Alkaloid production in elicited cell suspension cultures of Erythrina americana Miller

A number of species of the genus Erythrina are rich in secondary metabolites, particularly phenolics and alkaloids that exhibit interesting anti-inflammatory, anti-plasmodial, bactericidal, curariform and fungicidal activities. Unfortunately, the isolation of these compounds through the extraction of organs and seeds of whole plants is becoming more difficult since the natural growing areas of many of the species, and particularly of Erythrina americana, are being urbanised. Plant tissue culture not only constitutes a viable method through which to preserve the species, but may also represent a constant and stable source of target alkaloids. Currently, however, in vitro systems, and especially cell suspension cultures, only accumulate low levels of the desired products. A number of strategies for increasing production have been proposed, the most successful of which involves elicitation of suspension cells with plant growth regulators. In this context, excellent results have been reported following elicitation of cell cultures derived from different species and genera with jasmonic acid and methyl jasmonate. The present paper provides a brief review of the novel approaches to the use of Erythrina alkaloids that have recently been described, and of the advances that have been made in the formation of tissue cultures of E. americana and their subsequent elicitation in attempts to augment alkaloid accumulation.