Regulation of <i>Lagenaria siceraria</i> Metabolites From In‐Vitro Grown Cell Suspension after Challenging With Biotic and Abiotic Elicitors

The rising demand for bioactive molecules in agricultural and pharmaceutical industries emphasizes the need for better methods of metabolite production. This finding assesses the impact of abiotic and biotic elicitors, including methyl jasmonate (MeJA), salicylic acid (SA), cadmium chloride (CdCl₂), silver nitrate (AgNO₃), chitin, and chitosan in Lagenaria siceraria (salad variety bottle gourd) suspension culture. The L. siceraria, a member of the Cucurbitaceae family, is widely valued for its nutritional, economical, and pharmaceutical properties. An optimum callus induction rate was achieved from leaf explants using 1 mg/L 2,4-D + 1 mg/L BAP. The cell suspension culture was challenged with three different concentrations of selected elicitors, and cell density was evaluated using a trypan blue staining assay. Among the abiotic elicitors, MeJA (75 µM) significantly enhanced cell density, whereas chitosan (75 mg/L), the most effective biotic elicitor, showed the highest increase in both cell density and metabolite accumulation compared to the control. The GC-MS profiling of L. siceraria elicited suspension culture revealed major metabolites, such as ethyl geranyl acetate; cucurbitacin B dihydro-, isopropyl linoleate; fumaric acid, di(tetradic-3-enyl) ester; isophytol; and tocopherol, in MeJA, SA, AgNO₃ and chitosan elicited suspension culture. These findings highlight the effectiveness of elicitation strategies in maximizing secondary metabolite productivity and improving the overall yield of L. siceraria, with potential applications in pharmaceutical and agricultural industries.