Indole alkaloids biotechnology

Zenk, M. H., H. El-Shagi, H. Arens, J. StoV ckigt, E. W. Weiler, and B. Deus, "Formation of the Indole Alkaloids Serpentine and Ajmalicine in Cell Suspension Cultures of Catharanthus roseus," in Plant Tissue Culture and Its Biotechnological Application, Eds. W. Barz, E. Reinhard, M. H. Zenk, New York Springer-Verlag, 1977, pp. 27-43. 

Biotechnology Approaches to Improve Terpenoid Indole Alkaloid Production from... 

Moreno PRH, van der Heijden R, Verpoorte R (1995) Cell and tissue cultures of Catharanthus roseus a literature survey. Plant Cell Tiss Org Cult 42 1—25 39. Zenk MH et al (1977) Formation of indole alkaloids serpentine and ajmalidne in cell suspension cultures of Catharanthus roseus. In Batz W, Reinhard E, Zenk MH (eds) Plant tissue culture and its biotechnological application. SpringCT, Berlin... 

The rate of plant propagation and improvement of yield of tryptophan indole alkaloids through biotechnological technique is important for commercial cultivation to meet the pharmaceutical demand of the said alkaloids. There are scanty references or literature in this direction. Few of the literature surveys are highlighted in Table 20.4. 

Ergot alkaloids are mycotoxins produced (mainly) by Claviceps species which have deleterious effects on the central nervous system of mammalia on the other hand, they have a long biotechnological tradition with manifold applications in therapy of human central nervous system (CNS) disorders (for reviews, see Keller and Tudzynski, 2001 Tudzynski et al., 2001). Chemically they are 3,4-substituted indole derivatives having a tetracyclic ergoline ring structure (Fig. 2). 

L-Tryptophan is an indole ring containing aromatic amino acid derived via the shikimate pathway. The tryptophan-derived alkaloids are found in eight families, of which, Apocynaceae, Loganiaceae, Rubiaceae, and Nyssaceae are the best sources. The alkaloids under discussion are the Catharanthus alkaloids, namely, ajmalicine, tabersonine, catharanthine, vindoline, vinblastine, vincristine and vincamine as well as terpenoid alkaloids derived from other families, namely, yohimbine, reserpine, strychnine, brucine, and ellipticine. The above-mentioned alkaloids are pharmacologically very important and hence extremely valuable. This chapter describes various aspects of the tryptophan-derived alkaloids like occurrence, biological activity, phytochemistry, and commercial and biotechnological aspects. 

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