The 1st International Joint Seminar on Agricultural Science and Biotechnology

The 1st International Joint Seminar on Agricultural Scienceand Biotechnology: Frontiers in Natural Product Chemistryand Biomass Science
Wednesday, November 9th, 2022
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (Japan Time)

Speakers and Lecture Titles
Prof. Rakhi Chaturvedi (Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, INDIA)“Sustainable Production of Plant Secondary Metabolites by the Application of
Plant Tissue Culture Techniques”
Prof. Wasrin Syafii (IPB University, INDONESISA）“Biological Activities of Extractives From Tropical Woods”
Assoc. Prof. Hikaru Kobori (Shizuoka University, JAPAN)“Effective Utilization of Wood Biomass and Its Evaluation by Vis-NIR
Spectroscopy”

Convener
Assoc. Prof. Shiro Suzuki (Gifu University, JAPAN)
Organized byInternational Consortium of Universities in South and Southeast Asia for theDoctoral Education in Agricultural Science and Biotechnology (IC-GU12)

The 1st International Joint Seminar on Agricultural Science and Biotechnology

Lecture 1

Sustainable Production of Plant Secondary Metabolites by theApplication of Plant Tissue Culture Techniques
Rakhi Chaturvedi*
Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Guwahati-781039, Assam, INDIA*Corresponding: rakhi_chaturvedi@iitg.ac.in / rakhi_chaturvedi@yahoo.co.uk
ABSTRACTFor consistent metabolite production, the unique capacity of plant cells, which have manyother applications in plant improvement, propagation and conservation other than basic andapplied plant sciences, can be utilized. Conservation of improved germplasm and sustainableproduction of bio-active metabolites are major breakthrough discoveries of plant tissue culture
research. The enhanced rate of plant multiplication can considerably reduce the period between
the selection of superior plants and raising enough planting material for metabolite extraction.
The technique can further be used to scale-up the production of bioactive metabolites. The mostimportant advantage of in vitro grown plants is that it is independent of geographical variations,seasonal variations and also environmental factors. It offers a defined production system,
continuous supply of desired products with uniform quality and yield. Novel compounds which
are not generally found in the parent plants can be produced in the in vitro grown plants throughplant tissue culture. In addition, stereo- and region-specific biotransformation of the plant cells
can be performed for the production of bioactive compounds from economical precursors. Thecallus, a mass of undifferentiated cells, can be induced on semi-solid medium from any part ofthe plant under the correct nutritional conditions. These callus cultures, which are friable intexture, are utilized to raise cell suspension cultures in shake flasks. This plant cell suspension
cultures can serve as inoculum for scale-up of cell biomass and product development inbioreactors. Cell suspensions in bioreactors favor high cell growth rate and consistentmetabolite production though with associated challenges, which can be resolved by nutrientand process optimization. The metabolite production can further be enhanced by the use ofelicitors and precursors selectively. However, large scale biomass and secondary metabolite
production in bioreactor is more complex than shake flask cultures. It requires standardizationof parameters, like aeration, agitation speed, pH, temperature, minerals, carbohydrates, growth
regulators and cell density, primarily due to large size of culture volume combined with shear
sensitive nature of plant cells. Efficient downstream recovery of products and rapidity ofproduction are its added advantages.
Keywords: biotransformation, callus, cell suspension, conservation, secondary metabolites,tissue culture

The 1st International Joint Seminar on Agricultural Science and Biotechnology

Lecture 2

Biological Activities of Extractives from Tropical Woods
Wasrin Syafii* and Yanico Hadi Prayogo
Department of Forest Products, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, IPB University
16680, Bogor, INDONESIA*Corresponding: wasrinsy@indo.net.id / wasrinsy@apps.ipb.ac.id
ABSTRACT"Whole tree utilization" is a concept to utilize all parts of the tree effectively and efficiently
with the aim of minimizing waste. This concept is applied through three aspects, namely,utilizing all species of wood, utilizing all parts of wood, and utilizing all wood components.
Extractives are very diverse and unique components in each wood species. This diversity also
shows the very wide potential of utilization as a source of active ingredients. The highbiodiversity of Indonesia supports a higher diversity of extractive components to be explored.
In particular, extractives from several tropical wood species from Indonesia have shown
biological activities related to human health (antioxidant, antidiabetic, antibacterial, andantimalarial) and effectiveness as biopesticides (anti-fungal and anti-termite). Acacia
crassicarpa heartwood showed good antioxidant capacity among four others. Flavonoid
compounds are thought to be responsible for the antioxidant activity and are dominated incrassicarpa heartwood extract. Baccaurea motleyana extractives inhibited three different
bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Strychnos ligustrina extracts are potent anti-malarials when used alone or in combination withartemisinin. The alkaloid compounds, brucine and strychnine, were predicted to be antimalarial active compounds. Raru woods inhibited the alpha-glucosidase enzyme and was potent
as an antidiabetic. A phenolic compound was isolated from raru wood as an active anti-diabeticcompound. Melia azedarach was effective as a natural anti-termite biopesticide against
subterranean termites, acting through both toxic and repellent mechanisms. Moreover, twoneoflavonoids from Dalbergia latifolia showed significant potential as antitermites against
subterranean termites. Two white-rot fungi (Schizophyllum commune Fries and Pleurotusostreatus) were inhibited by Shorea laevis and Palaquium sp. As active antifungal compounds,
two fatty acid-active compounds have been isolated from Shorea laevis and Palaqium sp. The
antifungal activity of neolignans as active compounds from Eusideroxylon zwageri against
white-rot fungi (Coriolus versicolor) and brown-rot fungi (Tyromeces polutris) was also
demonstrated. The diverse range of biological activity in tropical wood extractives suggests
significant potential. As a result, extractives, must be employed effectively and efficiently.
Keywords: tropical woods, extractives, antioxidant, antimalarial, antidiabetic, antibacterial,antifungal, anti-termite

The 1st International Joint Seminar on Agricultural Science and Biotechnology

Lecture 3

Effective Utilization of Wood Biomass and Its Evaluation by VisNIR Spectroscopy
Hikaru Kobori*
Department of Bioresource Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Shizuoka University
836 Ohya, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8529 JAPAN*
Corresponding: kobori.hikaru@shizuoka.ac.jp
ABSTRACT
Appropriate use of wood biomass is one of the important issues to promote a recycling-oriented
society. Direct usage of unused biomass such as forest residue, sawdust or any other byproducts is
not easy due to the instability of quality and supply amount of them, therefore, some mechanicalprocessing and compounding with other materials are required. Particle boards are produced byparticles from wood bark bonded together by hot pressing without any adhesive or additives.
Mechanical properties of bark-based particle boards vary with species, however in some species,
addition of small amounts of ball-milled bark improves the bending property. Wood plastic
composite (WPC), composed of wood flour mixed with thermoplastic resin, is another applicationof wood biomass such as sawdust and demolition woods. WPC has been widely used for kitchen,and exterior since it has higher water resistance than solid wood. Though the amount of wood flouris the most influencing factor for the mechanical properties of WPC, wood species, chemicalcomposition and morphological characteristics also influence. For example, there are the optimal
particle size and combination of particle size distribution; excessive amounts of small wood flourcauses the aggregation, which results in the reduction of bending properties. Measuring several
parameters of wood flour is effective to predict the mechanical properties of final products, however
several different measurements are required. Near Infrared (NIR) spectra contain the information
regarding the overtone and combination of vibration of functional groups. Furthermore,morphological characteristics such as particle size, surface roughness or bulk density affect the lightscattering, which results in the variation of baseline of NIR spectra. Therefore NIR diffuse
reflectance spectra of wood flour contains both chemical and morphological information.
Measurement of NIR spectra could be an alternative method to evaluate the mechanical propertiesof the final product from wood flour. NIR spectra also can identify the types of resin and wood flourcontent of final products. This could contribute to the proper recycling of WPC products.
Keywords: wood biomass, bark, WPC, NIR spectroscopy, recycling