Articles
Evaluation of Artemisia species as a platform for artemisinin and antioxidants production: exploiting bioprospection, cell cultures and vertical farming
Article number
1462_2
Pages
7 – 14
Language
English
Abstract
An increasing number of bioprospecting approaches are highlighting the ability of species from the genus Artemisia to accumulate a wide array of bioactive phytochemicals, supporting their long-standing use in the traditional medicines across different cultures.
While A. annua remains the main target of agronomic and biotechnological efforts to boost the biosynthesis of the potent antimalarial artemisinin, other Artemisia species could offer potential therapeutic applications, particularly due to their richness in antioxidant compounds.
In this work, we present parallel approaches including bioprospection, plant cell cultures and vertical farming to exploit Artemisia species as platforms for the production of artemisinin and other valuable phytochemicals.
In our previous research, we applied bioprospecting to characterize the metabolomes of various Artemisia species growing in Italy (A. absinthium, A. alba, A. annua, A. verlotiorum and A. vulgaris). We correlated their phytochemical composition (rich in coumarins, hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, flavonoids, and sesquiterpenes) to the antioxidant activity, finding strong correlations for caffeoylquinic acid derivatives.
For selected species, we established cell cultures accumulating high levels of these antioxidants and exhibiting growing features suitable to scale up their production.
A parallel research effort focused on artemisinin production using a high-artemisinin A. annua cultivar.
We established several cell lines under different in vitro conditions (media composition and explant type). Despite the use of epidermal explants rich in glandular trichomes, the resulting cell cultures did not accumulate sesquiterpene lactones.
Furthermore, we assessed the growth of this A. annua cultivar in a controlled vertical farming environment.
An 18/6 h light/dark cycle promoted biomass production leading to a projected artemisinin yield of 244 kg ha‑1 year‑1. However, the high energy costs required for artificial lighting hinder for the moment the economic feasibility of this approach compared to field cultivation.
While A. annua remains the main target of agronomic and biotechnological efforts to boost the biosynthesis of the potent antimalarial artemisinin, other Artemisia species could offer potential therapeutic applications, particularly due to their richness in antioxidant compounds.
In this work, we present parallel approaches including bioprospection, plant cell cultures and vertical farming to exploit Artemisia species as platforms for the production of artemisinin and other valuable phytochemicals.
In our previous research, we applied bioprospecting to characterize the metabolomes of various Artemisia species growing in Italy (A. absinthium, A. alba, A. annua, A. verlotiorum and A. vulgaris). We correlated their phytochemical composition (rich in coumarins, hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, flavonoids, and sesquiterpenes) to the antioxidant activity, finding strong correlations for caffeoylquinic acid derivatives.
For selected species, we established cell cultures accumulating high levels of these antioxidants and exhibiting growing features suitable to scale up their production.
A parallel research effort focused on artemisinin production using a high-artemisinin A. annua cultivar.
We established several cell lines under different in vitro conditions (media composition and explant type). Despite the use of epidermal explants rich in glandular trichomes, the resulting cell cultures did not accumulate sesquiterpene lactones.
Furthermore, we assessed the growth of this A. annua cultivar in a controlled vertical farming environment.
An 18/6 h light/dark cycle promoted biomass production leading to a projected artemisinin yield of 244 kg ha‑1 year‑1. However, the high energy costs required for artificial lighting hinder for the moment the economic feasibility of this approach compared to field cultivation.
Publication
Authors
S. Negri, F. Pietrolucci, C. Ramos, A. Venco, M. Carlessi, B. Franchetti, M. Commisso, L. Avesani, F. Guzzo
Keywords
bioprospecting, metabolomics, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, in vitro plant cultures, indoor cultivation
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