The characterisation of foaming in plant cell cultures was investigated using Monnda citnfoha, as a test organism Suspensions were cultivated in 250 ml shake flasks, over the course of 21 day batch growth cycles, and were characterised in terms of biomass concentration, conductivity, morphology, pH and metabolite production (extracellular proteins and extracellular polysaccharides (ECP)). The Theological and surface tension profiles of the cell-free broths were assessed, with a view to understanding the influence o f these characteristics on foaming behaviour. A bubble column, to investigate the foaming potential of cell-free broths, was designed and validated. A preliminary study was performed, to monitor the ability of a silicone antifoam to suppress foaming and to investigate its influence on culture growth and productivity. Image analysis-based morphological studies showed that the distributions of chains and cells m these suspensions are log-normal. A linear relationship was identified between conductivity and biomass concentration, expressed in terms of fresh weight and cell number, however, this relationship was only apparent up to the stationary phase, for dry weight measurements Metabolite production was strongly growth-associated. The viscosity of the broth was found to increase with culture age and was successfully correlated with ECP production Surface tension was observed to reach a minimum during the early stages of the growth cycle and to remain relatively stable for the remainder of the growth cycle. These variations were attributed to extracellular proteins. Foammess characterisation studies in both cell-free broths and in model systems (using BSA and xanthan gum) revealed that foammess was greatly influenced by proteins, polysaccharides and nature of the suspending fluid. Foammess in medium-based solutions was significantly greater than in comparable aqueous-based solutions. The antifoam employed was compatible with this suspension culture, when cultivated in shake flasks and was effective in suppressing foam formation during foaming experiments in the bubble column.