Plant molecular farming (PMF) aims to develop plants that express and
accumulate proteins of our interest in considerable quantities. Transgenic plants
produce edible vaccines, antibodies, therapeutic proteins for human and animal health,
and other recombinant proteins required for industrial purposes. Plant systems (PS) to
produce pharmaceutical products are preferred over microbial and mammalian systems
as they require less input to grow and produce higher biomass. Hence, a variety of
proteins are synthesized by plants that are completely free from human pathogens and
mammalian toxins. Additionally, they have immunity against infectious and other lifethreatening
diseases such as cancer. In this review, plant-inferred therapeutic and nontherapeutic
protein items that are in the position of clinical progression or
commercialization are summarized. Available plant production platforms are also
compared along with associated biosafety and regulatory issues. Further, plant
transformation techniques are also analyzed for the development of genetically
modified organisms in vaccine production. The use of PMF on a commercial scale is
still a long way to go before it is achievable. New methods and techniques are needed
to be developed to solve the problems of low yield, scalability, stability, and efficacy of
the recombinant proteins, as well as biosafety and regulatory issues. Hence, this
strategy will be the ultimate proposed solution to protect humans and animals from
health threats in the future.
Keywords: Genetic transformation, Plant molecular farming, Pharmaceutical
products, Plant systems, Recombinant Proteins, Transient Expression.
