Microbial production of xanthohumol driven by synthetic biology approaches

Abstract

Xanthohumol is a high-value natural product with unique features, such as its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. The excellent features enable its wide utilization in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and food industries. However, the low yields and high production costs impede its large-scale production significantly. Its sustainable production has been limited by inefficient, costly, and environmentally unfriendly conventional extraction processes. Recently, the development of microbial synthetic biology has provided a reliable, scalable, and eco-friendly mechanism for xanthohumol production. In this paper, the development of bio-strategies for the commercial-scale production of xanthohumol is summarized. Furthermore, the techno-economic feasibility was also evaluated. In the future, further attempt will still be required for xanthohumol production using synthetic biology.

Keywords: Microbial production; Synthetic biology; Techno-economic feasibility; Xanthohumol.