Salvia suspension cultures as production systems for oleanolic and ursolic acid

Oleanolic acid (OA) and ursolic acid (UA) are triterpenic acids with diverse biological activities that are of interest to the pharmaceutical industry. To investigate the scope for producing these compound using cell suspension cultures of Salvia species, calli from Salvia officinalis, S. virgata and S. fruticosa were induced using several plant growth regulator combinations. Eleven lines were selected for suspension induction from a pool of calli. Six suspension cultures were established successfully and cultivated in the respiration activity monitoring system (RAMOS(A (R))) to obtain online data on their growth kinetics and to establish appropriate sampling schedules for the determination of their OA and UA production. Based on their observed growth behaviour, OA and UA contents, and aggregation properties, one suspension culture from each studied Salvia species was selected for further optimisation. The A mu(max) values for these suspension cultures ranged from 0.20 to 0.37 day(-1), their OA and UA contents were greater than 1.3 and 1.2 mg g(-1), respectively, and they afforded maximum volumetric yields of 21.0 mg l(-1) for OA and 32.8 mg l(-1) for UA. These results will be useful in the development of a refined Salvia suspension-based process for OA and UA production.