(L.) Harms, or Ming aralia, is a medicinal plant of the Araliaceae family, which is highly valued for its antitoxic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antibacterial, anti-asthmatic, adaptogenic, and other properties. The plant can be potentially used to treat diabetes and its complications, ischemic brain damage, and Parkinson’s disease. Triterpene glycosides of the oleanane type, such as 3–[β–glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-β–glucuronopyranosyl] oleanolic acid 28–β–glucopyranosyl ester (PFS), ladyginoside A, and polysciosides A-H, are mainly responsible for biological activities of this species. In this study, cultivation of the cell suspension of in 20 L bubble-type bioreactors was attempted as a sustainable method for cell biomass production of this valuable species and an alternative to overexploitation of wild plant resources. Cell suspension cultivated in bioreactors under a semi-continuous regime demonstrated satisfactory growth with a specific growth rate of 0.11 day, productivity of 0.32 g (L · day) and an economic coefficient of 0.16 but slightly lower maximum biomass accumulation (~6.8 g L) compared to flask culture (~8.2 g L). Triterpene glycosides PFS (0.91 mg gDW) and ladyginoside A (0.77 mg gDW) were detected in bioreactor-produced cell biomass in higher concentrations compared to cells grown in flasks (0.50 and 0.22 mg gDW, respectively). In antibacterial tests, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of cell biomass extracts against the most common pathogens , methicillin-resistant strain MRSA, , and varied within 250-2000 µg mL which was higher compared to extracts of greenhouse plant leaves (MIC = 4000 µg mL). Cell biomass extracts also exhibited antioxidant activity, as confirmed by DPPH and TEAC assays. Our results suggest that bioreactor cultivation of suspension cell culture may be a perspective method for the sustainable biomass production of this species.
