JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL PLANTS AND BY PRODUCTS
Year:2012 | Volume:1 | Issue:1|Papers Count:13

Introduction Plants are rich sources of beneficial secondary metabolites which are attractive as flavors, fragrances, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and antimicrobials. The history of using plants as healing agents returns dates back to around 60, 000 years ago when the Neanderthals, landed in present-day Iraq, used hollyhock (Alcea rosea L.) as a remedy [1]. Plants form an important part of the ecosystem as food and also oxygen-delivery systems. They are unique sources of natural antimicrobials which makes them interesting as alternatives of synthetic antimicrobials [2-5]. It has been estimated that less than 10% of 250, 000-500, 000 known plant species on our planet have ethno-botanical importance [6]. A wide range of biological activities against fungi, bacteria, viruses and parasites have been described for medicinal plants which are attributed to their biologically active ingredients [7].

The essential oil of Rosa damascena Mill. is one of the most valuable and important base material in the flavor and fragrance industry. It has also some medicinal properties. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between anthocyanin and essential oil content of Damask rose petals in 6 important Damask rose growing in some locations of Iran i.e. Meimand, Layzangan, Shiraz Eram Botanical Garden, Shiraz College of Agriculture, Kashan and Urumia. The results of this investigation indicated that the essential oil and anthocyanin contents were significantly different in the petals harvested at various locations. The highest oil content (0.155%) and anthocyanin content (2.368) was obtained from the Shiraz Eram Botanical Garden. A high positive correlation (r Sq Linear=0.812) was obtained between oil and anthocyanin content of Damask rose.

The genus Hypericum is one of the most important medicinal plants that contain 17 species in Iran, three of them are endemics. This paper reports the essential oil composition of six Hypericum species from Iran. The essential oil analysis of a number of the studied plants has already been reported but their report from Iran may be valuable for scientists. Samples collected between June and August 2007. The composition of the essential oils from Hypericum was investigated on flower and leaf. Essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation method and then were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Main components obtained in H. dogonbadanicum (endemic of Iran) on flower were phenyl ethyl octanoate (29.0%), terpin-4-ol (20.0%), and a-phellandrene (12.9%), and on leaf were b-pinene (54.3%), a-pinene (12.0%) and p-cymene (11.0%), in H. helianthemoides on flower were a-pinene (55.9%), Z-b-ocimene (8.7%) and b-pinene (7.5%), and in H. hyssopifolium on flower were a-pinene (49.5%), b-pinene (12.9%) and n-tetradecan (5.2%) and on leaf were E-nerolidol (21.0%), n-tetradecane (15.8%) and a-himachalene (13.3%), in H. lysimachioides on flower were a-pinene (55.0%), Z-b-ocimene (30.7%) and n-tetradecane (2.7%), in H. perforatum on flower were E-b-farnesene (14.7%), n-hexadecanal (9.1%) and E-nerolidol (7.8%), and in H. triquetrifolium on flower were n-tetradecane (21.3%), a-himachalene (14.2%) and a-pinene (10.7%), and on leaf were a-himachalen (27%), n-tetradecane (25.7%) and n-pentadecane (7.0%).

In this study, we evaluate the different biological activities of Artemisia annua L., locally known as "Moureh", in various altitudes in North of Iran, which has been used as sedative, fever few, anti inflammation, insecticide and anti infection to treat many current diseases. Parts of plants were collected from two different localities (23-1000 m) in Mazandaran province, North of Iran. The most important of secondary metabolites of total phenolics (TP), total flavonoids (TF) and total anthocyanin (TA) content of extracts were investigated by spectrophotometry method and their antioxidant activity were obtained by Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC), Reducing Power (RP) and 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl radical scavenging (DPPH). The essential oils were obtained by hydro distillated in a Clevenger-type apparatus for 5h and analyzed by GC/MS. Results indicate that the main components in essential oils were identified as Artemisia ketone (25.54- 13.6%), followed by 1, 8-cineole (11.98-13.26%), camphor (11.89-13.68%), a-pinene (10.11-9.29%) in AFRACHAL (1000m) and DOLAT ABAD (23m) regions, respectively. TP content had significant variation in different plant parts and regions, ranging from (11.22 to 16.94) mgGAEg-1, TF content (11.62 to 63.74) mgQUEg-1 and quantity of TA (0.03 to 3.59) mgCGEg-1.The highest contents of secondary metabolites were found in aerial parts when compared with the other parts. Amount of antioxidant activity (IC50) in various parts of A. annua L. was measured (1.98 to 4.2) in DPPH, (7.07 to 7.46) in TAC and (5.26 to 8.04) in RP methods. In general, the highest contents of activities were found in aerial parts when compared with the other parts, whereas this part with the highest amount of IC50 had the weakest antioxidant activity.

Recent data showed that phenylpropanoid compound, methylchavicol is essential component of Iranian cultivars of basil. Studying their occurrence during development of plant may help to elucidate the role of phenylpropanoids in plant cell physiology. We followed the phenylpropanoids concentration and the expression of genes related to their biosynthesis during growth and development of two cultivars of Iranian basil. Cinnamate 4- hydroxylase (C4H), 4- Coumarate CoA ligase (4CL), Eugenol O- methyltransferase (EOMT) and Chavicol O-methyl transferase (CVOMT) are known as key enzymes regulating phenylpropanoids production. The yield of essential oils and concentration of phenylpropanoid, methylchavicol, increased during growth of the plant to reach a peak before pre-flowering stage. Gene expression analyses showed that the expression of the genes encoding C4H, 4CL, EOMT and CVOMT are increased during the plant development in parallel to the methylchavicol reaching a maximum before pre-flowering. These correlations showed that the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoid may regulated at transcriptional level.

Agrobacterium rhizogenes (pRi), a causative agent of hairy root disease, effectively induces hairy root formation in a variety of plant species. In our study four bacterial strains AR15834, A4, 9435 and C318 and three explants types leaf, stems and roots, were examined. Hairy roots were induced from roots, stems and leaf explants. The highest transformation efficiency of 77% was achieved by using strain AR15834. The transgenic status of hairy roots was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction using rol B specific primers for the presence of rol B gene in the genomes of transformed roots. Six clones of hairy roots were established that differed in their morphology. The detacidni stluser taht 4–11 fold increasing in root biomass after 28 days compared with non-transformed seedling roots. The concentration of tropane alkaloids hyoscyamine and scopolamine obtained in transformed roots (4 mg/g dry weight) was 3-11 folds more than in non-transformed cultured roots (0.36 mg/g dry weight).

Two spotted spider mite (TSSM), Tetranychus urticae Koch, is an important pests on bean in Markazi Province (center of Iran). To evaluate the bioacaricidal activity of extracts of three essential oils of thyme (Thymus vulgaris), lavender (Lavandula officinalis) and eucalyptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) against T. urticae on cherry bean (Vigna unguiculta subsp. sinensis), five different concentrations (0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3% and 4%) were used, during 2009-2011. The type of design was randomized complete block design with four replications. The results showed that lavender revealed the most acaricidal properties against T. urticae followed by thyme and eucalyptus. The LC50 values of lavender, thyme and eucalyptus for adult mites were 0.65, 1.84 and 2.18, respectively. Our findings revealed that essential oils of thyme, lavender and eucalyptus possess acaricidal activity against two spotted spider mite on cherry bean.

Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) has two major products: alkaloids in the capsules and the seeds. The seed contains oil, protein, carbohydrate, moisture and mineral matters. The seed oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, particularly linoleic and oleic acid. Remaining meals after oil extraction are the important source for animal diets. The United Nations recognize Turkey and India as traditional poppy producing countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the seeds of twelve different Turkish opium poppy lines for their protein, oil and fatty acids percentage.The trial was carried out at the Experimental Fields of the Agronomy Department, Faculty of Agriculture of Ankara University, Turkey during 2009-2010. The materials were collected from opium poppy collections in the department. All seeds were sown on 12 October 2009 and harvested during second week of July 2010. The oil was extracted and determined with hexane by foss soxtec 2055 apparatus. Fatty acids were analyzed by gas chromatography and the protein were determined by kjeldahl protein analyzer. Seed oil, protein and fatty acids percentage of twelve different lines were determined. Oil contents of seed lines ranged 40.96 - 50.88%. The major fatty acid in seed oils was linoleic acid (70.60– 76.65%) whereas oleic and palmitic acid contents of seed oils ranged from 12.08-17, 71% and from 7.92–8.80%, respectively. Protein content of opium poppy ranged 19.67–20.94%. In conclusion, those opium poppy lines can be major source of raw materials such as oil and protein.

Damask rose (Rosa damascena Mill.) has high economic importance and commercial value. The plant essential oil is used for perfumery, food and medicinal industries. It is necessary to know much about seed germination for study of genetic variation and breeding improved varieties of R. damascena. In this study seed germination of R. damascena were evaluated, using thermal period treatments. The data were analyzed based on the Randomized Completely Design with 3 replications. Seeds were sterilized for elimination with NaOCl. Seeds of R. damascena were subjected to five different temperature regimes. For control, the seeds were placed at 4oC continuously. The seeds of all other treatments initially were placed at 25oC for the first warm stratification. Then they were placed at 4oC for 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks for cold stratification as 2w/2w, 2w/4w, 2w/6w and 2w/8w, respectively. For the second cycle, seeds were placed at 20oC for warm stratification followed by 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks for cold stratification. The treatments were repeated for 3 cycles. Then the all of treatments were applied 30 weeks of continuously cold stratification at 4oC. The results of this study showed that the thermal period treatments had significantly promoted the germination percentage. The highest germination percentage and speed of germination were obtained for the 6w/2w treatment as (92%) and (1.17 seeds per day), respectively. The lowest germination percentage was found in the control and 8w/2w treatments (50%). In conclusion, it was observed that with application of thermal period (particularly 6w/2w) and 30 weeks of cold stratification to Damask rose seeds, dormancy was broken and germination was also highly improved.

Disadvantages such as indeterminate inflorescence and high seed shattering during ripening are significant restrictions to introduce evening primrose as a commercial medicinal plant. Following to the last works, a pot experiment was conducted to clarify the influence of defoliation before harvest on the seed yield, oil and GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) percentage of evening primrose growing under nitrogen deficit. Desiccation showed no significant influence on seed yield and yield components. However, the percentage of GLA of the desiccated plants was significantly higher than that of non desiccated plants. Nitrogen did not have significant influence on GLA content, but the content of this fatty acid tending to increase with increase in the nitrogen concentration. Based on the results, it can be concluded that desiccation as a harvest method increases the oil quality with increasing the GLA percentage. Evening primrose showed a positive response to N fertilizer. Further investigation in this area seems to be necessary.

Plantago ovata is a medicinal plant of plantain, Plantaginaceae, family used to treat intestinal disorders and stomach diseases. P. ovata grain has relieving effects and healing inflammation and irritation of the mucous layer of stomach and duodenal ulcer. Beside the medicinal benefits, this plant is useful for water turbidity removal. Coagulation and flocculation are important processes in water treatment. Artificial coagulants are not useful from economic and health point of view. The objective of this study is to compare performance of chloroferric coagulant (alone) and with P. ovata coagulant aid in water turbidity removal. The experiments were done in turbidity of 50 NTU. In all experiments the amount of chloroferric was 10 ppm and optimum dose of P. ovata was 0.1 ppm at optimum pH of 7. P. ovata at 50 NTU turbidity, reduced turbidity up to 94.5% whereas chloroferric alone could reduce 85.16% of turbidity. Having been contained mucilage, protein and starch, P. ovata would reduce consumption of coagulants and be effective in water turbidity removal as a coagulant aid.

The genus Tanacetum is one of the most important medicinal plant that contains 26 species in Iran, 12 of them are endemic. This paper reports the essential oil (EO) composition of Tanacetum polycephalum subsp. polycephalum growing wild in Iran. Flowers and leaves were collected from different location of Azerbaijan province (Marand, Mianeh and Tabriz), hydro-distilled to produce the oils and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The yields of leaves and flowers oils were in the range of 0.04 -1.0% (V/W). Main components of leaves EO from Marand, Mianeh and Tabriz were 1, 8-cineole (63.5%) and chrysanthenone (5.5%), while for flowers were chrysanthenone (39.5%) and 1, 8-cineole (18.9%). For Mianeh sample, principal components of leaves were 1, 8-cineole (34.8%) and chrysanthenone (16.1%) and for flowers were dihydro-eudesmol (12.0%) and nootkatin (9.6%). Camphor (29%) and 1, 8-cineole (14.3%) were identified as the main constituents of plant leaves from Tabriz and for flowers were trans-sabinene hydrate (56.7%), and 1, 8-cineole (10.7%).

A wide range of medicinal plant parts that possess varied medicinal properties are used for extracts as raw drugs. In this study, the ethanolic extract obtained from aerial parts of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) seedlings was evaluated in vitro to examine their antimicrobial activity against four Gram-negative and three Gram-positive bacteria and two fungi. Aerial parts of one-month-old seedlings were air dried and powdered. Each powdered sample (20 g) was extracted with 200 ml ethanol (96%) using a shaking water bath for 24 h at room temperature. The solvent was removed under vacuum at 40oC using a rotary vacuum evaporator. The antimicrobial effect of the aerial part of fennel seedlings was tested by the disc diffusion method. The experiment was a randomized complete block with three replicates for each sample. Fennel seedling extract had no inhibitory effect against Gram-positive bacteria and fungi, but had a weak effect against Gram-negative bacteria.