Taxus chinensis suspension cells were cultured in the modified Gamborg's B5 medium. Addition of 50 mg chitosan l(-1), 60 mu M methyl jasmonate and 30 mu M Ag+ resulted in the greatest paclitaxel production, at 25 mg l(-1) in the cultures, being almost 40 times higher than that of the control culture, 10 times higher than that of the culture exposed to Ag+, 6 times higher than that of the culture elicited by chitosan and almost double that of the culture elicited by methyl jasmonate.