Production of biomass and bioactive compounds from cell and organ cultures of ginseng, He-shou-wu, purple coneflower, and St. John's wort for the use in cosmetic industry

Plants and their products have been utilized as raw materials in the preparation of cosmetics for millennia. Currently, research is being done to find new plant materials that may be used as ingredients in cosmetic preparations, including body sprays, shampoos, conditioners, hair dyes/sprays, and other cosmetics. The plants that are used in the preparation of cosmetic products are usually procured from nature, however, the quality and quantity of bioactive ingredients present in the biomass vary based on the species, environment, and geographical locations from where the material has been procured. In addition, procurement of plant material from natural resources may lead to a shortage of material and even endanger the status of rare plants in the natural environment. Therefore, there is increased interest in the use of plant cell, tissue, and organ cultures (PCTOC) for the production of raw materials and bioactive specialized metabolites. There is also scope for increasing the accumulation of biomass and bioactive compounds in PCTOC by adopting various strategies such as optimization of culture medium, culture environment, elicitation, and other bioprocess methods. Furthermore, PCTOC-produced raw materials are free from contaminants, pesticides, and heavy metals and an important benefit of producing biomass in vitro is that it is easily accepted by regulatory authorities and consumers. In the current review, we describe the bioactive compounds of ginseng, purple coneflower, He-shou-wu, and St. John's wort which have cosmetological importance. Additionally, we elucidate the PCTOC method adopted for the production of biomass and bioactive compounds in these plants.(c) 2023 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.