• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.343-348
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• 1989

Production of shikonin derivatives by Lithospermum erythrorhizon cells by using polyurethane foam was invesliigated. Shikonin derivatives were effectively adsorbed mostly by phase distribution to polyurethane matrices and their production increased significantly compared to the suspension culture. The enhanced production of shikonin was probably due to more facilitated cell to cell con-tact and lowered intracellular shikonin concentration, both of which are known to be favorable for plant secondary metabolite production. In order to improve the process productivity, tell culture was conducted under various culture conditions: Of them, Schenk and Hildebrandt medium containing indole-3-acetic acid (1.75mg/ι) and kinetin (0.1mg/ι) was considered most appropriate for shikonin production. Production of shikonin increased about 4.5 times in the Schenk and Hildebrandt medium containing indole-3-acetic acid (1.15mg/ι) and kinetin (0.1mg/ι) when compared to the same medium containing p-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (2.0mg/ι) and kinetin (0.1mg/ι). When poly-urethane was used as the support material, a single-stage system was more preferred to the conventional two-stage culture system in terms of shikonin productivity.