They have developed an economically-efficient method of production
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras have identified a sustainable, high-yielding alternative source for the anti-cancer drug camptothecin.
Camptothecin is an alkaloid isolated from ‘Camptotheca Acuminata’, a Chinese tree and ‘Nothapodytes Nimmoniana’, an Indian tree. It requires nearly 1,000 tonnes of plant material to extract one tonne of camptothecin. In the past decade, the population of N. Nimmoniana fell by 20%, according to the researchers.
The researchers have developed a microbial fermentation process that can be an economically-efficient method of production to fulfil the market demand.
Two drugs, topotecan and irinotecan, are produced using camptothecin.