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Production of Withanolides from Cell and Organ Cultures of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal

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Production of Biomass and Bioactive Compounds Using Bioreactor Technology

Abstract

Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal. (Indian ginseng) is one of the most important medicinal plants used as a crude drug for its preventive and therapeutic purposes. Among the diverse constituents of Withania, withanolides are found to be the major components responsible for their biological and pharmacological actions. On the other hand, difficulty in supplying the pure withanolides in sufficient quantity prevents the development of Withania for clinical medicines. Field cultivation of Withania is time consuming and it needs extensive efforts for quality control as the growth is susceptible to many environmental factors including soil, climate, pathogens and pests. To overcome these problems, cell and organ cultures have been widely explored for more rapid and efficient production of Withania biomass and withanolides. Recently, cell and organ cultures of W. somnifera have been developed in laboratory scale with a view to establish large scale production using bioreactors. Various physical and chemical parameters affecting the biomass production and withanolide accumulation have been investigated.

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Abbreviations

2,4-D:

2,4- Dichlorophenoxy acetic acid

BAP:

6-Benzylaminopurine

DW:

Dry weight

FW:

Fresh weight

IAA:

Indole-3-acetic acid

IBA:

Indole-3-butyric acid

KN:

Kinetin

MJ:

Methyl jasmonate

MS medium:

Murashige and Skoog medium

NAA:

α- Naphthalene acetic acid

SA:

Salicylic acid

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi (DBT-KUD-IPLS Programme BT/PR14555/INF/22/126/2010), University Grants Commission, New Delhi [Project No. 41-423/2012 (SR)], and Department of Atomic Energy, Mumbai (BRNS Project No. 2013/35/BRNS/20). Dr. H. N. Murthy acknowledges ‘The Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies’ (KOFST), South Korea for the award of Brain pool fellowship (131S-4-3-0523).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Bioscience, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Konkuk University, Seoul, 143 701, Republic of Korea

    Praveen Nagella

  2. Department of Botany, Karnatak University, Dharwad, 580003, India

    Hosakatte Niranjana Murthy

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  1. Praveen Nagella
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Correspondence to Hosakatte Niranjana Murthy .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Horticultural Science, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea, Republic of (South Korea)

    Kee-Yoeup Paek

  2. Department of Botany, Karnatak University, Dharwad, India

    Hosakatte Niranjana Murthy

  3. School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Jian-Jiang Zhong

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Nagella, P., Murthy, H.N. (2014). Production of Withanolides from Cell and Organ Cultures of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal. In: Paek, KY., Murthy, H., Zhong, JJ. (eds) Production of Biomass and Bioactive Compounds Using Bioreactor Technology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9223-3_12

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