Curcuminoid Production from Plant Cells and Organ Cultures for Application in Food and Pharmaceutical Industries

Curcuminoids are the major specialized metabolites in Curcuma species that are used as natural dyes and therapeutic agents with multifold biological activities. Curcuminoids are produced by field cultivation of plants; however, this method suffers from long growth periods and genotypic and environmental conditions. Therefore, research efforts have been made to procure curcuminoids from plant tissue cultures of Curcuma species, especially Curcuma longa, C. aromatica, and C. zedoaria. Cell, hairy root, shoot, and microrhizome cultures have been established to produce curcuminoids in vitro. Elicitation processes have been implemented to improve curcuminoid accumulation in plant tissue cultures. In this review, we present the research conducted on curcuminoid production in plant tissue cultures. In addition, efforts have been made to summarize the research accomplishments in the production of curcuminoids in heterologous systems. Curcuminoids produced from cell and organ cultures are used for food coloring, flavoring, preservation, and therapeutic purposes.