Dibutyl phthalate, oleic acid and terpineol were used to extract paclitaxel in situ from Taxus chinensis suspension cultures. Oleic acid/terpineol (1:1, v/v) added to the cultures gave a higher paclitaxel concentration, compared with either of them alone. Oleic acid/terpineol (1:1, v/v) incorporated into the cultures at 3:50 (v/v) 4 days after elicitation, which was carried out by adding 50 mg chitosan l(-1), 60 muM methyl jasmonate and 30 muM Ag+ to 10-day-old cultures, resulted in the greatest paclitaxel production of 48 mg l(-1) at day 10 after elicitation. This was double that of the culture by elicitation, and 7-fold higher than that of the culture by in situ extraction.