Low-Cost Alternatives for Accelerating the Plant Cell Suspension Culture of Momordica charantia L.

The carbon source in plant cell suspension culture is a very important factor for growth and development. In the present investigation the role of different carbon sources such as analytical grade sucrose (Hi-Media, India), commercial grade sugar, sugarcubes and jaggery (both purchased from local market) were studied in cell growth of Momordica charantia in an effort to reduce the cost instead of using high cost carbon source. Studies have revealed that significant improvement was observed in cell growth on a medium containing sugarcubes. More callus could be induced successfully from leaf and shoot tissues when cultured on MS medium supplemented with two combinations of growth regulators influence (Kin+IAA and BA+IAA). More fresh weight and the best friability of callus was obtained from leaf explants on MS medium containing 1.0 mgl^-1 IAA and 0.5 mgl^-1 Kin with semi-solid medium (0.6% agar). The cell suspension culture promoted the best cell growth in medium containing sugarcubes with biomass of 8.245 g fresh weight and 0.298 g dry weight in 24 days of inoculation. This is the first report using four different carbon sources in plant cell suspension cultures. The results showed that out of four carbon sources tested, sugarcubes could be the best source of carbon and it potentially reduces the cost of using costly carbon sources in cell suspension cultures.