S25 - Session O4 - Current status of using bioreactors to produce secondary metabolites from medicinal and aromatic plants

Authors: Alice Petrini *, Grazia Maria Scarpa, Federica Manunta, Silvana Nicola

Interest in medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) has always been very high due to their secondary metabolites. These compounds have relevance in several fields, in pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications and for the food industry. The use of MAPs has a long history, and, in several cases, the cultivation, harvesting, and processing techniques are still based on traditional methods. However, these methods do not always ensure the high quality and quantity of compounds of interest. Moreover, several species of interest are at risk of extinction, or their production and usage are not sustainable from both an environmental and economic point of view. Many bottlenecks can be balanced thanks to the use of bioreactors. Bioreactors help the production of MAPs because the culture is not affected by external factors. Growing conditions can be adjusted to stimulate the metabolic pathway of interest, moreover, merely the part of the plant that supplies the metabolite can be cultured. In recent years, the interest in bioreactor application for MAPs has increased: a query in the Scopus database reports 221 results from 1990 to 2021 related to the search keywords "bioreactors" and "medicinal plant" or "aromatic plant", while 333 records have been found in WoS with the same parameters. Based on this inquiry, the present work aimed to select the most promising applications of bioreactors to produce secondary metabolites of interest from MAPs. This work has investigated and presented the most used bioreactor types (such as balloon-type bubble and airlift systems) for MAPs. Then, specific applications (e.g., plant cell suspension, shoot, plantlet, hairy, and adventitious root cultures) from promising scientific works are discussed. The results obtained have been organized according to the plant species involved and the related producing compound to present the most advanced technical applications in this promising sector.