TRANSGENIC CROPS FOR IMPROVED PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS

Transgenic plants have been obtained from a number of plant species, b ut only from a few medicinal plants. There are even fewer examples of studies on secondary metabolite production in transgenic medicinal pla nts. Because analyses have been performed on only a few plants far-rea ching generalizations cannot be made. The secondary metabolite pathway s are complicated, requiring several enzymatic steps to the desired en d products used as pharmaceuticals. Thus, it is very difficult to regu late the production of secondary metabolites at the gene level. Howeve r, transgenic organ cultures, e.g, hairy roots and shooty teratomas wi th enhanced production capacity, have been obtained from several plant species via Agrobacterium transformation. In this review the possibil ities and problems of producing pharmaceuticals by plant biotechnology are discussed. Comparison is made between whole plants and cell cultu res, as well as conventional versus transgenic plants anti in vitro cu ltures.