Abstract
In vitro
root cultures (RCs) of
Linum alpinum
and
L. austriacum
(Linaceae) were used as model systems to investigate phenylpropanoid pathway regulation and justicidin B (JB) accumulation in response to exogenous vitexin supplementation. JB was quantified by LC-HRESI-MS over a 30-day cultivation period following vitexin treatment at different concentrations and developmental stages. Vitexin exerted species-, concentration-, and stage-dependent effects on JB accumulation. In
L. alpinum
, vitexin induced a modest increase at 1 μM (1.2-fold), whereas
L. austriacum
showed a stronger concentration- and cultivation-stage-dependent response. The highest fold increase was observed following treatment with 10 μM vitexin on day 35. The results of this study suggest that exogenous flavonoid supplementation may influence metabolic distribution within the phenylpropanoid network, potentially favoring arylnaphthalene lignan biosynthesis. The study highlights a possible regulatory interaction between flavonoid and lignan pathways in plant
in vitro
systems.