IRANIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS
Year:2016 | Volume:31 | Issue:6 (74)|Papers Count:17

To investigate the allelopathic potential and its relation with phenolic changes in different concentrations of methanolic and ethanolic extracts from root and leaf of Rumex turcomanicus Czerep. on seed germination and seedling growth of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design was conducted at the Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, in 2013. Treatments included different organs of Rumex turcomanicus Czerep (root and leaf), two extraction solvents (methanol and ethanol), and six concentrations of extract (0, 31.25, 62.5, 125, 250 and 500 ppm), whose effects were studied on seed germination and seedling growth of lettuce. The extracts were placed in petri dishes in three replicates and 25 seeds (lettuce) per replicate. Phenolic content was measured in each extract. The results showed higher inhibition in methanoilc extracts as compared with ethanolic extracts and higher inhibition in root extract as compared with leaf extracts on seed germination and most of seedling the growth traits. Among different concentrations, maximum and minimum inhibition were observed in 500 and 0 ppm of extracts, respectively. Phenolic content was greater in methanolic as compared with ethanoilc extracts and was higher in root extracts as compared with leaf extracts. In addition, phenolic content was increased with increasing of extract concentration. A positive and significant correlation was observed between phenolic content and allelopathic potential.

Satureja belongs to lamiaceae with different species throughout the world. Annual and perennial species of this medicinal plant grow naturally in Iran, of which nine species are endemic. In this research, perennial species of Iranian savory were evaluated during 2009-2013, Yazd, Iran. Accessions of different species were cultivated at Research Station of Medicinal Plants using a randomized complete block design. Different traits including percentage of plant establishment, plant height, plant canopy diameter, shoot fresh yield, shoot dry yield and oil content were measured. Variance analysis showed significant differences (p<0.01) among accessions for plant establishment, plant canopy diameter, plant height, essential oil percentage, shoot dry yield and leaf dry yield . Based on mean comparisons, SKM (Satureja bachtiarica) from Yazd, 107 (S. spicigera) from Gilan, 15 (S. rechingeri) from Ilam , 123-1 and 123-2 (S. mutica) from Khorasan province were superior accessions for valuable agronomic traits such as percentage of establishment, shoot yield and oil content.

The Achillea genus has 19 herbaceous aromatic species in Iran, of which six species are endemic. One of the native species of this genus is Achillea nobilis. In traditional medicine, different parts of Achillea species are used because of antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, antihistamine and antioxidant properties. In this research, the seeds of Achillea nobilis L. were collected from Hamedan province and cultivated in the field of Alborz Research Station, Karaj, Iran. In order to comparing the essential oil content and composition, flowering shoots and individual plant parts (flower, leaf and stem) were collected in full flowering stage. The plant materials were dried at shade and their essential oils were obtained by hydro-distillation. The oils were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The highest oil yield was obtained from flowers (1.32%) and the lowest from stems (0.14%). The oil yield of flowering shoot and leaf was 0.85% and 0.62%, respectively. The main components of flower and leaf oil were cis-chrysanthenol (47.1% and 50.8%) and a-thujone (8.8% and 9.1%), respectively. The essential oil of stem with 19.7% cubenol, 19.2% indipone, 15.4% cis-chrysanthenol and 9.9% intermedol was completely different with leaf and flower oils. The major compounds of flowering shoot's essential oil were cis-chrysanthenol (41.7%), a-thujone (10.2%) and camphor (8.1%). According to these results, the studied sample could be introduced as a new chemotype of Achillea nobilis with higher percentage of cis-chrysanthenol. In addition, since the essential oil composition of flowering shoot is near to leaf and flower oils, the distillation of flowering shoot of this chemotype is recommended for obtaining more essential oil content.

Secondary metabolites play an important role in plant responses to environmental stresses and some of these compounds are significantly increased under stress conditions. The use of biotic and abiotic elicitors for promoting the production of secondary metabolites reduces the processing time to achieve high concentrations of the metabolite. In this study, the effects of pathogenic fungus, Rhizoctonia solani (AG2-2) SBUka2, as biotic elicitor, were studied to better understanding of plant reactions to microorganisms and enhance yield and quality of secondary metabolites of Thymus daenensis in tissue culture. In this way, rosmarinic acid and caffeic acid contents of two ecotypes (Ilam and Isfahan) of T. daenensis were determined by High Performance Thin Layer Chromatogharapghy (HPTLC), while essential oil variations were studied by Gas Chromatoghraphy-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that in the presence of R. solani, rosmarinic acid content of inoculated plant was decreased by 26.82% and 8.25% in Ilam and Isfahan ecotypes, respectively whereas caffeic acid content decreased to 4.51 and 4.16, respectively. The analysis of essential oils exhibited that in the presence of R. solani, the yield of essential oils increased by 33% and 20% in Isfahan and Ilam types, respectively. In addition, the content of some essential oil compositions such as thymol and carvacrol were increased in infected plants whereas other compounds such as para-cymene and gama-terpinene were decreased.

This research was aimed to investigate morphological and phenological traits of 12 populations of pseudo chamomile (Tripleurospermum sevasnense (Manden.) Pobed.). The study was carried out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications in the Alborz research station, Karaj, Iran, during 2011-2013. The study traits included longitudinal and transverse diameter of canopy cover, canopy cover area, plant height, number of flowers, shoot fresh and dry weight, growing degree-days (GDD), essential oil percentage and essential oil yield. Growing degree-days was calculated for flowering and harvesting time. Analysis variance of data showed that there were significant differences among populations (P<0.05). According to the results of mean comparisons, maximum shoot fresh weight (290.4 g/plant), shoot dry weight (99.8 g/plant) and essential oil yield (252.2 mg/plant) were recorded for Aredbil2. Therefore, this population was superior to the others. The results of growing degreedays at flowering and maturity stages showed that two populations (Gazvin2 and Tehran1) had lower values of growing degree-days. In the cluster analysis, populations were divided into three groups. The populations of cluster 1, including Karaj, Qazvin, and Khorramabad, were superior to the other two groups in terms of shoot yield and morphological traits. Our results clearly showed that after further tests and mass seed production in diffrent climate regions of the country, the supriore popultions of Karaj, Ghazvin1, and Khorramabad could be introduced as new cultivars.

Due to the insufficient information about the distribution of plant and animal species, the use of modeling to predict the distribution of species has increased in recent years. For this purpose, a wide range of modeling techniques has been developed. In this study, the potential distribution map of Ferula ovina Boiss.was prepared using the environmental factors and occurrences data and genetic algorithms model (GARP). Species occurrences (137 sites) were collected using stratified random sampling method and all environmental layers including physiographic layers (slope, aspect and elevation derived from digital elevation model), climate and soil layers were produced using interpolation methods in ARCGIS (with a pixel size of 70´70 m). All data were analyzed by Desktop Garp and the distribution map of Ferula ovina was prepared. The model evaluation was performed by AUC of ROC plot, indicating a good performance of this model (AUC=0.766). According to the results of sensitive analysis, silt and elevation were the most important factors affecting the distribution of Ferula ovina. This model could be used in the interpretation of relationships between species and environment and assessing areas with high protection potential as well as determining suitable areas for the revival of Ferula ovina and climate change and management scenarios.

To study the effect of organic compounds and bio-fertilizer on some attributes of ivy geranium (Pelarginum peltatum Soland.), an experiment was carried out based on R.C.B.D using two factors including phosphate bio-fertilizer (Barvar 2) and different substrates in 16 treatments, 4 replications, 64 experimental plots and 256 plants. Barvar 2 at two levels (application and non-application) and different substrates including 8 treatments containing garden soil and sand along with different organic compounds (v/v) were applied. In this study, stem length, shoot number, root length, number of floret per inflorescence, fresh weight of aerial part, root and petals, protein content, chlorophyll content, leaf phosphorus and available phosphorus content in the substrates were evaluated after harvest of plant. Results showed that both main effects and interactions were significant on all traits. In addition, Barvar 2 along with the cultivation beds containing a variety of organic resources such as garden soil + sand + solid waste compost + water tank soil and sand + tea compost + cocopeat + water tank soil had a better function on these traits. The measured physical and chemical characteristics in the cultivation bed of sand + tea compost + cocopeat + water tank soil were more desirable as compared with other beds. The plants grown in this cultivation bed showed a higher performance in traits such as shoot number, number of floret per inflorescence, and chlorophyll content with an average of 5.90 and 6.42 floret per inflorescence, and 5.37 mg.g FW as compared with other treatments. Our results clearly showed that application of Barvar 2 along with this substrate could be recommended as a suitable supplement for the cultivation bed, providing a better growth of ivy geranium.

Wound is an inevitable event in life, occurring due to microbial infection or physical or chemical damage. The present study was conducted in order to compare the effect of Ceylon cinnamon extract and flaxseed oil on the healing of wounds induced in rat. Thirty-two rats were divided into four groups. The wound healing process was evaluated for groups related to Ceylon cinnamon ethanolic extract (3%) and flaxseed oil at a concentration of 3% on days 3, 7, 14 and 21. In addition, one group received no treatment as control, and one group received the Vaseline eucerin ointment as reference standard. The results showed that Ceylon cinnamon extract and flaxseed oil were effective in accelerating the wounds healing process and, in particular, increased epithelization rate in the treatment groups compared to the other groups, so that the size of the wound area in the Ceylon cinnamon group, flaxseed oil group, placebo group and the control group on day 21 were calculated to be 2.6±0.4, 3.72±0.05, 5.01±0.09 and 5.3±0.07, respectively. Comparative evaluation of this study showed that Ceylon cinnamon was more effective in accelerating the closure of wound as compared with flaxseed oil.

Some crops have the ability to withstand environmental stresses as they prevent further production of oxygen free radicals or cope with the produced free radicals. Accordingly, in order to investigate the effect of mycorrhizal fungi species on eco-physiological characteristics of Hyssopus officinalis L., a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design was conducted with three replications at the research farm of west Azarbaijan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center in 2012. Treatments were species of mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus mousseae, G. intraradicese, G. fasiculatum, G. claroideum, Acaulospora longula and control without mycorrhiza) and four levels of irrigation (irrigation at 80, 70, 60 and 50% field capacity). Results showed the significant effects of irrigation and mycorrhiza on the ascorbate peroxidase, and significant interaction between irrigation and fungi species on the percentage of mycorrhizal colonization, catalase activity and superoxide dismutase. The order of highest colonization of Hyssop root was G. mosseae, G. intraradices, G. fasiculatum, G. claroideum and A. longula compared to control treatment in all irrigation levels. The highest activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase in plants inoculated with G. mosseae, G. fasiculatum, G. fasiculatum and G. claroideum belonged to irrigation at 50, 60, 50 and 50% of field capacity, respectively. However, the highest ascorbate peroxidase belonged to irrigation at 50% field capacity. In conclusion, the results showed that mycorrhizal species affected the amendment of water deficit stress due to the increased antioxidant enzyme activity in order to neutralize the effects of free radicals and cell membrane stability.

To study the effect of planting date and density on the yield, yield components and allicin content of two garlic ecotypes (Allium sativum L.), an experiment was conducted in a farmland in Damghan, Iran during the 2011-2012 growing season. The experiment was arranged as a split-split-plot in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Three planting dates (17-Oct, 11-Nov, 6-Mar) were main plots. Two ecotypes (Kavire Damghan and Hamedan) were subplots, and three planting densities (35, 45 and 55 plants per m2) were subsub- plots. The effect of planting date on plant height, fresh and dry weight of bulbs, yield, diameter and dry weight of cloves was significant, and delay in planting date decreased these traits. The values of dry and fresh weight of bulbs, plant yield, dry weight and diameter of cloves and allicin content were significantly higher in Hamedan ecotype in comparison with Kavire Damghan ecotype. The planting density had significant effect on fresh and dry weight of bulb and dry weight and diameter of cloves, as these traits were reduced by increasing the density. Furthermore, the effect of planting density on height and yield of plant and number of cloves in bulb was significant. To achieve the highest fresh yield (1.7kg.m-2) and dry yield (0.27 kg.m-2), 17-Oct was identified as the best planting date. Hamedan ecotype was more favorable as it had higher bulb fresh and dry weight, diameter and dry weight of cloves, allicin contents and yield. The most desirable planting density was 55 plants per m2 due to having higher values of plant height, number of cloves in bulb and yield.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of dry peppermint (Mentha piperita L.), thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) and especially chicory (Chicorium intybus L.) leaves on performance and intestinal morphology of broilers using 360 one-day old chicks, in a completely randomized design with three treatments, three replicates and 40 chickens in each replicate (20 male and 20 female). Treatments were arranged in: control group, 3Kg of chicory for treatment 2 and 1Kg of peppermint+1Kg of thyme+1Kg of chicory for treatment 3. The entire experimental period was divided into three phases; 1-10 days, 11-24 days and 25-42 days. Weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio were evaluated. On 42th day, to assess the effects of treatments on villus length, crypt depth and the ratio of the villus height to the crypt depth in Jejunum and ileum, 6 birds from each treatment were slaughtered. Results indicated that the addition of these herbal plants, significantly increased body weight gain, feed consumption and improved feed conversion ratio (p<0.05). The maximum body weight gain and the best feed conversion ratio were related to the chicory treatment and the most of feed consumption was related to the third treatment (p<0.05). The morphological measurements of the jejunum, ileum and the ratio of the villus height to the crypt depth showed no response to dietary inclusion of these plants as compared with the control diet (p>0.05). In conclusion, the results from the current study suggest that feeding peppermint, thyme and especially chicory increases the growth performance and had no effect on intestinal morphology of broiler chickens.

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of application of organic fertilizers on the yield of medicinal plant, calendula (Calendula officinalis L.). The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with 10 treatments and 3 replications in the research farm of Zanjan University. Treatments included cattle manure, poultry manure, and vermicompost, each at three levels (5, 10, and 15 tons per hectare) and control (without fertilizer). The measured traits were the thousand seed weight, number of capitules per plant, leaf area, plant height, petal dry weight, capitule diameter, chlorophyll content index, flavonoids, carotenoids, and essential oil percentage. Data were analyzed by SAS software, and mean comparisons was performed by Duncan's test. The results showed significant effects of fertilizer on thousand seed weight, capitule number per plant, leaf area, carotenoids, and essential oil percentage at p£0.01, and plant height, petal dry weight, and flavonoid at p£0.05. The type of fertilizer had no significant effect on capitule diameter and leaf chlorophyll content. Overall, the results showed that using organic fertilizers had favorable impact on yield, growth characteristics, and active ingredients content of Calendula.

To study the effects of vermicompost and foliar application of amino acids and urea on quantity and quality of chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.), an experiment was conducted at RAN Field Research Station in Firouzkuh, Iran in 2012. The factors were vermicompost (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12t/ha) and foliar spraying (non-spraying or control, amino acid and urea spraying). The experimental design was factorial based on a randomized complete blocks design with 15 treatments and three replications. Results showed that the highest plant height (35.27cm), flower number per plant (181.75), and dry flower yield (2053.7kg/ha) were obtained by urea foliar application. While, the highest essential oil (0.59%), and chamazulene (7.13%), essential oil yield (11.98kg/ha) and chamazulen yield (854.17g/ha) were obtained by amino acid spraying on the plants. The application of vermicompost at a rate of 12 t ha-1 could increase all measured traits significantly. The results of interaction effects showed that the application of vermicompost at a rate of 12 t ha-1 and foliar application of amino acid had positive and significant effects on dry flower yield and chamazulen yield.

Drought stress is an important environmental factor that reduces the yield of plants. Nepeta pogonosperma Jamzad et Assadi is a perennial plant from Lamiaceae family. Iran is an arid and semiarid region and most of the agricultural lands are faced with drought stress; this is the main reason for reduced yield. In order to investigate the effect of drought stress and planting interval on Nepeta pogonosperma, an experiment was conducted under field conditions in 2012, at Alborz research station, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Karaj, Iran. The experiment was conducted in factorial in the form of a randomized complete block design with three replications. Planting interval factor was in four levels (20´20, 30´30, 40´40 and 50´50 cm), and drought stress factor was in three levels (30, 60 and 90% of field capacity). Analysis of variance showed that the effect of interaction of drought stress × planting interval was significant on diameter of the main stem and the percentage of essential oil at P£0.05. The effect of planting interval and drought stress was significant on leaf width and length, inflorescence length, yield, essential oil percentage and yield, number of flowering stems and total stems, and number of inflorescences. Mean comparison showed that the maximum leaf width (15.9 mm), leaf length (40.5 mm), and shoot yield (3391 kg/ha) were achieved in the control (90% FC), and the highest number of non-flowering stems (47), number of flowering stems (41), number of total stems (88), number of inflorescences (15), shoot yield (5185 kg/ha), essential oil percentage (3.21%) and essential oil yield (122 kg/ha) were related to 20´20 cm planting interval. The results of this study showed that in order to achieve the maximum shoot yield and essential oil yield, a planting interval of 20´20 cm at a drought level of 60%FC could be recommended.

This research was aimed to study the effects of biofertilizer and plant density on yield and essential oil of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.). The traits including 1000-seed weight, biological yield, seed yield, essential oil content, and essential oil yield were measured in a factorial experiment based on a randomized complete block design with twelve treatments and three replications. The study was conducted at the research field of Agriculture Company of Ran, Firouzkuh, Iran in 2011. The factors were nitroxin biofertilizer at four levels (noninoculated, inoculated seeds, spraying on the plant at stem elongation stage and inoculated seeds+spraying on the plant at stem elongation stage) and plant density at three levels (12.5, 16.7 and 25 plants m-2). Results showed that the highest 1000-seed weight, biological yield, seed yield, essential oil content, and essential oil yield were obtained from nitroxin inoculation with seeds together spraying on the plant at stem elongation stage. Plant density also showed significant effects on the mentioned traits, as the highest biological yield, seed yield and essential oil yield were obtained in a density of 25 plants m-2 and the maximum essential oil content was recorded in a density of 16.7 plants m-2. According to the results of this study, twotime consumption of nitroxin biofertilizer and a density of 25 plants m-2 were identified as the most suitable treatment.

Verapamil inhibits the cytosolic calcium content by blocking both activated and inactivated T-type calcium. Regarding the spasmolytic effect of materials caused by blockage of calcium channels and due to the inhibitory effect of Satureja hortensis L. on ileum smooth muscle contraction. The present study was designed to find out the synergistic effects of calcium blocker verapamil and Satureja essential oil on inhibition of cholinergic contraction in male rat’s ileum. In this study, by using an oscillographic device, the effects of different concentration of Satureja essential oil and verapamil were examined on isotonic contraction of ileum induced by acetylcholine10-4M. Our results showed that both verapamil and Satureja essential oils inhibited acetylcholine-induced contraction of ileum. In addition, their ineffective doses had synergistic spasmolytic effects, which were statistically significant (p<0.05).