Ageratina pichinchensis (Kunth) R.King & Ho.Rob. is a plant used in traditional Mexican medicine, and some biotechnological studies have shown that its calluses and cell suspension cultures can produce important anti-inflammatory compounds. In this study, we established a cell culture of A. pichinchensis in a 2 L airlift bioreactor and evaluated the production of the anti-inflammatory compounds 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran (1) and 3-epilupeol (2). The maximum biomass production (11.90 ± 2.48 g/L) was reached at 11 days of culture and cell viability was between 80% and 90%. Among kinetic parameters, the specific growth rate (µ) was 0.2216 days⁻¹ and doubling time (td) was 3.13 days. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of extracts showed the maximum production of compound 1 (903.02 ± 41.06 µg/g extract) and compound 2 (561.63 ± 10.63 µg/g extract) at 7 and 14 days, respectively. This study stands out for the significant production of 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran and 3-epilupeol and by the significant reduction in production time compared to callus and cell suspension cultures, previously reported. To date, these compounds have not been found in the wild plant, i.e., its production has only been reported in cell cultures of A. pichinchensis. Therefore, plant cell cultured in an airlift reactor can be an alternative for the improved production of these anti-inflammatory compounds.

Acmella radicans (Asteraceae) is a plant native to America. Despite it having medicinal attributes, studies on its phytochemical properties are scarce, and biotechnological studies do not exist for this species. In this study, we established an adventitious root culture from A. radicans internodal segments in shake flasks with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), and then elicited it with jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA). The total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were evaluated, and a comparison was made using in vitro plantlets and wild plants. Internodal segments with 0.1 mg/L IBA showed 100% root induction and exhibited better growth after transfer to shake flasks with MS liquid culture medium. JA had a significant effect on biomass increase compared to unelicited roots, mainly with 50 µM JA (28%), while SA did not show significant results. Root elicited with 100 µM (SA and JA) showed a 0.34- and 3.9-fold increase, respectively, in total phenolic content (TPC) compared to the control. The antioxidant activity was also significant, and a lower half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) was observed as the AJ concentration increased. Roots elicited with AJ (100 µM) exhibited high antioxidant activity with DPPH (IC₅₀ = 9.4 µg/mL) and ABTS (IC₅₀ = 3.3 µg/mL) assays; these values were close to those for vitamin C (IC₅₀ = 2.0 µg/mL). The TPC and antioxidant activity of in vitro plants and root cultured in shake flasks showed the lowest values in most cases; even the root cultures without elicitation were better than those of a wild plant. In this study, we demonstrated that A. radicans root culture is capable of producing secondary metabolites, while its production and antioxidant activity can be enhanced using jasmonic acid.

Species of the genus Artemisia mainly biosynthesize sesquiterpene lactones. Achillin is a guaianolide-type sesquiterpene lactone isolated from Artemisia ludoviciana; it has shown antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities. In addition, achillin exhibits a significant chemosensitizing effect on hepatocellular carcinoma cells resistant to paclitaxel (PTX). The objective of this study was to establish a callus culture from different explants under conditions of light and total darkness to produce achillin. To obtain in vitro cultures, explants of leaves, nodes, internodes, and roots were used, and they were cultured in MS medium with 0.1 mg/L of kinetin (KIN) or benzyl amino purine (BAP) and/or naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridine carboxylic acid (PIC) at 0.1 and 1.0 mg/L. Of all treatments, internodes with BAP (0.1 mg/L) and PIC (1.0 mg/L) grown under photoperiod showed the best friable callus induction, however, GC-MS analysis showed higher achillin content (1703.05 µg/mL) in leaf calluses with PIC (1.0) and KIN (0.1) under photoperiod, and in node plantlets (1880.01 µg/mL) with PIC (0.1) and BAP (0.1). From 12.34 g of dry leaves of Artemisia ludoviciana, 257 mg of achillin were isolated and purified, which was used as a reference in the quantification of achillin in the in vitro culture.

Ageratina pichinchensis (Kunth) R.M. King & H. Rob. belongs to the Asteraceae family and is a plant native to Mexico to which several biological properties are attributed. In this study, the cytotoxic effect of four extracts from the wild plants and two extracts from A. pichinchensis callus culture were evaluated against carcinogenic cell lines including prostate carcinoma, cervical cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatoma human, lung cancer, and cellular keratinocytes. The extracts were obtained with ethyl acetate and methanol using both leaves and stems or the callus. Only the ethyl acetate extract of the callus culture influenced the cervical cancer cell line (HeLa) with an IC₅₀ of 94.79 ± 2.0 µg/mL. From the ethyl acetate callus extract, 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran was isolated and purified and also evaluated against cancer cells. The cytotoxic evaluation of this compound showed a significant effect against the HeLa cell line with an IC₅₀ of 23.86 ± 2.5 µg/mL. Our results contribute to the development of biotechnological alternatives and extraction processes to produce compounds with possible potential against certain types of human cancer.

Wound healing represents a global public health problem when it is not treated correctly, which can cause complications for the patient, such as functional loss of an organ, amputation, and even death. At a biological level, wound healing involves a complex mechanism in which the immune system and cellular biochemical cascades intervene in a coordinated manner, whose development occurs in stages such as inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. Therefore, therapies have been developed to accelerate wound healing and have proven effective. However, factors such as diabetes mellitus limit the healing process because it causes alterations in microvascular dysfunction, as well as in the inflammatory response and greater oxidative stress. This is reflected in an abnormal healing process; therefore, the search for healing compounds has become an area of interest. In this regard, medicinal plants have been used for centuries to treat wounds in different cultures in the world. Hence, this review documents the main plant species used in Latin America due to its great biodiversity and numerous species that are potentially important for the development of new active healing compounds. In this review, 62 plant families with wound healing studies were found, highlighting Fabaceae, Asteraceae and Euphorbiaceae family. Additionally, 32 natural compounds with diverse structural nature were found, whose effects have been evaluated in in vivo and in vitro models, which are essential for studying the pathogenesis of the tissue repair mechanism, detecting new biomarkers, and evaluate new treatments. Currently, several models are used to study the wound healing process, including in silico, in vitro, and in vivo models. On the other hand, there is no appropriate model to determine the wound healing effect, and, in many cases, they are combined to provide sufficient scientific evidence. Therefore, this review demonstrates that Latin America is a potential region for research into sources of healing molecules. Nevertheless, other species are still being studied whose scientific findings allow generating viable alternatives for the solution of health problems associated with wound healing.