IRANIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS
Year:2015 | Volume:31 | Issue:5 (73)|Papers Count:15

Achillea vermicularis Trin., belonging to Astraceae family, is distributed at North and North- West Iran. It is used for treatment of arthritis infusion of the leaves, gastritis, asthma, and diseases of the liver in traditional medicine. In this study, for the first time, the seeds of A. vermicularis was collected from West Azarbayjan 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 (flowers, leaves and stems) were collected in full flowering stage. The plant materials were dried at shade and their essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation. The oils were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/Mass). The highest oil yields (w/w of dry weight) were obtained from flowers (0.53%) and leaves (0.52%) and the lowest oil yield was obtained from stems (0.24%). The oil yield of total aerial parts was 0.43%. According to these results, the distillation of all aerial parts is more suitable in comparison with oil extraction from the flowers that is common for other Achillea species, resulting in wasting a lot of essential oils in the leaves and stems. Twenty-nine compounds were identified in the essential oils, of which 1,8-cineol, camphor and piperitone were found in all essential oils in significant quantities. The content of camphor varied from 4.1% in stem oil to 19.2% in flower oil. Minimum and maximum content of 1,8- cineol was found in the stem oil (3.3%) and flower oil (23.3%), respectively. The minimum content of piperitone (4.9%) was obtained in stem oil and aerial parts oil was rich in piperitone (26.4%). There were special differences among the essential oils of plant parts. The presence of special compounds such as heptadecane (31.1%) and hexadecanol (18.6%) and n-henei cosine (4.5%) and n-octadecane only in stem oil (3.1%), germacrene D in aerial parts oil (13.6%), were other differences.

Foliar application of micronutrients is a useful technique for rapid absorption of minerals in the plants and avoids soil contamination. To evaluate the effect of foliar application of micronutrients (iron and zinc) on yield, yield components, and essential oil of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.), an experiment was conducted as factorial based on randomized complete blocks design with three replications at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zanjan during the growing season of 2012. In this experiment, the effect of foliar application of Fe (using ferrous sulphate) at four concentrations (0, 1, 2 and 3 gr.L-1) and foliar application of Zn (using zinc sulphate) at three concentrations (0, 2 and 4 gr.L-1) were investigated. Results showed that the majority of measured traits including number of umbels per plant, 1000-seed weight, grain yield, essential oil content and essential oil yield were significantly affected (p£0.01) by combined application of iron and zinc. Therefore, the highest grain yield (2637.96 kg ha-1) was obtained in foliar application of Fe + Zn at a concentration of 0.2%. In addition, the highest essential oil content (2.88%) and essential oil yield (75.71 kg ha-1) were obtained in combined application of Fe 0.3% and Zn 0.2% and the lowest content of mentioned traits was obtained in control.

One of the most important limiting factors in production of medicinal plants in arid and semiarid regions of the world is water shortage or drought stress. Basil (Ocimum basilicum L. var. "Keshkeny levelu") is a valuable medicinal plant and sensitive to water stress. Therefore, the current study was aimed to increase water use efficiency in basil production by conducting a factorial experiment based on randomized complete blocks design with three replications. The treatments were two superabsorbent polymers namely Terracottem™ (industrial) and Plantago ovata mucilage (Herbal) at four concentrations (0, 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% w/w on the basis of soil weight) with two application methods (mixed with soil only and mixed with soil+roots). The measured traits were morphological: leaf number, leaf area, shoot to root ratio, biological: number of seeds/plant, seed weight/plant, and water use efficiency, as well as two other important characteristics such as essential oil percentage and yield at flowering time. Results showed that the simple effect of treatments and their interaction had significant and positive effects on morphological, biological and biochemical traits, measured in this experiment. The best results in vegetative and generative characteristics were obtained by application of Plantago ovata mucilage and the highest essential oil percentage and yield were recorded by using Terracottem superabsorbent. The best results in both compounds were obtained at concentrations of 0.1% and 0.2% with application method in soil+roots and soil only, respectively. In conclusion, both compounds (terracottem™ and Plantago ovata) were able to reduce the adverse effects of drought stress and improved water use efficiency in basil cultivation.

The present study was aimed to study the effects of storing temperature (0 and 5oC) and packaging type (cellophane and plastic containers with air-gated) on storage life of watercress (Nasturtium officinal L.) leaves during 14 days storing. Changes in ascorbic acid, total phenolics, flavonoids and sugar content as well as antioxidant capacity were traced in this experiment. Storing resulted in a significant decrease in flavonoid content of watercress leaves and its level decreased from 46.4mg/g of dry weight to 36.2mg/g. Similarly, during 7 and 14 days storing, the ascorbic acid content of leaves significantly decreased from 68.1mg/100g of fresh weight to 63.5 and 55.1mg/100g of fresh weight, respectively. In the case of antioxidant capacity, the effects of storing time and packaging type were significant (p<0.01). During storage, total phenolics were significantly increased from 11.6 mg/g of fresh weight to 13.6 mg/g of fresh weight. In contrast, the effects of storing temperature and type of packaging on phenolic compounds were not significant. The leaves stored in air-gated containers had the higher water content and, in consequence, the better quality than that of those stored in cellophane containers. It can be concluded that the leaves stored in aerated containers and 0°C had the better quality due to the lower respiration.

Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum [Pursh] Kuntze) is a medicinal and perennial herb, belonging to the Lamiaceae family. The essential oil of this plant is a rich source of Methyl Chavicol, giving antifungal and antibacterial properties to this plant. To evaluate the effect of different drying methods on the essential oil content and composition of Anise hyssop, the leaves were harvested at full flowering stage and dried by four methods (shade drying, sun drying, oven drying at 40, 60 and 80oC, and microwave oven drying at 180, 360, 540, 720, and 900W) in a completely randomized design with four replications. The drying process was continued until the moisture content of samples reached around 0.11 based on dry weight. Dried leaves were subjected to hydro-distillation using a Clevenger type apparatus to extract the essential oil. The oil samples were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Results showed that drying methods had significant effect on the drying time and essential oil content. Minimum (4 minutes) and maximum (64 hours) drying time were obtained at 900 W microwave power and shade drying, respectively. The highest (1.51%) and the lowest (0.56%) essential oil content were observed in shade drying and microwave drying in 900 W, respectively. The results of essential oil analysis showed Methyl Chavicol was the main component of essential oil ranging from 83.1% (shade drying) to 94.6% (microwave drying at 720W). Overall, the findings of this study showed that shade drying in spite of long drying time was the best drying method. However, oven drying at 40oC or microwave method in low powers is recommended when our goal is fast drying and achieving essential oil with high percentage of methyl chavicol.

Staphylococcal food poisoning is resulted from the consumption of a food in which enterotoxigenic staphylococci have grown and produced toxins. Targeting bacterial virulence factors is now gaining interest as an alternative strategy to develop new types of antimicrobial preservatives. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of R. officianalis L. (Ros) essential oil (EO) on growth and gene expression of enterotoxins A, C, and E in Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213. In this study, after determining the minimum inhibitory concentration, the growth and secretion of SEA, SEC, and SEE (detected by ELISA method) by S. aureus treated with graded subinhibitory concentrations of EO was evaluated. In addition, the influence of the EO on the transcription of sea, sec and see (the genes encoding SEA, SEC and SEE, respectively) was analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR. Ros EO at a concentration of 75% MIC, significantly, reduced the growth of S. aureus. EO inhibited the transcription of sea, sec and see in S. aureus, in a dose-dependent manner, resulting in a reduction of SEA, SEC and SEE secretion. These data suggest that the Ros EO may be useful as a natural preservative against the growth and enterotoxin production of S.aureus in food industry.

Because of the use of phenol in petrochemical industry and as a disinfectant effect in medicine, this material is widely used. However, the free phenol in the environment is detrimental to the health. The aim of present study was to evaluate the protective effect of Hypericum perforatum L. on some of the blood biochemical parameters in rats with toxicity induced by phenol. For this purpose, a number of 54 male Wistar rats were divided into 9 treatment groups as 3×3 factorial design with two main factors of Hypericum perforatum (at concentrations of 0, 250 and 500 mg/kg.bw) and phenol (at concentrations of 0, 100 and 200mg/kg.bw). Rats received the extract and phenol every other day with gavage method. On days 15 and 30 of experiment, after blood sampling, the concentrations of some blood serum biochemical parameters were evaluated. In first half of experiment, 200 mg/kg.bw of phenol significantly increased the blood serum cholesterol and LDL values and a concentration of 100mg/kg.bw reduced the VLDL level (p<0.05). In second half of experiment, the highest level of HDL was observed in treatment 250 and 200 mg/kg.bw Hypericum perforatum and phenol, respectively and its lowest value was recorded at concentrations of 500 and 200 mg/kg.bw Hypericum perforatum and phenol, respectively (p<0.05). The other main and interaction effects of treatments were not significant (p>0.05). The findings of present research show that the extract at a concentration of 250 mg/kg could decrease the adverse effect of phenol on HDL biochemical parameter in the long term.

Bio-fertilizers are one of the most useful resources to improve the soil quality and increased yield in different plants. In order to study the effect of different levels of vermicompost and mycorrhizal fungi on essential oil content and uptake of some elements in cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.), a factorial experiment based on randomized complete blocks design with twelve treatments and three replications was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station, Faculty of Agriculture, Yasouj University, during 2012-2013. Experimental treatments consisted of three levels of vermicompost (0, 5 and 10 tons per hectare), and four levels of mycorrhizal fungi (no application, application of Glomus mossae, application of Glomus intraradices and both species) in the soil. Results indicated that the most content of essential oil was obtained from the application of 10 tons vermicompost and Glomus intraradices (3.13%). In addition, the highest content of grain phosphorus (0.26%) and grain nitrogen (1.43%) belonged to the treatment of 10 tons vermicompost and combined application of Glomus mossae and Glomus intraradices. The highest yield of essential oil was obtained from 10 tons vermicompost and application of Glomus mossae. Overall, the results of this experiment showed that using of vermicompost and mycorrhiza can improve the content and yield of essential oil and uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in cumin.

Essential oils are considered as suitable components, which can be used as alternatives for chemical pesticides. In this research, the effects of essential oils of two medicinal plants, Ballota aucheri Boiss. and Ferulago angulate (Schlecht.) Boiss., were studied on nutritional indices of adult insects of Tribolium castaneum, which is one of the most important stored product pests. In this study, Relative Growth Rate (RGR), Relative Consumption Rate (RCR), Efficacy of Conversion of Ingested Food (ECI), and Feeding Deterrence Index (FDI) were evaluated. Different concentrations of each essential oil, including 0, 0.4, 0.6, 1, 2 and 3ml/disk, were examined. In each treatment, 10 adult insects were tested. Insects’ ingested food and weight gained were measured after three days. The experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design with five replications. Results showed that F. angulata was highly effective compared to B. aucheri and significantly decreased the RGR and RCR. The essential oil of F. angulata was more effective than that of B. aucheri on FDI.

To study the effects of seed priming and foliar application of salicylic acid (SA) on yield and essence of fennel (Foeniculum vulgar Mill.) under drought stress condition, a field experiment was conducted at College of Agriculture, University of Zanjan in the spring of 2012. The experiment was conducted as a split plot based on complete randomized block design with three replications. In this study, drought stress at reproductive stage with control (full irrigation) was assigned to the main plots and different treatments of seed priming and foliar application with SA including dry seeds (without priming), seeds priming with SA at different concentrations (0, 800 and 1600μmol) and foliar application with SA at different concentrations (800 and 1600μmol) were assigned to the subplots. Results showed that the majority of measured traits including number of umbrella in plant, number of seeds in umbrella, seed thousand weight, harvest index, biomass, grain yield, and essential oil yield significantly decreased under drought stress condition and the essential oil content increased vice versa. Therefore, the highest seed (2925.6kg/ha) and essential oil yield (52.88kg/ha) were obtained in control, and the lowest amount of mentioned traits was obtained in drought stress condition. The results also showed that the effect of seed priming and foliar application of SA on the majority of measured traits was significant. There were no differences about seed yield and essential oil yield between foliar application and priming with SA at a concentration of 1600 mmol; however, the highest seed yield (2579.60kg/ha) and essential oil yield (63.15kg/ha) were obtained in foliar application with SA at a concentration of 1600μmol, and the lowest amounts of mentioned traits were obtained in dry seeds (without priming).

To study some quantitative and qualitative traits of Cucurbita pepo L. under fertilizer and water deficit stress, a trial was conducted in the research field of Tarbiat Modares University in 2011 and 2012 cropping years. In this study, the experiment was performed in factorial randomized completely block design with three replications. and water deficit at three levels (normal irrigation, withholding irrigation at milk stage, withholding irrigation and spraying sodium chlorate at milk stage). Results showed that nitrogen fertilizer treatment significantly affected all traits studied except seed number and stress treatment had significant effects on all traits except seed number, seed length, and stearic acid content at 1% level of significance. In this study, increasing water stress reduced the content of all traits studied except linoleic acid content. In addition, increased levels of nitrogen fertilizer led to the decreased content of all traits studied. The highest values for fruit and seed weight, seed width, seed diameter, oil, linoleic, oleic, palmetic, and stearic acid were obtained at a nitrogen fertilizer level of 60kg.ha-1. Totally, nitrogen fertilizer (60kg.ha-1) and control irrigation treatments are recommended as the most suitable treatments to gain maximum seed yield.

In order to investigate the quality and quantity of essential oil of Thymus species, an experiment was conducted under field condition at Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands. This project was related to national project, entitled extraction, qualitative and quantitative analyses of the essential oil of different Thymus species in some provinces of Iran. For This purpose, seeds of 75 accessions, collected from various provinces, were cultivated under greenhouse condition. Then, seedlings were transferred to the experimental field and cultivated under field condition. Flowering shoots were collected at 50% of flowering stage, dried in shadow and grinded. Essential oil extraction was carried out by hydro distillation method (Clevenger apparatus-Britain pharmacopeia) for three hours. Chemical compounds were identified with GC and GC-MS. According to the results, essential oil yield was between 0.04%-2%. The highest essential oil yield in relation to dry weight belongs to T. kotschyanus (2%), T. daenesis (1.92%) and T. vulgaris (1.69%) from west Azerbaijan province, Lorestan province and Markazi province, respectively. Linalool, geraniol, a-terpineol, Thymol, carvacrol, a-terpinyl acetate and geranyl acetate chemotypes were recognized among accessions. During two years, the highest Thymol (76.6%), carvacrol (82.9%) and geraniol (62.7%) were observed in T. daenesis from Markazi province, T. daenesis from Semnan province and T. lancifolius from Fars province.

Previous studies have shown an anti-tumoral effect for different species of plant having similar component with Elaeagnus angustifolia L.and Nepeta crispa L. on cancer cells. This study was performed to evaluate the anti-tumural effects of Elagnus angustifolia and Nepeta crispa extracts on leukemia cancer cells. Cancer cells, grown in DMEM/F12 culture medium, were supplemented with fetal calf serum, 100U/ml penicillin and 100mg/ml streptomycint, then incubation at 37oC in a 5% CO2. The fractions of Hexane, ethyl acetate, chloroform and aquesse at 10-160 mg/ml concentration were applied on K562 leukemic cells, and their effects were evaluated on proliferation and viability of cells by cell counter and LDH kits, respectively. Result showed that chloroform (chf), ethylacetate (EA) fractions of Elaeagnus angustifolia and Nepeta crispa showed an important cytotoxic effect on K562 cells. Isolated extracts from E. angustifolia flower and N. crispa caused a significant decrease in lukemia cancer cell growth. Therefore, this plant could be candidate for therapeutic or preventive activity against cancerrelated disorders. Isolation and purification of effective compound/s from this extract and determination of their mechanisms of action are suggested.

In order to study the effects of phosphorus and zinc on the yield and the amount of active ingredients of Plantago ovata Forsk., an experiment was performed in the Bam city. In this experiment, the effects of phosphorus at four levels:(0, 40, 80 and 120 kg/ha) and zinc at three levels (0, 20, and 40kg/ha) were studied on seed yield, thousand seed weight, plant height, number of leaves per plant, spike length, number of flowers per plant, seed swelling and the percentage of mucilage, in a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized blocks design with three replications. The effects of different levels of zinc and phosphorus on the seed yield of Plantago ovata were significant at 1% level of significance. The seed yield increased by increasing zinc and phosphorus up to 40 kg/ha and 80 kg/ha, respectively. However, phosphorus at a level of 120 kg per hectare had no statistically significant difference compared to phosphorus at 80 kg/ha. The effects of different levels of zinc and phosphorus on the thousand seed weight were not significant. The effects of different levels of zinc and phosphorus on the mucilage percentage of “Plantago ovata” seeds were significant at 1% level of significance. Increasing zinc up to 40 kg/ha and phosphorus up to 120 kg/ha caused an increased seed mucilage percentage. In addition, the effects of different levels of phosphorus and zinc on other traits (number of leaves per plant, number of flowers per plant, spike length, plant height, and seed swelling) were significant. According to the results, the use of zinc at 40 kg/ha and phosphorus at 80 kg/ha showed the best effect in increasing the growth and yield of Plantago ovata as well as increased mucilage production.

To investigate the effects of nutrition systems on the yield and some traits of Mentha piperita L., this experiment was carried out in the experimental field of Kerman Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center, during 2008 to 2010. A combined analysis of variance was performed using Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications by MSTATC statistical software and means were compared by Duncan test. The treatments were consisting of different levels of N, P and K (conventional system), mixture of different levels of NPK and manure (integrated system), different levels of manure (organic system) and control. The results showed that, the effect of nutrition systems on biological yield, economic yield, dry matter percentage, leaf length, leaf width, and plant height were significant. The yield increased with increasing the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The yield of Mentha piperita in the integrated system was higher than that of other systems. Maximum fresh weight yield (38313 kg/ha) and maximum economic yield (5634 kg/ha ) were obtained in the first year from integrated system (120kg N, 90kg P, and 120kg K+5 tons manure per hectar). With increasing age of the plant, the fresh weight yield decreased to 15% and 63% in the second and third years, respectively. In the present experiment, the highest yield was obtained with application of 120 kg nitrogen, 90 kg phosphorus, 120 kg potassium, and 5 tons manure per hectare. The use of this plant in a plot of land more than three years will not be cost-effective.