Activated charcoal catalyses sucrose hydrolysis during autoclaving

Activated charcoal frequently promotes the in vitro growth and organogenesis of plant tissues by the absorption of compounds from the culture medium and/or from the container atmosphere.Our experiment demonstrates that sucrose hydrolysis, which normally reaches 10% during autoclaving, increases to 95% in presence of 1% of activated charcoal. This gives rise to the acidification of the solution due to a specific reaction of the formed fructose.Changing the available carbon source from the initial sucrose to a mixture of fructose, glucose and sucrose, causes a osmolarity increase, a drop in the agar gelling and the formation of furfural derivatives which are indirect consequences of the sucrose hydrolysis affecting the tissue culture media.