Exploring Molecular Diversity of Plants for Enhancement of Natural Products

The secondary metabolites originating from different plant sources are among the most considerable natural compounds. The biologically active secondary metabolites are mostly polyphenolic chemicals that eliminate free radicals and reactive forms of oxygen, minimizing or lessening the negative effects of oxidative stress. Studies from the last decade showed that a significant amount of plant polyphenolics, in particular flavonoids, serve as essential for the health advantages of medicinal plants. There are numerous reports about potential applications of flavonoid compounds; however, plant extraction or chemical synthesis as traditional approaches does not offer stable and extensive production of various plant phenolic compounds in an industrial level. Numerous countries around the world utilize different genotypes of Ocimum L. (basil) species to obtain natural bioactive compounds. Still, unstable production and genotype and environmental dependence of quantitative and quantitative production of basil bioactive compounds are the main limitations. In vitro plant tissue culture metabolic engineering is an efficient approach for the production of valuable phytochemicals and can be further applied for plant natural products production. This chapter provides information about plant phenolic compounds and natural products. Special emphasis is given to the diversity of basil genotypes, and stable and reliable production of natural products from the group of secondary metabolites originating from various basil taxa through the callus and cell suspension culture techniques.