Elementary plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology (2+1)

Commercial Production of Shikonin & Hairy root cultures

Commercial Production of Shikonin

• Shikonin is the first commercial product from cell cultures. The high producing clone cells to be used as inoculum (Stock or seed cultures) are maintained in jar fermenter. The inoculum is then added to 200 l fermenter (first stage) containing the MG-5 medium for culture growth. After 9 days, the cells are filtered out and inoculated into a 750 l fermenter (second stage) containing M-9 shikonin production medium and incubated for 14 days. The cells are harvested by simple filtration and Shikonin and Shikonin derivatives are extracted from the cells. A 700 l bioreactor with 600 l medium would yield 1.2 kg of Shikonin in 2 weeks.

Hairy root cultures

• Agrobacterium rhizogens may be used to transform leaf discs, other organs or even protoplasts. This induce hairy roots which may arise directly from that site of transformation. These hairy roots synthesize secondary metabolites at the levels characteristic of the roots of parent plants. The roots are excised and used to initiate root cultures and it is easily developed in most dicots. Hairy root cultures are
1. Suitable for production of all root-derived biochemicals
2. faster growing, higher producing and much easier to maintain than untransformed root cultures
3. do not have risk of instability which is common is cell cultures