4.4.1. In vitro production
Compact callus cells feeding with tryptamine, succinic acid, and
tryptophan increased the terpene indole alkaloids production 3-5 fold.
Hairy root culture of C. roseus fed with precursors (geraniol and
nitroprusside) (Li et al., 2011;
Morgan and Shanks, 2000) and immobilized
cells techniques with high cell density did not increase terpene indole
alkaloids (TIA) production in shoot and callus cultures as compared to
control (Zhao et al., 2001). Suspension
culture elicited with malate and sodium alginate proved to increase
three-fold production of terpene indole alkaloids (ajmalicine and
catharanthine) (Almagro et al., 2011).
In suspension culture of C. roseus , overexpression of
strictosidine synthases (STR) and tryptophan decarboxylase
(TDC) gene with the feeding of loganin and secologanin showed
remarkable production by 24 fold (Whitmer
et al., 2002). Elicitation studies also demonstrated that methyl
jasmonate (MeJA) alone (Zhou et al.,
2010) and/or in combination with another cyclodextrin could improve the
output of catharanthine, one of the two precursors of the anticancer
compound vinblastine, in C. roseus hairy roots through the
enhanced expression of pathway genes
(Almagro et al., 2014). UV-B light stress
has been used as an elicitor to enhance TIAs, including vincristine and
vinblastine production in C. roseus hairy roots
(Lalaleo et al., 2016).