title: Economic assessment of plant cell culture for the production of ajmalicine.
abstract: Cost estimates have been prepared for commercial-scale production of ajmalicine-rich Catnaranthus roseus biomass using plant cell culture. At the current state of the technology the cost would be approximately $7.30/lb dry biomass ($3215/kg ajmalicine). Naturally-grown C. roseus roots have a 50% lower ajmalicine concentration but would cost only ca. $0.70/lb ($619/kg ajmalicine). The principal reason for the high cost of the plant cell culture route is not the slow specific growth rate (0.35 day(-1)), but rather the slow specific product accumulation rate (0.26 mg/g day). This rate will have to be increased by a factor of 40 to make the process competitive.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Drapeau
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Blanch
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Wilke