Terpenoid bio-transformations and applications via cell/organ cultures: a systematic review

Abstract

Structurally diverse natural products are valued for their targeted biological activity. The challenge of working with such metabolites is their low natural abundance and complex structure, often with multiple stereocenters, precludes large-scale or unsophisticated chemical synthesis. Since select plants contain the enzymatic machinery necessary to produce specialized compounds, tissue cultures can be used to achieve key transformations for large-scale chemical and/or pharmaceutical applications. In this context, plant tissue-culture bio-transformations have demonstrated great promise in the preparation of pharmaceutical products. This review describes the capacity of cultured plant cells to transform terpenoid natural products and the specific application of such transformations over the past three decades (1988–2019).

Keywords:

• Terpenoid
• natural metabolites
• enzymatic biotransformations
• plant cell cultures
• active natural product derivatives
• Pharmaceutical products

Acknowledgments

Prof Mohamed Hegazy gratefully acknowledges the financial support from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation “Georg Foster Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers.” HRE thanks Swedish Research links grant 2016-05885 (VR for the years 2017–2019). Dr. Elshamy wish to gratefully acknowledges the Takeda Science Foundation, Japan.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.