Cell cultures of Saussurea medusa produce valuable secondary metabolites, and jaceosidin and hispidulin are the major bioactive compounds. In the present study, the cultures were challenged by methyl jasmonate (MJ). The highest jaceosidin and hispidulin concentrations (65.2 +/- 3.67 mg/L and 12.3 +/- 0.47 mg/L) were achieved with 5 microM MJ added to 9-d-old subcultures, being 2.2-fold and 4.2-fold, respectively, higher than those from controls. The elicitor had little influence on cell growth, indicating that the changed biological processes did not include alterations in cell division. Furthermore, we observed that the activities of phenylalanine ammonia lyase were transiently increased after treatment with MJ, which suggests that this elicitor modifies jaceosidin and hispidulin production by regulating the phenylpropanoid pathway.