In Vitro Production of Saponins

Abstract

Plants have been utilized as food, feed, and fodder since the dawn of civilization. Plants are also thought to be a rich source of bioactive compounds with a variety of pharmacological actions. Saponins are one such group of molecules which are present in various plant species. As triterpenoid glycosides, they have a 30C oxidosqualene precursor aglycone moiety (sapogenin), which is then linked with glycosyl residues to form saponin. These saponins have a unique platform in the field of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. Saponins are used for the treatment of various diseases which include cancer, diabetic, cardiac, hepatic, and nervous disorders. The production of saponins through conventional approaches is time-consuming and hard to extract pure compounds, and thus to achieve this, in vitro methods have been developed and enhanced the production and extraction of the metabolites. The present chapter focuses on the in vitro production of saponins through various tissue culture techniques such as shoot, callus, cell suspension, adventitious root, hairy root culture, and applications of bioreactors at commercial level. The chapter also focuses on biosynthetic pathway, extraction methods, and biological activities of saponins.