Light-emitting diode enhances the growth and biosynthesis of anticancer lignans in mass shoot culture of Linum album Kotschy ex Boiss. (Linaceae)

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the growth and accumulation of anti-cancer lignans in Linum album in vitro mass shoot culture under cytokinins and light-emitting diode (LEDs) treatments. Shoot proliferation was optimized on Murashig and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2.5 mg/L kinetin, yielding the highest shoot number (8.73 ± 0.90), fresh weight (3.87 ± 0.10 g), and dry weight (476.75 ± 0.48 mg). Proliferated shoots were exposed to white (control), blue LED (470 nm), red LED (660 nm), blue and red LED (50 red:50 blue), and white + ultraviolet A (8 h) (UVA) for one month. UVA increased fresh weight (3.78 ± 0.04 g), dry weight (428.14 ± 0.11 mg), and shoot number (8.93 ± 0.19) compared to the control. LEDs positively influenced the enhancement of enzymatic antioxidant activity in L. album shoots. The highest total phenolic and total flavonoids content was obtained in blue and UVA light, respectively. Red light maximized podophyllotoxin (98.81 ± 0.0081 µg/g DW) and 6-methoxypodophyllotoxin (289.47 ± 0.0025 µg/g DW), 2.3- and 4.6-folder higher than control, respectively. These findings hold significant potential for advancing the commercial production of anti-cancer lignans in scaled-up systems, such as bioreactors, to meet the growing demands of the pharmaceutical industry.