Abstract:Different kinds of oligosaccharides were isolated and purified from the culture cells of Panax ginseng. Results showed that these oligosaccharides could increased the cell growth rate and α-tocopherol content of the cell culture of Carthamus tinctorius. Among them, the effects of oligosaccharide Ⅵ, Ⅶ and Ⅷ were more significant than the others. The optimum effective concentrations of oligosaccharide Ⅵ, Ⅶ and Ⅷ were higher in callus culture than in suspension culture. Studies on the time course of addition of oligosaccharide Ⅶ and Ⅷ in different culture. period of Carthamus tinctorius cultures revealed that the α-tocopherol content was increased after addition of oligosaccharides for 1–3 days. The cell growth rate was increased by 18.11%. The α-tocopherol content and yield were increased by 3.5 and 4.3 folds respectively when supplement with 2 mg/L of oligosaccharide Ⅵ and Ⅶ and 1 mg/L of oligosaccharide Ⅷ to the suspension medium at the same time.