Large-scale cultivation ofSolanum chrysotrichum cells: Production of the antifungal saponin SC-1 in 10-I airlift bioreactors

Cells of two different cell lines:ccvx (cotyledon derived) andccvz (hypocotyl derived) ofSolanum chrysotrichum were cultivated in 10-1 airlift bioreactors for the production of the human antimycotic compound SC-1. When using 3 g l^-1 dry weight inoculum in a batch culture, higher levels of biomass were achieved with theccvx cell line (14.6 g l^-1) than withccvz (7.7 g l^-1), resulting in 23 and 12 mg g^-1 of SC-1 after 17 days in culture forccvx andccvz, respectively. The maximum productivity of SC-1 in bioreactors was 0.025 g l^-1 day^-1 after 9 days in culture. When using a draw-fill mode, the productivity increased by 60% to a value of 0.041 g l^-1 day, 4 days after 50% of the cell suspension was removed and replaced with fresh medium. This latter bioreactor system is a feasible alternative for the production of the antimycotic metabolite ofS. chrysotrichum on a large scale.Abbreviations DW Cell dry weight - FW Fresh weight - MS Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium - T_d Doubling time