Biochemical and Cellular Response of Catharanthus roseus Callus Cells to Cadmium Toxicity

Catharanthus roseus is a medicinal and ornamental plant with growing attention toward its economical value. Cell suspension from C. roseus were treated with 0 to 60mM of cadmium nitrate for 1, 3 and 6 days, then cell viability was determined using trypan blue and MTT assay. Cell morphology was investigated using 0, 10, 30 and 50 mM of cadmium nitrate as selected dose for 3 days. Callus of C.roseus was treated with selected doses for same period to estimate the hydrogen peroxide content, level of lipid peroxidation, proline content and the activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase as well as protein profile. In addition, the production of total alkaloid, flavonoid and phenolic compounds was estimated. Data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA, Duncan test and p