Methyl jasmonate added at 100 muM on days 8, 14 and 20 to cultures of Taxus chinensis growing in flasks and 1 l airlift bioreactors improved taxuyunnanine C (TC) production by 50-60% in flasks and by about 80% in airlift bioreactors compared with single addition of 100 muM methyl jasmonate on day 8. The final TC production in the airlift bioreactors reached 565+/-47 mg l(-1), which is the highest reported for taxoid production in a bioreactor.