Red Carrot Cells Cultured in vitro Are Effective, Stable, and Safe Ingredients for Skin Care, Nutraceutical, and Food Applications

Abstract

Plant biomasses growing in bioreactor could be developed as production systems for cosmetic ingredients, nutraceuticals and food additives. We previously reported that the red carrot cell line R4G accumulates high levels of anthocyanins, which are potent antioxidants with multiple health-promoting properties. To investigate the industrial potential of this cell line in detail, we tested extract for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity in the mouse monocyte/macrophage cell-line J774A.1 and in reconstructed skin tissue models. We also compared the R4G extract to commercial carrot extracts in terms of stability and metabolomic profiles. We found that the R4G extract have potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, protecting mammalian cells from the oxidative stress triggered by exposure to bacterial lipopolysaccharides and H 2 O 2. The extract also inhibited the nuclear translocation of NF-κB in an epidermal skin model, and induced the expression of VEGF-A to promote the microcirculation in a dermal microtissue model. The anthocyanins extracted from R4G cells were significantly more stable than those found in natural red carrot extracts. Finally, we showed that R4G extract has similar metabolomic profile of natural extracts by using a combination of targeted and untargeted metabolomics analysis, demonstrating the safety of R4G carrot cells for applications in the nutraceutical and food/feed industries.

Cell‐cultivated food production and processing: A review

“…These properties suggested the potential of utilizing the produced cells as food materials. Bianconi et al (2020) studied the potential application of red carrot cell line extract (R4G extract) for food applications, such as colorants. The anthocyanins extracted from R4G cells were significantly more stable as compared with those found in natural red carrot extracts.…”

Food ingredients and food made with plant cell and tissue cultures: State‐of‐the art and future trends

“…(2020) demonstrated the industrial potential of a red carrot cell line extract (R4G extract) for food application (colorant and health food ingredient). It is based on DDC‐derived suspension cells (dark culture) of Daucus carota , which were grown in Gamborg's B5 medium on shake flask and 50 L bioreactor (30 L working volume) scale [104]. The establishment of the production cell line was described by Ceoldo et al.…”

Undifferentiated In Vitro Cultured Actinidia deliciosa as Cell Factory for the Production of Quercetin Glycosides

“…Moreover, flavonoids accumulate, in general, at low levels in plant cell cultures. Probably for this reason, while anthocyanins and hydroxycinnamic acids (e.g., caffeic acid) together with their derivatives (e.g., echinacoside, rosmarinic acid, teupolioside, verbascoside), have been already exploited for industrial production [1,26,27], exploitation of quercetin or other individual flavonoids by PCTC has never been reported. Within a project aimed to generate and screen plant cell lines for the production of valuable metabolites, three cell lines generated from Actinidia deliciosa (kiwifruit tree) showed the ability to accumulate good amounts of several quercetin glycosides.…”

“…Such technology, commonly referred to as "plant cell and tissue culture" (PCTC), offers an attractive and sustainable platform for the production of plant-specialized metabolites in bioreactors. The main advantages are (i) season-independent plant biomass growth; (ii) saving water resources; and (iii) avoiding the use of herbicides and pesticides [1]. Moreover, PCTC is the only alternative for the production of specialized metabolites from rare or endangered plant species, especially when market demand exceeds the availability of plant material or the total synthesis is difficult to obtain.…”

“…Moreover, flavonoids accumulate, in general, at low levels in plant cell cultures. Probably for this reason, while anthocyanins and hydroxycinnamic acids (e.g., caffeic acid) together with their derivatives (e.g., echinacoside, rosmarinic acid, teupolioside, verbascoside), have been already exploited for industrial production [1,26,27], exploitation of quercetin or other individual flavonoids by PCTC has never been reported.…”