Enhancement of catharanthine production by the addition of paper pulp waste liquors to Catharanthus roseusin chemostat cultivation

Dialyzed paper pulp waste liquor added at 20% (v/v) basal medium improved the production of indole alkaloid, catha-ranthine, from Catharanthine roseus, yielding 51 μ:g/cell as against 42 μg/cell in non-supplemented medium. 30-40% (v/v) of catharanthine was secreted out of the cells, showing that the change of the ratio of inner to outer concentrations was from 12.3 to 2.2 at dilution rate of 0.1 h during chemostat cultivation. An optimal dilution rate was 0.34 h in 20% (v/v) supplemented medium, compared to 0.22 h in non-supplemented medium.