ANTIINFLAMMATORY OLEANANE TRITERPENES FROM TRIPTERYGIUM-WILFORDII CELL-SUSPENSION CULTURES BY FUNGAL ELICITATION

Treatment of cell suspension cultures of Tripterygium wilfordii with an autoclaved Botrytis sp. homogenate rapidly increased the synthesis of a family of oleanane and friedelane triterpenes, including the anti-inflammatory oleanane triterpene 3beta,22alpha-dihydroxyolean-12-en-29-oic acid. This compound exceeded 30 mg . l-1 in 13 day elicitations with 12 l bioreactors, in contrast to control levels of less than 5 mg . l-1. Cell cultures treated with die fungal elicitor provided higher triterpene yields in less time than cultures in a diterpene production medium or whole plants. Elicited production has been developed for commercial application in light of the successful treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with Tripterygium extracts.