Production of withanolides from cell and organ cultures of withania somnifera (L.) dunal

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.