MULBERRY UNDIFFERENTIATED CELL SUSPENSIONS: SUSTAINABLE BIOFACTORIES FOR PRENYLATED FLAVONOIDS

Among natural polyphenols, flavonoids are associated with a broad spectrum of health-promoting effects and are indispensable components in a variety of nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic applications[1]. Prenylated flavonoids are a subclass of flavonoids, which combine a flavonoid skeleton with a lipophilic prenyl side-chain. Prenylation usually ends in molecules with improved bioactivities, due to the increase of lipophilicity, resulting in a higher affinity to biological membranes and in a better interaction with the targets. While flavonoids are quite abundant in plants, prenylated flavonoids are characteristic of only some genera and in a pretty low concentration. Moreover, the complexity of the structures, ending in a difficult chemical synthesis, limits their application[2, 3]. Morus alba (mulberry), a common traditional plant belonging to the Chinese medicine and a functional food resource, is one of the main source of prenylated flavonoids, especially present in the root bark[4]. Being the roots a non-renewable source, the extraction leads to the damage of the plant, thus, alternative biotechnologies are needed for the production of this secondary metabolite class. For this purpose, in this ongoing study, in vitro cell suspensions of M. alba have been established to evaluate the capability of undifferentiated cells to biotransform exogenous flavonoidic substrates into prenylated moieties. The prenylation ability of M. alba cells has been investigated adding directly the substrates in the cell suspension flasks as well as assessing the bioconversion capacity of the microsomal fraction. The results obtained show an active and compound-selective prenylation activity, enhancing the cell culture of M. alba as alternative tool for obtaining prenylated flavonoids, pursuing a sustainable way of production and preserving biodiversity.