Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Vol.94, No.6, 591-599, 2002
Plant cell culture for production of paclitaxel and other taxanes
Great advances in cell cultures of Taxus spp. for production of Taxol(TM) (generic name: paclitaxel) and other taxanes (taxoids) have been achieved in the past decade. This article reviews the manipulation of inducing factors - elicitors, gas composition, osmotic pressure, and conditioned medium; bioprocessing strategies - combining of inducing techniques, two-phase and two-stage cultivation, semi-continuous and perfusion cultures, and feeding of precursors or sugars; and bioreactors and scale-up. Perspectives on a more rational and efficient process involving metabolic engineering are also discussed.
Keywords:plant cell culture;taxoid;bioprocess engineering;bioreactor;secondary metabolite production