Light-Emitting Diode-Induced Enhancement of Anti-aging Secondary Metabolites Under In Vitro Conditions

The rising demand for natural anti-aging therapeutics has accelerated research into the controlled production of secondary metabolites with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and collagen-boosting effects, which are vital for counteracting age-related degeneration. Among the latest biotechnological innovations, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have emerged as efficient elicitors offering durability, cool temperature, long life, diverse wavelengths, and small diode size, resulting in improved yield and quality of bioactive compounds in vitro cultures and intact plants. This chapter explores how specific LED wavelengths, particularly red, blue, and combined spectra, stimulate biosynthetic pathways in medicinal plants known for their anti-aging benefits. Mechanistically, LEDs offer durability, cool temperature, long life, diverse wavelengths, and small diode size, which influence key genes and enzymes involved in the phenylpropanoid, flavonoid, and carotenoid biosynthesis pathways, modulate reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling, and enhance phytohormonal regulation. This chapter will shed light on how LEDs are beneficial for the accumulation of different secondary metabolites in multiple shoots, callus, and/or cell suspension culture. Integrating plant photophysiology with secondary metabolism has highlighted how LED-based light manipulation supports sustainable and intensified production of high-value phytochemicals targeting age-related degeneration.