Biotechnological approaches for the IN VITRO production of L DOPA from callus suspension cultures of MUCUNA PRURIENS L DC

Abstract

Plants are an important source of drugs to treat wide array of disorders due to the newlineproduction of various classes of secondary metabolites which are used as active ingredients to treat and cure diseases. One such commercially important metabolite known as 3,4 dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) is used to treat various central nervous system disorders like Dementia, Parkinson s, Alzheimer s, etc. Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. belonging to Fabaceae family has been used since time immemorial to treat Parkinson s disease and the seeds are the main source of all herbal formulations to treat various disorders of nervous system and male newlinereproductive system. Though the metabolite is present in all parts of Mucuna, seeds possess newlinethe highest concentration and it has become a huge challenge to satisfy the emerging demand newlinefor L-DOPA. This is attributed to the conventional methods of extraction from the natural sources of Mucuna sps., which has a low germination rate, less viable seeds and an irritating, itching trichomes on the pods. The need for an alternative method with continuous supply of L-DOPA without affecting the natural biodiversity has been achieved through in-vitro procedures. But there hasn t been a systematic approach to optimize the cultural conditions for the optimal productivity. Hence in our study, we aimed at selecting an elite germplasm of Mucuna pruriens and growing them in-vitro, along with establishing a callus suspension newlineculture and optimizing the cultural conditions for high biomass and L-DOPA production. Callus was induced by supplementing various plant growth regulators like auxins (IAA, IBA, Picloram, NAA, 2,4-D), cytokinins (Kinetin, BAP, 2-iP and TDZ) and their combinations in different concentrations (0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0 and 10.0 mg/L).