A novel simultaneous microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and adsorbent treatment process was developed for recovering the anticancer agent paclitaxel from plant cell cultures and removing plant-derived tar and waxy compounds. The efficiency of the process was maximized by optimizing several major process variables. The optimal extraction time, ratio of adsorbent to liquid-liquid extract, ratio of methanol to biomass and extraction temperature were found to be 6 min, 4.5:1 (w/w), 1:1 (v/w) and 40 degrees C, respectively. By performing the simultaneous process under these conditions, we were able to recover most of the paclitaxel (>99%) with a purity of similar to 22% after hexane precipitation. The efficiency of this process is similar to that of the conventional process (purity: similar to 20%, yield: similar to 95%) in which paclitaxel recovery is separate from adsorbent treatment. Therefore, it is expected that the conventional process can be simplified by simultaneously performing paclitaxel recovery and removal of impurities, thus dramatically reducing the cost of separation/purification. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.