Production of Scopadulcic acid B (SDB), a diterpene having antiviral and anti-tumour activity, was accomplished by immobilizing suspension culture-derived cells of Scoparia dulcis on Luffa sponge matrix. The yield of SDB in shake flask cultures was 50.85 mg/g of cells after 30 days of incubation while, in Luffa sponge inoculated columns SDB production was scaled up to 350.57 mg/g of cells by the 19th day of the first batch operation. The trend was maintained up to the 22nd day and the half life period of the reactor was 10 days. The bioreactor with Luffa sponge is a novel system and can be exploited for the production of many pharmaceutically active natural compounds effectively.

Scoparia dulcis of Scrophulariaceae is an annual herb distributed through out the tropics. Penicillium citrinum was obtained from apparently healthy roots, stem, leaves and fruits of this plant. Callus and multiple shoots produced during micropropagation from various explants were also symptomless but showed occurrence of Penicillium citrinum when cultured in Murashige & Skoog liquid medium for the production of secondary metabolites.