Bioactive Compounds in the Storage Organs of Plants

This book offers a comprehensive and authoritative review of bioactive substances found in plant underground stems, roots, rhizomes, corms, and tubers from all around the world. Tubers and starchy roots are plants that store edible starch content in underground stems, roots, rhizomes, corms, and tubers. They are a key source for both human and animal consumption and are rich in carbohydrates. They are widely used as industrial crops as well. Phytochemicals found in tubers and roots, such as phenolics, terpenoids, and alkaloids, have anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, hypoglycemic, hypocholesterolemic, and antibacterial properties. Except for common potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cassava, the nutritional and health benefits of many tuberous crops have not yet been adequately investigated. This book sheds new insights into these topics by addressing several plant metabolites found in storage organs, which can be seen as scientifically neglected even though they have a high economic relevance as food and pharmaceutical sources.

Divided into 6 parts, this book discusses how bioactive chemicals found in plant storage organs are synthesized and how their bioactive principles are specifically expressed in underground stems, roots, rhizomes, corms, and tubers. Additionally, each chapter includes background information on the plant, its parts, its nutritional makeup, chemical components, and biological functions. Given its breadth, the book appeals to a wide readership, from scholars through graduate and post-graduate students to professionals in the industry.

Hosakatte Niranjana Murthy has obtained his Ph.D. degree from Karnatak University, Dharwad, India, where he was Professor of the Post-Graduate Department of Botany. He has a tremendous passion for research and academics. Since 1986, Prof. Murthy has been serving in various positions in the Post-Graduate Department of Botany at Karnatak University. Apart from teaching experience in the area of plant biotechnology, Prof. Murthy has post-doctoral and collaborative research experience in many foreign research institutes. He worked at Biotechnology Division, Tata Energy Research Institute, New Delhi, India (1992); Crop Science Department, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada (1993); Research Centre for the Development of Horticultural Technology, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, South Korea (2000–2001; 2002, 2004, 2006–2007, 2013–2014; 2022–2024); and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK (2005–2006) as a post-doctoral fellow/visiting scientist. Prof. Murthy is the recipient of various prestigious fellowships including Biotechnology National Associate and Biotechnology Overseas Associate (awarded by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India), Brian Pool Fellowship (awarded by Korean Society of Science and Technology, South Korea), visiting fellowship (awarded by Korean Science and Engineering Foundation, South Korea), and Commonwealth Post-doctoral Fellowship (awarded by Korean Association of Commonwealth Universities, UK). He has completed more than 15 research projects funded by various agencies and supervised 22 Ph.D. students. Prof. Murthy has published 285 research articles in international peerreviewed journals with high impact factors. His research has been cited more than 6100 times by fellow researchers and has H-index (Hirsch Index) of 41 as recorded by Scopus.
Prof. Murthy has developed biotechnological methods for the production of pharmaceutically important secondary metabolites from cell and organ cultures of ginseng, Siberian ginseng, Echinacea, and St. John’s wort using large-scale bioreactors along with South Korean collaborators. His experimental investigations on the use of adventitious root cultures in bioreactor technologies for the production of biomass and secondary metabolites have paved the way for the commercialization of plantbased pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals.

Kee Yoeup Paek is currently Chair Professor at the Department of Horticultural Science, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Republic of Korea. He got his Ph.D. from Kyangbuk National University in 1984, and he was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Calgary, Canada (1985–86). He served at Chungbuk National University from 1980 to 2016 as Professor. He was the Director of the Research Center of the Development of Advanced Horticulture Technology, Chungbuk National University, Korea, from its inception. He was Chairperson of the Asian Biotech Association (Korean Chapter), a member of the Korean Academy of Sciences, and President of Korean Horticultural Science, Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology. He has supervised 62 masters, 45 Ph.D. students, and 37 post-doctoral candidates. He has published 500 research articles, various book chapters, and 2 books. He was a recipient of the Best Scientist Award from Korean President in 2011.

So-Young Park is Professor at the Department of Horticultural Science, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, 28644, Republic of Korea. She graduated from Pusan University, Korea, and received his Postgraduation and Ph.D. from Chungbuk National University, Korea. She was appointed as a research scientist at Korea Forest Research Institute where she worked from 2002 to 2012. Subsequently, she was appointed as Assistant Professor at Chunbguk National University, Cheongju, Korea, and served there as Associate Professor and has been working as Professor since 2021. She is working in the area of plant biotechnology, especially regulation of secondary metabolite pathways in higher plants, regulation of stem cell differentiation, and its mechanism and production of bioactive compounds in bioreactors. She has published 125 papers in national and international journals. She is on the editorial board of Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Culture, Plant Biotechnology Reports, Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology, and Journal of Plant Biotechnology.