Sustained harvest of camptothecin from the leaves of Camptotheca acuminata.

Over a 12-week period, new growth was collected at different intervals from Camptotheca acuminata trees to determine whether a leaf harvest strategy would be an efficient means for the production of the alkaloid camptothecin. Because camptothecin accumulates in young leaves and because the harvesting of young tissue stimulates axillary bud outgrowth, this strategy increased the harvestable amount of camptothecin from trees in a nondestructive manner.