The accumulation of podophyllotoxin-β-D-glucoside by cell suspension cultures derived from the conifer Callitris drummondii.

Podophyllotoxin was produced by cell cultures derived from needles of Callitris drummondii. The needles of this conifer contained 1.56% podophyllotoxin on a dry weight basis, 32% being present in the β-glucosidic form. Trace amounts of desoxypodophyllotoxin and matairesinol were also detected. In dark-grown cell cultures, ca. 0.02 % podophyllotoxin was accumulated, 85-90 % in the β-D-glucosidic form. Moreover, traces of the lignans matairesinol, hinokinin and asarinin were detected. Illumination stimulated the endogenous production of podophyllotoxin-β-D-glucoside; contents of up to 0.11 % could be measured.