Shoot cultures of Artemisia annua L. were cultivated in three different bioreactors: a modified airlift bioreactor, a multi-plate radius-flow bioreactor and an ultrasonic nutrient mist bioreactor. The shoots cultivated in the multi-plate radius-flow bioreactor and nutrient mist bioreactor showed excellent growth; however; hyperhydrated shoots were observed in the totally immersion cultivation in the modified airlift bioreactor. The dry weight increase (45 times) of shoot cultures in the mist bioreactor was higher than those (29 times and 36 times) in both the modified airlift bioreactor and the multi-plate radius-flow bioreactor. Furthermore, artemisinin production of shoot cultures in the nutrient mist bioreactor was 1.4- and 3.3-fold higher than those in both the multi-plate radius-flow bioreactor and the modified airlift bioreactor, respectively. The mist bioreactor was found to be advantageous for A. annua L. shoot cultures. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.