The Effect of Ascorbic Acid on In-vitro Development of Momordica charantia L under Arsenic Stress

Abstract

Momordica charantia L. is the scientific name of bitter gourd and its local name is Karela. The flower only blooms once a year and has only one sex. The plant has also some medicinal value. Heavy metals can be found in small amounts in nature. Certain heavy metals such as Cu, As, and Hg inhibit plant growth. Heavy metals alter the characteristics of soil especially biological properties. Ascorbic acid is commonly known as growth regulator, which is responsible for enhancement of plant growth. It also inhibits the heavy metals' impacton plants. After 28 days the plants were harvested and analyze the morphological and biochemical parameters. As compared to other treatments, ascorbic acid showed remarkable results in the enhancement of seed germination percentage, seed germination index, shoot and root length, photosynthetic pigments, carotenoids, dry and fresh weight of roots and shoots. By applying arsenic to other replicas, they showed adverse effect on the growth parameters of bitter gourd. According to the findings of the current work, seed soaking in ascorbic acid could be a highly effective way to lessen the negative effects of stress caused by arsenic on bitter gourd. The results showed that bitter gourdhas the ability to tolerate heavy metals stress and minimized the negative effect of arsenic stress. This research work will help in the genetic engineering field to identify the gene and plant molecular mechanisms that minimize the negative effect of arsenic in Momordica charantia L. and also to produce arsenic-resistant varieties. This study will help in obtaining a high yield and nutritional value of Momordica charantia L. by applying ascorbic acid to that plant grown in arsenic-polluted soil. These findings are also applicable for those important crops which have facing the same heavy metal stress, by analyzing the efficacy of ascorbic acid in minimizing the heavy metal stress.