Polyscias fruticosa (L.) Harms, a Southeast Asian medicinal plant of the Araliaceae family, has gained increasing attention due to its rich phytochemical profile and potential pharmacological applications. This review provides an up-to-date synthesis of biotechnological strategies and chemical investigations related to this species. In vitro propagation methods, including somatic embryogenesis, adventitious root, and cell suspension cultures, are discussed with emphasis on elicitation and bioreactor systems to enhance the production of secondary metabolites. Phytochemical analyses using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) have identified over 120 metabolites, including triterpenoid saponins, polyphenols, sterols, volatile terpenoids, polyacetylenes, and fatty acids. Several compounds, such as tocopherols, conjugated linoleic acids, and alismol, were identified for the first time in the genus. These constituents exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anticancer, and neuroprotective activities, with selected saponins (e.g., chikusetsusaponin IVa, Polyscias fruticosa saponin [PFS], zingibroside R1) showing confirmed molecular mechanisms of action. The combination of biotechnological tools with phytochemical and pharmacological evaluation supports P. fruticosa as a promising candidate for further functional, therapeutic, and nutraceutical development. This review also identifies knowledge gaps related to compound characterization and mechanistic studies, suggesting future directions for interdisciplinary research.

The effectiveness of different elicitation variants in combination with alarmone application was studied in shoot cultures of Polyscias filicifolia. The shoots were elicited with 200 µM methyl jasmonate (MeJA) or 50 µM salicylic acid (SA) alone or in combination, and their activity was compared with those treated with the alarmone diadenosine 5′,5‴-P¹P³-triphosphate (Ap3A), either alone or in combination with SA and/or MeJA. All treatments resulted in significant stimulation of phenolic acid production (chlorogenic and ferulic acids), as well as oleanolic acid (OA) compared to control, with their highest concentration noted under simultaneous elicitation with SA and MeJA. While the maximum content of caffeic acid was detected after treatment with alarmone alone. In each of the culture variants enhanced antioxidant activity was observed, however the level varied according to the treatment. In addition, the SA, Ap3A and Ap3A+SA variants demonstrated additional peroxidase isoforms, as indicated by Native-PAGE, as well as the highest α-tocopherol content. The highest antioxidant capacity of shoot extracts was correlated with the highest abundance of phenolic compounds and OA. The results indicate that ROS induction appears to participate in the signal transduction following Ap3A treatment.

Traditional medicinal plants are an important source of active compounds with potential antimutagenic activity. Polyscias filicifolia Bailey (Araliaceae) is a South Asian traditional herb used as an adaptogenic and cardiac drug. Extracts of P. filicifolia contain a wide range of biologically active compounds like phenolic acids and triterpenoid saponins. In the present study. antigenotoxic potential of three naturally occurring phenolic acids and extracts of P. filicifolia growing in vitro with the addition of elicitors was evaluated against direct (4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide (4NQO) and mitomycin C (MMC)) and indirect mutagens (2-aminoanthracene (2AA)). The evaluation was made using a bacterial umu-test. Moreover, the ability to prevent photogenotoxicity induced by chlorpromazine (CPZ) under UVA irradiation was measured. The phytochemical profiling of examined extracts revealed the presence of numerous compounds with the prevelance of chlorogenic, caffeic, and ferulic acid derivatives; however, saponin fractions were also determined. The antioxidant potential of extracts strictly correlated with their composition. The tested extracts exhibited high antigenotoxic activity if the assay was performed with 2AA and metabolic activation. Moreover, the extracts slightly decreased the MMC-induced genotoxicity. However, an increase of the genotoxic effect was observed in the assay performed with 4NQO. In addition, photo-antigenotoxic activity was observed. In our study, phenolic acids exhibited lower activity than the extracts.

Hairy root cultures are considered as a valuable source of bioactive phytoconstituents with expanding applicability for their production. In the present study, hairy root cultures of Polyscias filicifolia (Araliaceae), a traditional Southeast Asian medicinal plant, were established. The transformation with Agrobacterium rhizogenes ATCC 15834 allowed to obtain 15 root lines. The K-1 line, demonstrating the highest growth capabilities, was subjected to further investigations. To enhance the biosynthetic potential of hairy roots, methyl jasmonate elicitation approach was applied (MeJA; at different doses and exposure time), with subsequent transfer of elicited roots to control medium. This strategy resulted in chlorogenic acid production up to 1.59 mg/g dry weight. HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS analysis demonstrated variation in extracts composition and allowed to identify different caffeic and ferulic acid derivatives. Next, cytotoxic, antigenotoxic, and anti-photogenotoxic properties of hairy roots extracts were determined. None of the tested extracts were cytotoxic. In addition, they demonstrated significant antigenotoxic activity with the highest protective potential; up to 52% and 49% of inhibition of induction ratio (IR) induced by the 2-aminoanthracene was revealed for extracts derived from hairy roots elicited for 3 days with 50 µM MeJA and roots elicited for 7 days with 100 µM MeJA and then transferred for 30 days to control medium, respectively. These same extracts exhibited the highest anti-photogenotoxic potential, up to 36% of inhibition of chloropromazine-induced genotoxicity.

Somatic hybridization represents a powerful tool for generating novel chemotypes with enhanced biosynthetic capabilities. This study provides the first comprehensive phytochemical characterization of interspecific somatic hybrids between Gentiana cruciata L. and Gentiana tibetica King ex Hook.f., two medicinally important yet regionally rare gentians. A total of 107 compounds were detected using UHPLC-DAD-ESI-MS³, of which 31 were identified as metabolites across eight phytochemical classes. Comparative profiling revealed that all hybrids retained a conserved core of iridoids and secoiridoids while integrating lineage-specific compounds and producing hybrid-specific metabolites not detected in either parent. Despite inheriting plastids from G. tibetica, hierarchical clustering showed that the phytochemical profiles of hybrid lines were more similar to G. cruciata, the donor of the nuclear genome. Quantitative analysis of the major secoiridoids, such as gentiopicroside, swertiamarin, and sweroside, demonstrated that several hybrid lines, particularly F30A-5 and F30A-6, matched or surpassed the biosynthetic output of G. tibetica, the more productive parent. These lines also exhibited elevated antioxidant capacity, underscoring their phytochemical and functional potential. Altogether, our findings show that somatic hybridization not only preserves but may amplify the secondary metabolite capacity of the parental genotypes, offering a viable platform for sustainable in vitro production of pharmacologically relevant secoiridoids.