Polysaccharide production from callus cultures of Cereus peruvianus Mill. (Cactaceae)

The stems of adult plants and calli of Cereus peruvianus were used for polysaccharide extraction and characterization. The carbohydrate contents of polysaccharide extracted from stems and calli tissues were estimated to be 58.08% and 35.21%, respectively. The ratio carbohydrate contents of the plant stems and callus cells was approximately 1.65:1. The glycosyl composition of the stems and callus polysaccharides consisted mostly in galactose, arabinose, and rhamnose. This shows that calli induced from hypocotyl are capable of producing significant amounts of the same polysaccharides present in stems of adult plants.