Establishment of callus and cell suspension culture of Momordica charantia L. and their phytochemicals

Momordica charantia L. is an edible and medicinal plant of the family Cucurbitaceae with reported wide range of biological activities. In this study, effect of Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium [1] supplemented with different concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), kinetin (KN), 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) on callus formation of leaf, stem, and root explants of M. charantia were studied. After that, cell suspension cultures were initiated on liquid MS medium supplemented with plant growth regulators that gave the best callus response. Cells were harvested every week for determination of growth curve and phytochemicals accumulation. The experiments were performed in triplicate. The results showed that the highest callus formation frequency and callus quality score were obtained from leaf and stem explants cultured on MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/L 2,4-D and 0.5 mg/L KN for two weeks. Growth of cell suspension culture rapidly reach log phase from the first week. The results from Folin-Ciocalteu and DPPH assays showed that extracts of 2-week-old cell suspension cultures of M. charantia had highest total phenolic contents (equivalent to 14.23±6.37 mg gallic acid/g DW) and antioxidative activity (equivalent to 0.62±0.04 mg ascorbic acid/g DW) which were significantly higher than results from extracts of cells harvested at different times of culture, and were not statistically different from the results from extracts of intact fruits of M. charantia. Phytochemical profiles are under investigation.

• References

• 1 Murashige T, Skoog F. A revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco tissue cultures. Physiol Plant 1962; 15: 473-497