The mass production of tropane alkaloids from adventitious root cultures of Scopolia parviflora, in small-scale bubble column bioreactor (BCB) was attempted. Adventitious roots of S. parviflora produced relatively enhanced levels of scopolamine and hyoscyamine in bioreactor compared to flask type cultures, and rapidly produced root clumps, with continuously increasing biomass throughout the culture period. The production of scopolamine and hyoscyamine in the top and bottom regions of root clumps were higher than in the core region. The adventitious root cultures of S. parviflora in the BCB required a relatively high level of aeration. The optimized conditions for the bioreactor culture growth and alkaloid production were found to be 3 g of inoculum, on a fresh weight basis, a 15-day culture period and 0.4 vvm of airflow. The elicitation by Staphylococus aureus increased the specific compound of scopolamine, while the production of hyoscyamine was slightly inhibited in BCB cultures. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.