Bhatia / Sharma MPharm / Sharma Modern Applications of Plant Biotechnology in Pharmaceutical Sciences

1. Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-0-12-802498-0
Verlag: Elsevier Science & Techn.
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 452 Seiten

Modern Applications of Plant Biotechnology in Pharmaceutical Sciences explores advanced techniques in plant biotechnology, their applications to pharmaceutical sciences, and how these methods can lead to more effective, safe, and affordable drugs. The book covers modern approaches in a practical, step-by-step manner, and includes illustrations, examples, and case studies to enhance understanding. Key topics include plant-made pharmaceuticals, classical and non-classical techniques for secondary metabolite production in plant cell culture and their relevance to pharmaceutical science, edible vaccines, novel delivery systems for plant-based products, international industry regulatory guidelines, and more. Readers will find the book to be a comprehensive and valuable resource for the study of modern plant biotechnology approaches and their pharmaceutical applications. - Builds upon the basic concepts of cell and plant tissue culture and recombinant DNA technology to better illustrate the modern and potential applications of plant biotechnology to the pharmaceutical sciences - Provides detailed yet practical coverage of complex techniques, such as micropropogation, gene transfer, and biosynthesis - Examines critical issues of international importance and offers real-life examples and potential solutions

Saurabh Bhatia is Head of the Plant Tissue Culture Lab, PDM College of Pharmacy, Bahadurgarh, Haryana, India.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bhatia, Saurabh

Sharma MPharm, Kiran

Sharma, Kiran

Dahiya, Randhir

Bera, Tanmoy

Leseproben

Chapter 1

History and Scope of Plant Biotechnology

Saurabh Bhatia

Abstract

Biotechnology explores the metabolic properties of living organisms for the production of valuable products of a very different structural and organizational level. Plant serves as an important source of primary and secondary metabolites used in pharmacy, biotechnology, and food technology. Plant biotechnology has gained importance in the recent past for augmenting the quality and quantity of agricultural, horticultural, ornamental plants, and in manipulating the plants for improved agronomic performance. Plant tissue culture is the most popular technique of plant biotechnology, which has diverse applications in the various fields. To understand the basic facts related with plant in vitro studies it is worth acknowledging historical principles of plant tissue culture science, which takes its roots from ground-breaking research like discovery of cells followed by the propounding of cell theory. This chapter covers various major historical achievements such as the concept of cellular totipotency, which was inherent in cell theory and was further elaborated by Haberlandt in 1902. This historical account created the scope and development for plant tissue culture science such as research and production of transgenic plants and their products, which could be of use to mankind as food, medicine, and life-saving drugs.

Keywords

history

scope

plant tissue culture

biotechnology

Outline

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 History of Plant Biotechnology 4

1.2.1 Cell Theory 4

1.2.2 Concept of In Vitro Cell Culture 4

1.2.2.1 Totipotency of Plant Cells 10

1.2.2.2 Improvement in Quality of Media 11

1.2.2.3 Development of Plant Growth Regulators 11

1.2.2.4 Emergence of Certain Standard Synthetic Media 12

1.2.2.5 Cell Suspension Culture and Plating Technique 12

1.2.2.6 Somatic Hybrid and Somatic Embryos 13

1.2.2.7 Test Tube Fertilization 13

1.2.2.8 Period Between the 1940s and the 1960s 14

1.2.2.9 From the 1970s to the 1980s 14

1.2.2.10 Historical Research on Tobacco 14

1.2.2.11 After the 1990s 14

1.3 Scope and Importance of Biotechnology 17

1.3.1 Biotechnology in Pharmaceutical Sciences 18

1.3.2 Industrial Biotechnology 19

1.3.3 Biotechnology and the Environment 21

1.3.4 Biotechnology and Agriculture 24

1.3.5 Educational Scope 24

References 25

1.1. Introduction

Biotechnology has flourished since prehistoric times. When Homo sapiens realized that they could plant their crops and breed their own animals they learned to use biotechnology. From nearly 10,000 years ago, our ancestors were producing wine, beer, and bread, using fermentation. In this process microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast, and molds fed on provided food and released two main by-products: carbon dioxide and alcohol. Several discoveries such as fermentation of fruits into wine, malt into beers, and milk into yoghurt or curd or cheese began the era of biotechnology. In prehistoric times bakers found that they could make soft and spongy bread rather than firm bread, and animal breeders realized that physical traits of various animal breeds could be magnified or lost by mating appropriate animals of different traits. From such discoveries some think of biotechnology as a tool to develop new types of plants and animals and others treat it as a source of human therapeutic drugs [1]. These thoughts give birth to one of the oldest and purest definitions of biotechnology:

Bio: The use of biological process

Technology: To solve problems or make useful products

Collectively, biotechnology refers to use of living organisms or their products to modify human health and the human environment.

After the end of the classical and ancient biotechnology era, modern biotechnology appears accompanied by the latest genetic techniques. This modern genetic era brings various techniques such as recombinant DNA technology and gene splicing. These lead to a modification of the earlier definition and give a few new definitions of biotechnology:

Biotechnology is a collection of new technologies that capitalize on the attributes of cells, such as the manufacturing capabilities, and put biological molecules, such as proteins and DNA, to work for us.

OR

Modern biotechnology refers to the use of cellular and bimolecular processes to solve problems or make useful products.

Subsequently, biotechnology started contributing in other fields such as agriculture, horticulture, etc. Since biotechnology has become the major tool for the production of therapeutic drugs, a recent emerging branch, “pharmaceutical biotechnology,” covers its major applications. This provides a new definition of biotechnology:

A field that uses micro- and macroorganisms and hybridomas to create biopharmaceuticals that are safer and more cost-effective than conventionally produced pharmaceuticals, known as pharmaceutical biotechnology.

Thus, biopharmaceuticals are defined as pharmaceuticals manufactured by biotechnology methods, with the products obviously having biological sources, usually involving live organisms or their active components.

General applications of modern biotechnology involve production of hormones, genes, antibiotics, vaccines, interferons, alcohols, vitamins, organic acids, transgenic animals, immunological proteins, probes, monoclonal antibodies, and an antenatal diagnosis cure in preventing genetic disease. Biotechnology is the name given to the methods and techniques that involve the use of living organisms like bacteria, yeast, plant cells, etc., or their parts or products as tools (e.g., genes and enzymes). Biological techniques, which deal with plant cells to produce useful plants and their products, usually come under the domain of plant biotechnology or plant science [1,2].

Plant science is a relatively current discipline though its fundamental techniques have been applied throughout human history. For 12,000 years humans have been controlling crops and breeding plants to improve their desirable characteristics. Primitive farmers identified the crops for cultivation and explored their importance for human survival. These farmers found that they could increase the yield and improve the traits of crops by selecting seeds from particularly desirable plants. Initially they were unaware of the basic principles involved in improving the characteristics of plants. Over many years, they realized the importance of selection of seeds in maintaining the desirable traits of plants. Thus, in ancient plant biotechnology humans have domesticated crops and bred plants to further improve their desirable characteristics, whereas classical plant biotechnology (George Mendel, 1860s) originated the science of genetics and cross-breeding techniques to strengthen the characteristics of plants [1–5].

After George Mendel’s discovery in the mid-1860s, the benefits of cross-breeding or hybridization became apparent, which explores the opportunities to cultivate the desirable plant traits up to several generations. This great discovery ends the classical breeding era and begins new era of modern plant breeding, which includes mutation breeding, green revolution, and plant tissue culture breeding [4,5].

Among the various branches, plant biotechnology is one of the most emerging disciplines of biotechnology. Plant biotechnology achievement depends on the basic techniques of plant tissue culture. Profound knowledge of plant biology is a primary requirement for its proper utilization in biotechnology. Plant tissue culture offers a basic understanding of physicochemical requirements of cell, tissue, and organ culture, and their growth and development. According to the Council for Biotechnology Information:

Plant biotechnology describes a precise process in which scientific techniques are used to develop useful and beneficial plants.

Plant cell, tissue, and organ culture establishment and plantlet regeneration under in vitro conditions has opened up new opportunities in plant biotechnology.

Plant tissue culture is defined as culturing plant seeds, organs, explants, tissues, cells, or protoplasts on a chemically defined synthetic nutrient media under sterile and controlled conditions of light, temperature, and humidity.

Plant cell potential was initially proposed by Schleiden and Schwann in 1838–39 [5]. The first attempt at plant tissue culture was made by Harberlandt in 1902 [6]. Some of the earliest plant tissue culture media, for example, the root culture medium of White [7] and callus culture medium of Gautheret [8], were developed from nutrient solution used for whole plant culture. White evolved the medium from Upsenski and...