Necessity of a two-stage process for the production of azadirachtin-related limonoids in suspension cultures of Azadirachta indica.

The effect of major nutrients on growth and azadirachtin-related limonoids (AZRL) production in plant cell culture of Azadirachta indica (neem) was studied with the objective to increase the yield of AZRL, one of the major group of pesticidal compounds found in intact neem trees. We report the novel online monitoring of plant cell respiration activities in a new parallel shake flask measuring device. Results obtained using three standard plant cell culture media showed non-growth-associated production characteristics for AZRL.