Installing a center of excellence in the Central-Eastern region of Cuba to enhance production and research on bioactive plants

The aim of the project is to set-up a center of scientific excellence in the Central-Eastern region of Cuba for traditionally used bioactive plants and their metabolites. There are two major tasks for this center. First, the plant cell culture methods will be upgraded to increase the biomass production of specific bioactive metabolites. Furthermore, a quality control system will be implemented to safeguard the production process in terms of quantity (important for endangered plant species in Cuba) and quality of the end product. Second, the center will in collaboration with the University of Oriente build an interuniversitary platform for the evaluation of bioactive plants and their metabolites. As proof-of-concept Piper aduncum subspecies ossanum, which is one of the five Cuban endemic Piperaceae and Vaccinium bissei an endemic and endangered plant species in Cuba, will be used and its antimicrobial and antioxidant activities will be further studied.