Yellow and red pigment production by cell cultures of Carthamus tinctoriusin a bioreactor

In this work, we first investigated the effects of sucrose concentration an d light on pigment production by cell cultures of Carthamus tinctorius L. ( Safflower). In addition, we investigated yellow pigment accumulation in a t wo-stage bioreactor culture system using balloon- and column- type bioreact ors. A 10-L balloon-type airlift bioreactor was used for the growth phase o f cell suspension culture, while a 5-L column-type airlift bioreactor was u sed for pigment production. MS medium (1/2 strength) supplemented with 10.7 5 mu M NAA, 0.92 mu M kinetin, and 3% sucrose was found to be optimal for c ell growth, while modified White medium containing 1.07 mu M NAA and 18.40 mu M kinetin resulted in relatively high pigment formation. Further experim ents showed that a high concentration of sucrose (8-12%), as well as light increased the production of pigments. In addition, the content of yellow pi gment was much higher than the content of red pigment.