Plant tissue culture as an important tool for the continuous production of active compounds including secondary metabolites and engineered molecules. Novel methods (gene editing, abiotic stress) can improve the technique. Humans have a long history of reliance on plants for a supply of food, shelter and, most importantly, medicine. Current-day pharmaceuticals are typically based on plant-derived metabolites, with new products being discovered constantly. Nevertheless, the consistent and uniform supply of plant pharmaceuticals has often been compromised. One alternative for the production of important plant active compounds is in vitro plant tissue culture, as it assures independence from geographical conditions by eliminating the need to rely on wild plants. Plant transformation also allows the further use of plants for the production of engineered compounds, such as vaccines and multiple pharmaceuticals. This review summarizes the important bioactive compounds currently produced by plant tissue culture and the fundamental methods and plants employed for their production.

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Maguey, Agave salmiana, is an important plant for the “pulque” beverage and functional food industries; however, it has several constraints for elite and homogeneous plant production. In this study, a micropropagation process was established to generate in vitro plants. The effect of the method on metabolite content and antioxidant (AOX) activity in regenerated plants was evaluated. Young germinated plantlets were micropropagated from axillary shoots using Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with L2 vitamins, 0.04 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 10 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine. Total soluble sugars from the aqueous fraction and total phenolic acids, total saponins, and AOX activity of the methanol fraction were determined in wild-type (WT) plants, in in vitro (IN) plants, and ex vitro acclimated plants (EN). The results showed that IN plants have a 50% lower soluble sugar content compared to WT, and EN. The total phenolic acids content was at least 30% higher in micropropagated (IN) and regenerated (EN) plants compared to WT. The total saponin content in IN, and EN plants was 36 and 25 times higher compared to WT. The AOX capacity of IN plants was on average three times higher compared to other treatments. However, no correlation was found between the AOX activity and total phenolic acids or total saponins. A negative and significant correlation (r = –0.927; p = 0.003) was found between the AOX activity and the total soluble sugars content. Micropropagated plants of A. salmiana have a different phytochemical content and bioactivity after the in vitro process compared to WT plants. The micropropagation process could be used as a platform for phytochemical enhancement of Agave plants.

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Agave salmiana Otto ex Salm-Dyck has traditionally been used for the production of fermented beverage known as "pulque" that has recently gained acceptance as a functional food. However, the plant requires up to 10 years to be used as raw material. The objective of this work was to evaluate the antioxidant and bioactive principles of Agave salmiana during different stages of development. Wild grown plants from Coahuila, Mexico, were identified based on leaf and spine traits to obtain a representative sample from six different stages of development (I-VI) from 1 to 7 years old. Total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity (AOX), as well as composition and content of flavonols and saponins by HPLC-MS-TOF and HPLC-ELSD-PDA were evaluated. Concentrations of TPC were found to be between 5 to 13 mg gallic acid equivalents/g, reaching a maximum at stage II. The AOX presented a negative tendency from stage I to stage VI (from 148 to 50 μmol Trolox equivalents/g respectively). Kaempferol, quercetin and five saponins were identified. Similar to AOX, flavonols presented a negative concentration tendency with a reduction of 65% between the stage I and VI. Plants of stage III and IV presented the highest content of saponins, particularly chlorogenin glycoside, containing 3.19 and 2.90 mg protodioscin equivalents/g, respectively. These data suggest that plants from stages I to IV may be used as a source of antioxidant and bioactive principles, and that the content of these metabolites could be used as a marker to determine the developmental stage of the plant.