Camptothecin production in Camptotheca acuminata cultured hydroponically and with nitrogen enrichments

Camptothecin (CPT), produced by Camptotheca acuminata Decaisne (Nyssaceae), is becoming a therapeutically important compound, and the demand for CPT is increasing dramatically. Feasibility of CPT production from C. acuminata in hydroponic culture was studied. As nitrogen (N) is required for the biosynthesis of the alkaloid CPT, CPT production in C. acuminata was studied in response to enrichments of 7.5, 15.0, 22.5, or 30.0 mM N in the culture medium. High concentrations of CPT were found in leaves of plants in hydroponic culture, but the N concentration in the culture medium did not affect tissue CPT concentration, plant weight, plant height, leaf number, lamina dry weight per area, total stem weight, total leaf weight, or total leaf CPT yield (the product of leaf CPT concentration and total leaf dry weight per plant). However, increasing the N concentration in the culture medium reduced leaf length and total root weight. We conclude that C. acuminata CPT production in hydroponic culture is feasible in terms of efficiency for CPT production, and is a potential alternative to culture in the field or in pots, or cell or callus culture, and that a standard low N rate in the culture medium is recommended. Key words: Anti-cancer compound, HPLC, medicinal plant