Improved paclitaxel production by in situ extraction and elicitation in cell suspension cultures of Taxus chinensis

Dibutyl phthalate, oleic acid and terpineol were used to extract paclitaxel in situ fromTaxus chinensis suspension cultures. Oleic acid/terpineol (1:1, v/v) added to the cultures gave a higher paclitaxel concentration, compared with either of them alone. Oleic acid/terpineol (1:1, v/v) incorporated into the cultures at 3:50 (v/v) 4 days after elicitation, which was carried out by adding 50 mg chitosan l−1, 60 μM methyl jasmonate and 30 μM Ag+ to 10-day-old cultures, resulted in the greatest paclitaxel production of 48 mg l−1 at day 10 after elicitation. This was double that of the culture by elicitation, and 7-fold higher than that of the culture by in situ extraction.