Trends in the biotechnological production of isoflavonoids in plant cell suspension cultures

Isoflavonoids, a class of flavonoid polyphenolic compounds, are found primarily in leguminous plants. The chemical structure of isoflavonoid is a rearranged 2-phenyl of the flavonoids to a 3-phenyl by substituting the C-ring. Consuming dietary isoflavonoids provides many health benefits, including protection against age-related diseases, such as post-menopausal problems, osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases, and hormone-dependent cancer. Since the market for isoflavonoids is growing, there is a need for alternative strategies for producing isoflavonoids from sustainable sources. In vitro suspension cell culture is environmentally friendly, and its conditions can be easily manipulated to enhance the yield of isoflavonoids. This review provides a detailed survey of the strategies used to augment the production of isoflavonoids with a particular emphasis on media optimization, elicitation, application of electric field, and metabolic engineering.