Overproduction of Soyasaponin I by Tipuana speciosa (Benth.) cell culture

Plant cell and tissue cultures are promising biotechnological tools for the production of a myriad of bioactive secondary metabolites on demand. Discoveries of cell cultures capable of producing specific medicinal compounds at a rate similar or superior to that of intact plants have been accelerated in the last few years. Soyasaponins have recently gained more attention due to their biological activities and health-promoting functions. There are many reports relating the bioactive benefits of soyasaponins to their chemical structure mainly Soyasaponin I which possess unique pharmacological actions. Our previous study indicated that Tipuana speciosa (Benth.) leaves extract showed promising antimalarial and nephroprotective activities. This study aimed to isolate Soyasaponin I, a major compound in the leaves extract and the use of cell suspension culture as a biotechnological route for high-yield production of this bioactive molecule. The compound was identified by LC-MS/MS analysis and other NMR techniques. To the best of our knowledge, there is no previous studies have been undertaken for the isolation and the production of Soyasaponin I from T. speciosa leaves using plant tissue culture technology. Our data showed that the callus and cell aggregate of T. speciosa represent an over producer cell lines (220 folds) compared to the whole plant.