Plant Milking Technology—An Innovative and Sustainable Process to Produce Highly Active Extracts from Plant Roots
Open accessAbstract
We have used an original technology (Plant Milking Technology) based on aeroponic cultivation of plants associated with the gentle recovery of active ingredients from roots. Extraction of bioactive molecules was achieved by soaking the roots, still attached to the living plants, into a nontoxic solvent for a 2 h period. This nondestructive recovery process allows using the same root biomass for successive harvesting dates, in a recyclable way. We have applied this technology to Morus alba L. (mulberry tree), an emblematic tree of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Trees were aeroponically grown in large-scale devices (100 m2) and were submitted to nitrogen deprivation to increase the content in active molecules (prenylated flavonoids). The Plant Milking technology applied to Morus alba L. allowed to produce an extract enriched in prenylated compounds (18-fold increase when compared to commercial root extract). Prenylated flavonoids (moracenin A and B, kuwanon C, wittiorumin F, morusin) presented a high affinity for the aged-associated collagenase enzyme, which was confirmed by activity inhibition. In accordance, M. alba extract presents efficient properties to regulate the skin matrisome, which is critical during skin aging. The benefits have been especially confirmed in vivo on wrinkle reduction, in a clinical study that involved aged women. Plant Milking technology is an optimal solution to produce active ingredients from plant roots, including trees, that meet both customer expectations around sustainability, as well as the need for an efficient production system for biotechnologists.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Chajra et al. developed a system for inducing production of secondary metabolites in roots grown in an aeroponic/hydroponic system and then permeabilising the roots to release their secondary compounds into water.
“Chajra et al. [177] have developed a system for inducing the production of secondary metabolites in the roots of plants grown in an aeroponic/hydroponic system and then permeabilising the roots to release their secondary compounds into water.”
From Ecdysteroids (2021) · cites this paper as [177]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Overview of the Matrisome--An Inventory of Extracellular Matrix Constituents and Functions
Hynes, R. O., & Naba, A. (2012) · Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology · doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a004903 · Cited by 1,349 · see citing works
Production of plant secondary metabolites: a historical perspective
Bourgaud, F., Gravot, A., Milesi, S., & Gontier, É. (2001) · Plant Science · doi:10.1016/s0168-9452(01)00490-3 · Cited by 1,258 · see citing works
Self-citationRole of Matrix Metalloproteinases in Photoaging and Photocarcinogenesis
Pittayapruek, P., Meephansan, J., Prapapan, O., Komine, M., & Ohtsuki, M. (2016) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms17060868 · Cited by 1,099 · see citing works
Scheible, W., Morcuende, R., Czechowski, T., Fritz, C., Osuna, D., Palacios‐Rojas, N., Schindelasch, D., Thimm, O., Udvardi, M. K., & Stitt, M. (2004) · PLANT PHYSIOLOGY · doi:10.1104/pp.104.047019 · Cited by 1,047 · see citing works
The extracellular matrix: tools and insights for the "omics" era
Naba, A., Clauser, K. R., Ding, H., Whittaker, C. A., Carr, S. A., & Hynes, R. O. (2016) · Matrix Biology · doi:10.1016/j.matbio.2015.06.003 · Cited by 1,037 · see citing works
Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica
Bensky, D., Gamble, A., & Kaptchuk, T. J. (1986) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 941 · see citing works
Fighting against Skin Aging: The Way from Bench to Bedside
Zhang, S., & Duan, E. (2018) · Cell Transplantation · doi:10.1177/0963689717725755 · Cited by 739 · see citing works
Natural and Sun-Induced Aging of Human Skin
Rittie, L., & Fisher, G. J. (2015) · Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine · doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a015370 · Cited by 600 · see citing works
Varani, J., Spearman, D., Perone, P., Fligiel, S., Datta, S. C., Wang, Z. Q., Shao, Y., Kang, S., Fisher, G. J., & Voorhees, J. J. (2001) · American Journal Of Pathology · doi:10.1016/s0002-9440(10)64040-0 · Cited by 333 · see citing works
Fisher, G. J., & Voorhees, J. J. (1998) · Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings · doi:10.1038/jidsymp.1998.15 · Cited by 288 · see citing works
Mechanisms and treatments of photoaging
Poon, F., Kang, S., & Chien, A. L. (2015) · Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine · doi:10.1111/phpp.12145 · Cited by 284 · see citing works
A continuous spectrophotometric assay for Clostridium histolyticum collagenase
Wart, H. E. V., & Steinbrink, D. R. (1981) · Analytical Biochemistry · doi:10.1016/0003-2697(81)90089-0 · Cited by 260 · see citing works
Watson, B. S., Bedair, M., Ewa Urbanczyk-wochniak, A., Huhman, D. V., Yang, D. S., Allen, S. N., Li, W., Tang, Y., & Sumner, L. W. (2015) · PLANT PHYSIOLOGY · doi:10.1104/pp.114.253054 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Fisher, G. J., & Voorhees, J. J. (1998) · Journal of Investigative Dermatology · doi:10.1038/jidsp.1998.15 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Quan, T., Qin, Z., Robichaud, P., Voorhees, J. J., & Fisher, G. J. (2011) · Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling · doi:10.1007/s12079-011-0144-0 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Qin, Z., Robichaud, P., He, T., Fisher, G. J., Voorhees, J. J., & Quan, T. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0115402 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Qin, Z., Okubo, T., Voorhees, J. J., Fisher, G. J., & Quan, T. (2013) · AGE · doi:10.1007/s11357-013-9565-4 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Zhang, L., Zhang, Y., Pei, S., Geng, Y., Wang, C., & Yuhua, W. (2015) · Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine · doi:10.1186/s13002-015-0030-6 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Impact of Temporary Nitrogen Deprivation on Tomato Leaf Phenolics
Bénard, C., Bourgaud, F., & Gautier, H. (2011) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms12117971 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Self-citationHuman skin explants an in vitro approach for assessing UVB induced damage
Khalil, C. (2018) · Toxicology in Vitro · doi:10.1016/j.tiv.2018.08.013 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
From Bioreactor to Entire Plants
Nguyen, T. K. O., Dauwe, R., Bourgaud, F., & Gontier, É. (2013) · Advances in botanical research · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-408061-4.00008-0 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 22 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and production of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants
Zhao, Y., Cartabia, A., Lalaymia, I., & Declerck, S. (2022) · Mycorrhiza · doi:10.1007/s00572-022-01079-0 · Cited by 174 · see citing works
Lafont, R., Balducci, C., & Dinan, L. (2021) · Encyclopedia · doi:10.3390/encyclopedia1040096 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Marques, R. V., Guillaumin, A., Abdelwahab, A. B., Salwiński, A., Gotfredsen, C. H., Bourgaud, F., Enemark‐Rasmussen, K., Miguel, S., & Simonsen, H. T. (2021) · Plants · doi:10.3390/plants10071271 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Self-citationZhao, J., Huang, Q., Li, J., Zhuang, T., Zhan, R., & Ma, X. (2025) · Industrial Crops and Products · doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2025.121318 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
A Review of the Progress in the Microbial Biosynthesis of Prenylated Aromatic Compounds
Tang, M., Zhang, W., Tian, Y., Qiao, J., Li, X., Li, W., & Caiyin, Q. (2025) · Molecules · doi:10.3390/molecules30193931 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Extracts from the Liverwort Bazzania trilobata with Potential Dermo-cosmetic Properties
Marques, R. V., Salwiński, A., Enemark‐Rasmussen, K., Gotfredsen, C. H., Lu, Y., Hocquigny, N., Risler, A., Duval, R. E., Miguel, S., Bourgaud, F., et al. (2023) · Reference series in phytochemistry · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-23243-5_9 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Self-citationMalik, S., Salvatore, M. M., Bauchet, L., Bruat, M., Roubinet, B., Carpin, S., Andolfi, A., Cimmino, A., Landemarre, L., Masi, M., et al. (2025) · Industrial Crops and Products · doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2025.121717 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Chen, X., Zheng, H., Cheng, H., Wu, J., Wang, G., Liu, M., Yang, Q., & Yang, Q. (2026) · Clinical Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology · doi:10.2147/ccid.s587240 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Nano-architectural adaptations in roots: pyrogenic material for crop resilience and circularity
Malik, M. F. I. A., Ghazali, A., Drejerska, N., Zbiec, M., Fadzlee, F. S., Rungga, R. M. W., & Tajuddin, R. (2025) · Materials Letters · doi:10.1016/j.matlet.2025.139193 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Martínez-Nolasco, C., Padilla-Medina, J. A., Nolasco, J. J. M., Gutiérrez, A. I. B., Prado-Olivarez, J., & Santoyo-Mora, M. (2023) · Preprints.org · doi:10.20944/preprints202312.0309.v1 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Extracts from the Liverwort Bazzania trilobata with Potential Dermo-cosmetic Properties
Marques, R. V., Salwiński, A., Enemark‐Rasmussen, K., Gotfredsen, C. H., Lu, Y., Hocquigny, N., Risler, A., Duval, R. E., Miguel, S., Bourgaud, F., et al. (2023) · Reference series in phytochemistry · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-97415-2_9-1
Self-citationSẢN XUẤT XANH VÀ TRIỂN VỌNG SẢN XUẤT THUỐC XANH Ở VIỆT NAM
Hoàng, M. C., Nguyễn, T. C., Huỳnh, N. A. K., & Hà, V. T. (2023) · Tạp chí Y học Việt Nam · doi:10.51298/vmj.v529i1.6276
Control y mitigación de ácaros en especies de flores ornamentales en Colombia
Mendieta, S. J. B., & Cardona-Palacio, L. F. (2026) · Ciencia y Academia · doi:10.21501/2744838x.4764
Le, T. T., Nguyen, H. Y., Ko, H., Ahn, H. R., Pham, T. T. T., Yang, S., & Jung, S. H. (2026) · Natural Product Research · doi:10.1080/14786419.2026.2649399
Molecular mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine in skin aging: a narrative review
Yin, S., Zheng, H., Yang, Q., Chen, X., Yang, Q., Yang, Q., Cheng, H., & Wu, J. (2026) · Frontiers in Pharmacology · doi:10.3389/fphar.2026.1792159
- Authors
- Chajra, H., Salwinski, A., Guillaumin, A., Mignard, B., Hannewald, P., Duriot, L., Warnault, P., Guillet-Claude, C., Fréchet, M., & Bourgaud, F.
- Affiliations
- Clariant Active Ingredients, 195 Route d′Espagne, 31000 Toulouse, France
- Plant Advanced Technologies, 19 Avenue de la Forêt de Haye, 54500 Vandoeuvre, France
- Corresponding author
- Chajra, Hanane
- Venue
- Molecules
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2020-09-11
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 18
- Pages
- 4162
- ISSN
- 1420-3049 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7570732
- OpenAlex
- W3086947834
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2
- FWCI
- 0.57
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Molecules (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Bioactive natural compounds
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Biochemistry › Phytochemicals and Antioxidant Activities
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Phytochemistry and Biological Activities
- Keywords
- Morus alba, prenylated flavonoids, morusin, nitrogen starvation, collagenase inhibition, skin aging, wrinkle reduction, traditional Chinese medicine
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Chemistry, Pharmaceutical, Double-Blind Method, Female, Fibroblasts, Flavonoids, Humans, Medicine, Chinese Traditional, Middle Aged, Nitrogen, Plant Extracts, Solvents, Plant Roots, Morus, Prenylation
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
