Abstract

Rosmarinic acid, an important phenolic compound, is commonly found in species of the Boraginaceae and the subfamily Nepetoideae of the Lamiaceae. However, it is also found in species of other higher plant families and in some fern and hornwort species. Rosmarinic acid has a number of interesting biological activities, e.g. antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant. The presence of rosmarinic acid in medicinal plants, herbs and spices has beneficial and health promoting effects. In plants, rosmarinic acid is supposed to act as a preformed constitutively accumulated defence compound. The biosynthesis of rosmarinic acid starts with the amino acids -phenylalanine and -tyrosine. Plant cell cultures, e.g. from Coleus blumei or Salvia officinalis, accumulate rosmarinic acid in amounts much higher than in the plant itself (up to 36% of the cell dry weight). Similarly some other biotechnological researches for production of rosmarinic acid were done in the past i.e. from shoot culture, producing hairy root, using bioreactor, and the treatment of elicitors. As a review paper the aim of this study is to gather all the possible biotechnological ways to produce rosmarinic acid, thus will help the scientists to take action for future study in this discipline.

Key words: Biotechnology, in vitro culture, plant, rosmarinic acid.