Bioprocess and bioreactor: next generation technology for production of potential plant-based antidiabetic and antioxidant molecules

Biorhizome: A Biosynthetic Platform for Colchicine Biomanufacturing

Colchicine is one of the oldest plant-based medicines used to treat gout and one of the most important alkaloid-based antimitotic drugs with anticancer potential, which is commercially extracted from Gloriosa superba. Clinical trials suggest that colchicine medication could prevent atrial fibrillation recurrence after cardiac surgery. In addition, therapeutic colchicine is undergoing clinical trials to treat non-diabetic metabolic syndrome and diabetic nephropathy. However, the industrial-scale biomanufacturing of colchicine have not yet been established. Clearly, further studies on detailed biorhizome-specific transcriptome analysis, gene expression, and candidate gene validation are required before uncover the mechanism of colchicine biosynthesis and biorhizome-based colchicine biomanufacturing. Annotation of 32312 assembled multiple-tissues transcripts of G. superba represented 15088 unigenes in known plant specific gene ontology. This could help understanding colchicine biosynthesis in G. superba. This review highlights the biorhizomes, rhizome specific genes or gene what expressed with high level in rhizomes, and deep fluid dynamics in a bioreactor specifically for the biomanufacture of colchicine.

Bioreactors addressing diabetes mellitus

The concept of bioreactors in biochemical engineering is a well-established process; however, the idea of applying bioreactor technology to biomedical and tissue engineering issues is relatively novel and has been rapidly accepted as a culture model. Tissue engineers have developed and adapted various types of bioreactors in which to culture many different cell types and therapies addressing several diseases, including diabetes mellitus types 1 and 2. With a rising world of bioreactor development and an ever increasing diagnosis rate of diabetes, this review aims to highlight bioreactor history and emerging bioreactor technologies used for diabetes-related cell culture and therapies.

Biomass and RRR-α-tocopherol production in Stichococcus bacillaris strain siva2011 in a balloon bioreactor

Background

Green microalgae represent a renewable natural source of vitamin E. Its most bioactive form is the naturally occurring RRR-α-tocopherol which is biosynthesized in photosynthetic organisms as a single stereoisomer. It is noteworthy that the natural and synthetic α-tocopherols are different biomolecular entities. This article focuses on RRR-α-tocopherol production in Stichococcus bacillaris strain siva2011 biomass in a bioreactor culture with methyl jasmonate (MeJa) elicitor. Additionally, a nonlinear mathematical model was used to quantitatively scale-up and predict the biomass production in a 20 L balloon bioreactor with dual variables such as time and volume.

Results

Approximately 0.6 mg/g dry weight (DW) of RRR-α-tocopherol was enhanced in S. bacillaris strain siva2011 biomass with the MeJa 50 μL/L for 24 hrs elicitations when compared to the control. The R² value from the nonlinear model was enhanced up to 95% when compared to the linear model which significantly improved the accuracy for estimating S. bacillaris strain siva2011 biomass production in a balloon bioreactor.

Conclusions

S. bacillaris strain siva2011 is a new green microalga which biosynthesizes significant amounts of RRR-α-tocopherol. Systematically validated dual variable empirical data should provide key insights to multivariable or fourth order modeling for algal biomass scale-up. This bioprocess engineering should provide valuable information for industrial production of RRR-α-tocopherol from green cells.

Bioprocessing of Stichococcus bacillaris strain siva2011

BACKGROUND

Globally, the development of a cost-effective long-term renewable energy infrastructure is one of the most challenging problems faced by society today. Microalgae are rich in potential biofuel substrates such as lipids, including triacylglycerols (TAGs). Some of these algae also biosynthesize small molecule hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons can often be used as liquid fuels, often with more versatility and by a more direct approach than some TAGs. However, the appropriate TAGs, accumulated from microalgae biomass, can be used as substrates for different kinds of renewable liquid fuels such as biodiesel and jet fuel.

RESULTS

This article describes the isolation and identification of a lipid-rich, hydrocarbon-producing alga, Stichococcus bacillaris strain siva2011, together with its bioprocessing, hydrocarbon and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles. The S. bacillaris strain siva2011 was scaled-up in an 8 L bioreactor with 0.2% CO2. The C16:0, C16:3, C18:1, C18:2 and C18:3 were 112.2, 9.4, 51.3, 74.1 and 69.2 mg/g dry weight (DW), respectively. This new strain produced a significant amount of biomass of 3.79 g/L DW on day 6 in the 8 L bioreactor and also produced three hydrocarbons.

CONCLUSIONS

A new oil-rich microalga S. bacillaris strain siva2011 was discovered and its biomass has been scaled-up in a newly designed balloon-type bioreactor. The TAGs and hydrocarbons produced by this organism could be used as substrates for jet fuel or biodiesel.

Antimalarial evaluation of the chemical constituents of hairy root culture of Bixa orellana L

Over 216 million malaria cases are reported annually worldwide and about a third of these cases, primarily children under the age of five years old, will not survive the infection. Despite this significant world health impact, only a limited number of therapeutic agents are currently available. The lack of scaffold diversity poses a threat in the event that multi-drug–resistant strains emerge. Terrestrial natural products have provided a major source of chemical diversity for starting materials in many FDA approved drugs over the past century. Bixa orellana L. is a popular plant used in South America for the treatment of malaria. In search of new potential therapeutic agents, the chemical constituents of a selected hairy root culture line of Bixa orellana L. were characterized utilizing NMR and mass spectrometry methods, followed by its biological evaluation against malaria strains 3D7 and K1. The crude extract and its isolated compounds demonstrated EC₅₀ values in the micromolar range. Herein, we report our findings on the chemical constituents of Bixa orellana L. from hairy roots responsible for the observed antimalarial activity.

Improving pharmaceutical protein production in Oryza sativa

Application of plant expression systems in the production of recombinant proteins has several advantages, such as low maintenance cost, absence of human pathogens, and possession of complex post-translational glycosylation capabilities. Plants have been successfully used to produce recombinant cytokines, vaccines, antibodies, and other proteins, and rice (Oryza sativa) is a potential plant used as recombinant protein expression system. After successful transformation, transgenic rice cells can be either regenerated into whole plants or grown as cell cultures that can be upscaled into bioreactors. This review summarizes recent advances in the production of different recombinant protein produced in rice and describes their production methods as well as methods to improve protein yield and quality. Glycosylation and its impact in plant development and protein production are discussed, and several methods of improving yield and quality that have not been incorporated in rice expression systems are also proposed. Finally, different bioreactor options are explored and their advantages are analyzed.

Natural prenylated resveratrol analogs arachidin-1 and -3 demonstrate improved glucuronidation profiles and have affinity for cannabinoid receptors

RATIONALE

The therapeutic promise of trans-resveratrol (tRes) is limited by poor bioavailability following rapid metabolism. We hypothesise that trans-arachidin-1 (tA1) and trans-arachidin-3 (tA3), peanut hairy root-derived isoprenylated analogs of tRes, will exhibit slower metabolism/enhanced bioavailability and retain biological activity via cannabinoid receptor (CBR) binding relative to their non-prenylated parent compounds trans-piceatannol (tPice) and tRes, respectively.

RESULTS

The activities of eight human UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) toward these compounds were evaluated. The greatest activity was observed for extrahepatic UGTs 1A10 and 1A7, followed by hepatic UGTs 1A1 and 1A9. Importantly, an additional isoprenyl and/or hydroxyl group in tA1 and tA3 slowed overall glucuronidation. CBR binding studies demonstrated that all analogs bound to CB1Rs with similar affinities (5-18 µM); however, only tA1 and tA3 bound appreciably to CB2Rs. Molecular modelling studies confirmed that the isoprenyl moiety of tA1 and tA3 improved binding affinity to CB2Rs. Finally, although tA3 acted as a competitive CB1R antagonist, tA1 antagonised CB1R agonists by both competitive and non-competitive mechanisms.

CONCLUSIONS

Prenylated stilbenoids may be preferable alternatives to tRes due to increased bioavailability via slowed metabolism. Similar structural analogs might be developed as novel CB therapeutics for obesity and/or drug dependency.