ENHANCED PRODUCTION OF TAXOL IN SUSPENSION-CULTURES OF TAXUS-CHINENSIS BY CONTROLLING INOCULUM SIZE

Inoculum size (1.5-6.0 g dry weight/l) significantly affected cell gro wth and accumulation of intracellular and extracellular taxol in Taxus chinensis. A shorter cultivation time and a higher biomass productivi ty were achieved using inoculum size of 6.0 g DW/I. Both the intracell ular content and total production of taxol were increased almost 30% w ith an increase of inoculum size from 1.5 to 3.0 g DW/I, while an even higher inoculum size decreased taxol formation. The extracellular tax ol concentration was relatively higher (0.091 mg/l) at low inoculum si zes of 1.5 and 2.0 g DW/I; and in various cases it was less than 25% o f the total amount of taxol produced.