Biotic, abiotic, and genetic elicitors as a new paradigm for enhancing alkaloid production for pharmaceutical applications

Abstract

Alkaloids, compounds found in plants with significant potential for medicine, are the subject of this comprehensive review. The review explores the connection between specific triggers, elicitors, and the production of alkaloids in plants. It examines different elicitors and their mechanism of action that influence the production of secondary metabolites in plants, focusing mainly on alkaloid production. The review method incorporated searching various search engines using keywords such as “Secondary metabolite production, Alkaloidal elicitation, elicitors, Biotic elicitors, Abiotic elicitors, Alkaloids medicinal importance.” The search period covered approximately over two decades. The review considers only studies focusing on alkaloidal production, excluding those examining other secondary metabolite elicitation. For better understanding, the review also looks at the origin of these elicitors and categorizes them into biotic, abiotic, and genetic elicitors. Biotic elicitors are further classified into bacterial, fungal, algal, and yeast. Abiotic elicitors include chemical elicitors (such as heavy metals, mineral salts, and nanoparticles), physical elicitors (including light stress, drought stress, salinity, and osmotic stress), hormonal elicitors, and miscellaneous types. Genetic elicitors encompass gene editing and gene silencing techniques. Plants that are a rich source of alkaloids grow in various environments, emphasizing the need to know the exact conditions for different plant species. The review shows how plants successfully produce alkaloids under specific conditions. The review sets the stage for future research and new methods to make more alkaloids efficiently and sustainably. The insights gained from this thorough analysis will significantly aid the pharmaceutical industry in finding better ways to produce some important alkaloid compounds.