In vitro production of gymnemic acid from cell suspension cultures of Gymnema sylvestre R. Br

Gymnema sylvestre is an important medicinal plant that bears bioactive compound namely gymnemic acids. The present work deals with the optimization of a cell suspension culture system of Gymnema sylvestre for the production of biomass and gymnemic acid, which has anti-diabetic properties. We investigated the effect of inoculum densities (2.5-20.0 g/L), the strength of the Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium (0.25-2.0), carbon source (sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose), and the concentration of the sucrose (1-8% w/v) to determine their effects on biomass accumulation and production of gymnemic acid. Overall, 10 g/L of inoculum density, full-strength MS medium supplemented with 2, 4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2.0 mg/L) and Kinetin (0.1 mg/L), and 3% w/v sucrose was found best for the accumulation of biomass and gymnemic acid content (9.95 mg/g dry weight). The results of the current study will be useful for bioprocess and biochemical engineers for large-scale production of gymnemic acid in cell culture.