The production of plant secondary metabolites using bioreactors

Plants have always been a suitable source for the production of pharmaceuticals. However, the quality and quantity of active substances from wild collected and field grown plants is often fluctuating and heterogeneous depending on environmental conditions. Infestation, diseases and the application of pesticides additionally decrease the quality of the plant material. In vitro culture of plants can overcome these problems, since the environmental conditions that affect plant metabolism can be strictly controlled. Thus, an advanced bioreactor system is a key step towards commercial production of secondary metabolites by plant biotechnology. In Germany, research into applications of plant biotechnology has been concentrated on plant genomics and natural product synthesis, including the development of modern biopharmaceuticals. Plant cell suspension and hairy root cultures are used as natural "bioactive substance factories" to produce plant-derived compounds. Recombinant pharmaceutical proteins and vaccines are derived from transgenic plants. BioPlanta has developed a platform technology for the cultivation of in vitro shoot and organ culture based on the temporary immersion system. It is adaptable to the special requirements of different plant tissue cultures, such as shoots, roots and micro-tubers. Investigations on selected plant species demonstrate that the bioreactor technology allows the reproducible production of active pharmaceutical ingredients of high quality under GMP-conditions and an efficient screening for new active components. This system is particularly suitable for manipulating plant metabolism to generate active compounds with higher value than field plants.