Improved Camptothecin Production of Camptotheca Acuminata on Hydroponic Medium Supplemented with Various Chemicals

Abstract

Abstract.A Hydroponic culture was conducted to determine the effect of organic acids and metal ions on plant growth, camptothecin concentrations and yield of Camptotheca acuminata, in an effort to increase the camptothecin yield by artificial cultivation. For maximal camptothecin production, increase of maleic acid to 1µmol/L, malic acid to 0.5µmol/L or malonic acid to 5µmol/L on Hoagland nutrition solution medium resulted in 1.418, 2.371 and 1.535 fold increase of camptothecin production, respectively, and increase of metal ions both Ce to 1µmol/L resulted in 1.832, 1.748 and 1.822 fold production of camptothecin. These preliminary results suggested that, the application of organic acids and metal ions may be a useful and feasible method to increase camptothecin production in Camptotheca acuminata. Further research in optimizing the culture conditions of Camptotheca acuminata might permit their application for the production of camptothecin.