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A Customizable Approach for the Enzymatic Production and Purification of Diterpenoid Natural Products
Published on: October 4, 2019
Natural products from plant cell cultures
Elizabeth McCoy1, Sarah E O'Connor
1Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Abstract:
Plants produce complex small molecules - natural products - that exhibit anticancer, antimalarial and antimicrobial activity. These molecules play a key role in human medicine. However, plants typically produce these compounds in low quantities, and harvesting plant natural products is frequently expensive, time-consuming and environmentally damaging. Plant cell culture provides a renewable, easily scalable source of plant material. In this chapter we discuss the successes and pitfalls associated with natural product production in plant cell cultures.
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