Production of ginsenosides from adventitious root cultures of panax ginseng

Abstract

Ginsenosides are a type of glycosylated triterpenes produced as secondary metabolites by Panax ginseng (ginseng). The ginsenosides contain many physiologically and pharmacologically active ones, which possess cardio-protective, immunomodulatory, antifatigue, hepato-protective and anti-tumor properties. Field cultivation of the ginseng plant is a traditional production system to obtain the ginseng bioactive components like ginsenosides, but it is a time-consuming and labour-intensive process. It takes 5-7 years to attain maturity and to reach the harvesting stage, during which a close attention is needed as growth is subjected to several conditions such as soil, climate, pathogens and pests. The use of cell and organ culture has been sought as a potential alternative for efficient production of secondary compounds from ginseng, and various bioprocessing techniques have been developed over the past decades. Powerful strategies for adventitious root culture of ginseng have been developed for biomass and ginsenoside accumulation in large-scale bioreactors. The present status and the art of production of ginseng adventitious roots and ginsenosides from bioreactor cultures are described in this chapter.