A review on efforts for improvement in medicinally important chemical constituents inAconitum through biotechnological interventions

• Published in: 3 Biotech 2023-06, Vol.13 (6), p.190-190, Article 190
• Main Authors: Tiwari, Sekhar, Acharya, Puja, Solanki, Bharat, Sharma, Anish Kumar, Rawat, Sandeep
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aconitum; Agriculture; Alkaloids; Analgesics; Anthropogenic factors; Bioinformatics; Biomaterials; Biosynthesis; Biotechnology; Cancer Research; Cell culture; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Cytotoxicity; Diterpenes; Fatty acids; Flavonoids; Inflammation; Metabolites; Organ culture; Phenylpropanoids; Population status; Production methods; Propagation; Review Article; Species; Stem Cells; Terpenes
• ISSN: 2190-572X; 2190-5738
• DOI: 10.1007/s13205-023-03578-z

The genus Aconitum belongs to the family Ranunculaceae, is endowed with more than 350 species on the earth. Medicinally important aconitine type of diterpenoid alkaloids are the characteristic compounds in most of the Aconitum species. The present review endeavored the major research carried out in the field of genetic resource characterization, pharmacological properties, phytochemistry, major factors influencing quantity, biosynthetic pathways and processing methods for recovery of active ingredients, variety improvement, propagation methods, and important metabolite production through cell/organ culture of various Aconitum species. More than 450 derivatives of aconitine-type C19 and C20-diterpenoid alkaloids along with a few other non-alkaloidal compounds, such as phenylpropanoids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and fatty acids, have been identified in the genus. A few Aconitum species and their common diterpenoid alkaloid compounds are also well characterized for analgesic, inflammatory and cytotoxic properties. However, the different isolated compound needs to be validated for supporting other traditional therapeutical uses of the plant species. Aconitine alkaloids shared common biosynthesis pathway, but their diversification mechanism remains unexplored in the genus. Furthermore, the process needs to be developed on secondary metabolite recovery, mass-scale propagation methods, and agro-technologies for maintaining the quality of products. Many species are losing their existence in nature due to over-exploitation or anthropogenic factors; thus, temporal monitoring of the population status in its habitat, and suitable management programs for ascertaining conservation needs to be developed.