Abstract
When added to suspension cultures of Catharanthus roseus, abscisic acid (ABA) stimulated intracellular accumulation of the indole alkaloids
catharanthine and ajmalicine in both flask and 30 litre fermenter-scale systems. The
response varied, and depended upon the cell line, the concentration and source of
the ABA, and the growth phase at which the cells were treated. Precise timing of ABA
addition to cells in a 301 fermenter resulted in a catharanthine yield of 85.25 mg/l
after 10 days of cultivation. We propose that ABA may be useful for increasing the
yield and reducing the production time for commercially useful secondary plant metabolites.
