1, 5, or 10 mM arginine and 25, 50, or 100 µM cysteine were added in the Murashige and Skoog medium. By increasing arginine concentration the number of shoots per explant increased. Inclusion of 50 µM cysteine in the medium resulted in maximum number of shoots but it was not significantly different in comparison to 10 mM arginine. The chlorophyll content was significantly increased in explants treated with 10 mM arginine in comparison to the control, 1 mM arginine and 25 µM cysteine. By increasing arginine and cysteine concentrations of the medium, N, K, and Ca contents of explants increased but no significant changes in P, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, and B contents were observed.