The mass production of herbal medicines on an industrial scale isn’t without its hurdles.
A team of bioengineers at Kobe University has made significant strides in addressing these challenges by engineering a yeast strain that can produce artepillin C—a sought-after compound found in select plants—at astonishing concentrations in fermenters.
This innovative approach not only showcases the efficiency of artepillin C production but also opens doors for synthesizing other plant-derived compounds using microbial methods.
Challenges in Herbal Medicine Production
Herbal medicines carry numerous health benefits, yet many remain impractical for large-scale production.
Take artepillin C, for example; it boasts antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties, but it is mainly sourced from bee products.
Bioengineer Hasunuma Tomohisa from Kobe University pointed out the pressing need for a cost-effective method with high yield while championing the use of bioengineered microorganisms that thrive in fermenters.
However, achieving this goal brings its own complications.
Breakthrough in Microbial Synthesis
The first step in the process is to identify the enzyme responsible for generating the target molecule within plants.
Recently, Kazufumi Yazaki of Kyoto University pinpointed this key enzyme for artepillin C synthesis and reached out to Hasunuma’s team for assistance in leveraging microbial systems for production.
Capitalizing on their expertise, the researchers incorporated the enzyme’s gene into the yeast strain Komagataella phaffii.
This particular yeast offers advantages over traditional brewer’s yeast, including higher cell densities, the absence of alcohol production, and improved efficiency in synthesizing similar compounds.
In a groundbreaking article published in ACS Synthetic Biology, the team revealed they had achieved a tenfold increase in artepillin C production relative to previous production methods.
This remarkable enhancement was the result of meticulously optimizing the molecular processes involved in synthesis.
Hasunuma pointed out a unique aspect of yeast behavior: artepillin C tends to build up within the yeast cells instead of being released into the surrounding medium.
Hence, it was crucial to fine-tune the yeast’s growth conditions in fermenters, including addressing mutations that restricted cell density.
Future Directions and Broader Implications
Looking to the future, Hasunuma has several ideas for further boosting production.
One approach involves optimizing a crucial final step in the chemical pathway, potentially by altering the enzyme or increasing the availability of precursor molecules.
Another exciting avenue could involve crafting a transport mechanism that allows artepillin C to exit the yeast cells while keeping essential precursors inside, thereby enhancing overall yields.
The implications of this research extend well beyond just artepillin C. Hasunuma noted the abundance of naturally occurring compounds with similar chemical structures, suggesting that the techniques developed for producing artepillin C could be applied to the microbial synthesis of other plant-derived compounds.
This work represents an important leap in utilizing biotechnological innovations for pharmaceutical applications, and it holds the promise of transforming how we produce herbal medicines on a larger scale.
Source: ScienceDaily