BIOTECHNOLOGICAL APPROACHES FOR ENHANCING PRODUCTION OF PLANT-BASED BIOACTIVES
B. Ramya Sree
Department of Biotechnology, Sree Vidyanikethan Engineering College, Tirupati
Jyothi M. Joy
Department of Pharmacognosy, Sree Vidyanikethan College of Pharmacy, Tirupati
Plant-based bioactives, including alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and phenolic compounds, play a pivotal role in modern therapeutics due to their diverse pharmacological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antimicrobial effects. However, conventional methods of extraction from natural sources are often limited by low yield, environmental variability, and sustainability concerns. Biotechnological approaches have emerged as powerful tools to overcome these challenges by enabling controlled, efficient, and scalable production of bioactive compounds. Techniques such as plant tissue culture, cell suspension culture, and hairy root culture provide alternative platforms for consistent metabolite production independent of climatic conditions. Advances in metabolic engineering, genetic transformation, and genome editing technologies like CRISPR/Cas9 have further enhanced the ability to manipulate biosynthetic pathways for increased yield and novel compound generation. Additionally, elicitation strategies and synthetic biology approaches have been employed to stimulate secondary metabolite production. The integration of omics technologies, including genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, has facilitated a deeper understanding of plant metabolic networks, enabling targeted interventions. Furthermore, microbial and endophytic systems have gained attention as sustainable biofactories for phytochemical production. Despite these advancements, challenges related to scale-up, regulatory approval, and cost-effectiveness remain. This review highlights the recent progress in biotechnological strategies for enhancing plant-based bioactive production and discusses future perspectives for their industrial and clinical applications
16 , 1 , 2026
35 - 38