Enhanced Aryltetralin Lignans Production in Linum Adventi-Tious Root Cultures

Abstract

Lignans are the main secondary metabolites synthetized by Linum species as plant defense molecules. They are also valuable for human health, in particular, for their potent antiviral and antineoplastic properties. In this study, the adventitious root cultures of three Linum species (L. flavum, L. mucronatum and L. dolomiticum) were developed to produce aryltetralin lignans. The effect of two elicitors, methyl jasmonate and coronatine, on aryltetralin lignans production was also evaluated. The adventitious root cultures from L. dolomiticum were obtained and analyzed for the first time and resulted as the best producer for all the aryltetralins highlighted in this system: Podophyllotoxin, 6-methoxypodophyllotoxin and 6-methoxypodophyllotoxin-7-O-β-glucoside, the last showing a productivity of 92.6 mg/g DW. The two elicitors differently affected the production of the 6-methoxypodophyllotoxin and 6-methoxypodophyllotoxin-7-O-β-glucoside.

Linum lewisii Adventitious and Hairy-Roots Cultures as Lignan Plant Factories

“…In addition, at present, few efforts to produce bioactive molecules from large-scale cell cultures have been commercialized [ 40 ]. Regarding Linum , several attempts to scale up the production have been made, but none of them have yet led to the commercialization of these molecules from cell cultures [ 41 , 42 ]. In order to assess whether L. lewisii cultures could be suitable for future large-scale production, an explorative experiment using a pilot-scale bioreactor has been performed.…”