Rosmarinic acid production in perfused Anchusa officinalis culture: Effect of inoculum size

Abstract

High cell density and rosmarinic acid (RA) productivity have been achieved by applying periodic culture perfusion to the Anchusa officinalis cell suspension. In this study, the effect of inoculum size on cell growth and RA productivity in the perfused Anchusa culture was investigated. Experimental results showed that RA productivity increased with the inoculum size, up to 4 g dry weight/L. Further increases in the inoculum size did not yield a higher RA productivity regardless of culture perfusion. Moreover, the maximum cell concentration was not affected by the inoculum sizes, from 1 to 11 g dry weight/L. Cell crowding, indicated by high culture packed cell volumes, is believed to be the predominant cause of low productivity in perfused cultures with high inoculum sizes.