Patent for Increasing the Yield and Safety of Essential Cancer Medicines
ChE/COS Associate Professor Carolyn Lee-Parsons was awarded a patent for “Cultivation and treatment of plants for the production of plant-derived drugs.”
Abstract Source: USPTO
Methods and systems for enhancing the biosynthesis of plant-derived compounds, including medicinal compounds, activate plant defense mechanisms by a combination of growth in red and blue light, mechanical injury of leaves or other plant structures, and/or administration of plant defense hormones to the plants. For compounds derivable from biochemical reactions between precursors stored in different parts of a plant or plant tissue, yield and ease of production are further enhanced through in situ activation of enzyme reactions in harvested plant tissues, thereby avoiding the need to purify and react the isolated precursors. The production methods increase yield, reduce the number of production steps required, and improve the safety of the production process. The methods are suitable for use in greenhouse or modular farm environments.
