Evaluation of tissue culture technology in the production of some secondary metabolites in plants

Plants produce compounds through several metabolic pathways that can quickly and effectively react to biotic and abiotic stress factors. Some of these compounds meet the ever-increasing human needs for substances such as drugs, nutrients, and agricultural chemicals. Obtaining valuable plant compounds through agricultural operations is very difficult and time-consuming, and the synthesis of plant-derived compounds is often not economical due to their complex molecular structure and properties. Therefore, the production of secondary metabolites in plants through tissue culture is an attractive solution for their production. One of the ways to produce secondary metabolites is to use elicitors or stimulants. Elicitors include chemicals or biofactors that can stimulate the production of secondary metabolites in living organisms. In order to produce the phenolic compound anthraquinone, special conditions and two years of time are needed, but by using tissue culture, the maximum production of this compound can be achieved within four weeks. In other cases, the production of shikonin and taxol through tissue culture has been successfully carried out industrially and its commercial application has also been made. Therefore, the use of tissue culture technology can be effective in the production of secondary metabolites regardless of the geographical origin of the plant.