A quantitative analysis of shear effects on cell suspension and cell culture of perilla frutescens in bioreactors

Abstract

The short‐time effects of shear on suspended cells of Perilla frutescens were quantitatively analyzed by exposing the cells to a well‐defined flow field in a rotating drum reactor. It was found that both shear rate and shearing time significantly affected cell viability. The quantitative effects of shear on cell growth and the production of anthocyanin, a secondary metabolite, by the cell cultures were further investigated in a series of batch cultivations using a 5‐L plant cell bioreactor with a marine impeller. The results indicated that there was an optimum range of shear rate; i.e., an average shear rate of 20 to 30 s−1 or an impeller tip speed of 5 to 8 dm/s, which maximized all the values of the following parameters: the specific growth rate, the maximum cell concentration, the (specific) production and productivity of anthocyanin, and the cell and anthocyanin yields. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Copyright © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.