Recent progress in biotechnology of Mexican medicinal plants

Based on traditional medicinal knowledge, it was possible to identify the plant species Solanum chrysotrichum as the source of a new antimycotic agent designated SC-1. Cell suspension batch cultures from this plant were established in shake flasks, in which the production of SC-1 was optimized, reaching values fifty times higher than those registered in field grown plants. Large-scale cultivation of the active biomass from S. chrysotrichum was established in 10 l airlift bioreactors, and productivity levels of SC-1 were increased by 60% when using a draw-fill mode in the bioreactors.