improvement of friable callus induction of crocus sativus l. and establishment of a cell suspension culture system with high biomass

Purpose: this study aims to explore the potential of in vitro culture as a method for scaling up the production of saffron based medicinal compounds, the most expensive spice renowned. emphasis is placed on the critical role of friable callus (fc) formation as a prerequisite for successful suspension culture. research method: the research primarily investigates fc formation, focusing on the impact of varying strengths of murashige and skoog (ms) medium as well as combinations of naa or 2,4-d and ba or kin on compact callus. subsequently, the study involves supplementing the ms medium with different concentrations of 2,4-d, kin, zeatin, glutamine, sucrose, and nitrogen to establish a cell suspension culture. findings: the highest fc yield was achieved on a solid medium containing 2,4-d (1 mg l^-1 )+kin (0.2 mg l^-1 ), resulting in a fresh weight (fw) of 0.413 g. furthermore, ms combined with 2,4-d (1 mg l^-1 )+kin (0.2 mg l^-1 )+glutamine (10 mg l^-1 ), as well as ms+2,4-d (0.5 mg l^-1 )+zeatin (0.3 mg l^-1 )+glutamine (10 mg l^-1 ), demonstrated the highest fw under suspension conditions. the study also identified that 30 g l^-1 sucrose and 30 µm were optimal for inducing maximum fw. research limitations: cell biomass is influenced by several factors that should to be optimized. originality/value: this research concludes that a cell suspension system holds promise for rapidly generating sufficient cell biomass to produce valuable secondary metabolites within a limited timeframe and space. notably, the system successfully increased biomass from 0.2 to 1.2 g, underscoring its potential for efficient saffron-based product development.