Scarlet Flax Linum grandiflorum (L.) In Vitro Cultures as a New Source of Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Lignans

In vitro cultures of scarlet flax (Linum grandiflorum L.), an important ornamental flax, have been established as a new possible valuable resource of lignans and neolignans for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory applications. The callogenic potential at different concentrations of α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and thidiazuron (TDZ), alone or in combinations, was evaluated using both L. grandiflorum hypocotyl and cotyledon explants. A higher callus induction frequency was observed on NAA than TDZ, especially for hypocotyl explants, with a maximum frequency (i.e., 95.2%) on 1.0 mg/L of NAA. The presence of NAA (1.0 mg/L) in conjunction with TDZ tended to increase the frequency of callogenesis relative to TDZ alone, but never reached the values observed with NAA alone, thereby indicating the lack of synergy between these two plant growth regulators (PGRs). Similarly, in terms of biomass, NAA was more effective than TDZ, with a maximum accumulation of biomass registered for medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/L of NAA using hypocotyls as initial explants (DW: 13.1 g). However, for biomass, a synergy between the two PGRs was observed, particularly for cotyledon-derived explants and for the lowest concentrations of TDZ. The influence of these two PGRs on callogenesis and biomass is discussed. The HPLC analysis confirmed the presence of lignans (secoisolariciresinol (SECO) and lariciresinol (LARI) and neolignan (dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol [DCA]) naturally accumulated in their glycoside forms. Furthermore, the antioxidant activities performed for both hypocotyl- and cotyledon-derived cultures were also found maximal (DPPH: 89.5%, FRAP 866: µM TEAC, ABTS: 456 µM TEAC) in hypocotyl-derived callus cultures as compared with callus obtained from cotyledon explants. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory activities revealed high inhibition (COX-1: 47.4% and COX-2: 51.1%) for extract of hypocotyl-derived callus cultures at 2.5 mg/L TDZ. The anti-inflammatory action against COX-1 and COX-2 was supported by the IC50 values. This report provides a viable approach for enhanced biomass accumulation and efficient production of (neo)lignans in L. grandiflorum callus cultures.