAc fraction into eight fractions (F1-F8). Antioxidant activity was significantly higher in fraction 5 with an IC50 value 14.61 ± 0.02 μg mL(-1). Fraction 5 was further separated by HPLC preparative with Capcellpak C18 MG followed by the Cosmosil 5C18-AR-II column, using a guided DPPH radical-scavenging assay. The compounds isolated were identified as: Hyperoside (1) and isoquercitrin (2) after recrystallization from ethanol, based on Mass Spectrum (MS) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analyses. Their DPPH radical-scavenging activities based on the 50% scavenging concentration decreased in the following order: Isoquercitrin (21.6 mM) > hyperoside (27.5 mM). The antioxidant activities of hyperoside and isoquercitrin were 67.52 ± 0.64 and 64.33 ± 0.51%, respectively, in the β-carotene bleaching assay. These compounds were found to have good reducing powers (OD value: 2.5-3.8) at concentrations of 50-140 μg mL(-1), using the potassium ferricyanide reduction method. Although, these compounds are well-known, hyperoside (1) was isolated from this herb for the first time.

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In vitro α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of Ginkgo biloba leaves was investigated. The inhibitory activity of methanol extracts from yellow and green leaves was 13.8 and 40.1 μg mL(-1), respectively. Each methanol extract was separated into its respective fraction by solvent-solvent extraction with n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol. The n-hexane fractions (in both methanol extracts from green and yellow leaves) exhibited high α-glucosidase inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 13.6 and 13.4 μg mL(-1), respectively. Further fractionation of the n-hexane fractions by silica gel column chromatography gave the most active fraction which was identified as ginkgolic acid (C13:0) and a mixture (C13:0, C15:0, C15: 1, C17:1 and C17:2). Ginkgolic acid (C13:0) exhibited the highest α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. This is the first study to successfully isolate ginkgolic acids as α-glucosidase inhibitors.