Ecophytochemistry journal of Medicinal Plants
Year:2019 | Volume:6 | Issue:4 (24)|Papers Count:8

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L. ) is a native plant of Iran which cultivated throughout the country. Various metabolites and bioactive compounds have been reported from it. The plant has highly antioxidant potentials and possesses considerable phenolic ingredients. In order to study physico-chemical properties and qualitative attributes of pomegranate fruit juices in 25 genotypes of cultivar Malas, as the most famous Iranian cultivar, the experiment was accomplished in Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute in Isfahan at October 2015. The fruits harvested from Pomegranate Genotypes Genetic Resources of Iran in yazd. Anthocyanin, polyphenol contents (by Folin-Ciocalteu), antioxidant capacity (by DPPH), total soluble solids and total acidity as the biochemical traits and taste, aril color, peel color, quality of aril color and aril quality as the qualitative characteristics were measured. Results showed that the highest acidity found in Malas Zoodras Kan and total soluble solids in Malas Naalout Baneh (18. 53 Brix). Malas Nar Poost Ghermez Marivan had maximum antioxidant capacity. Malas Daneh Siah Bafgh and Malas Larz Galoubarik Ardestan had the highest contents of anthocyanin and polyphenols, respectively. Study of simple correlation among the attributes had no significant differences. According to the same conditions subjected to all plants in the collection, it concluded the premier genotypes could be used as applied purposes such as pomegranate anthocyanin production and/or high antioxidant.

Aromatic herbs are considered the most valuable antioxidant source in nature. In this research, 3 different ecotypes of Oliveria decumbens Vent plant were collected from three important regions in Khuzestan province, including Behbahan, Shushtar and Masjed Soleyman in flowering stage. Essential oil was extracted by Clevenger aparatus; and identified essential oil component by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry(GC-Mass). The antioxidant activities were specified using 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The highest Thymol (29. 67) and Carvacrol (27. 88%), the dominant compositions in essential oil, were detected in Behbahan region. The percentage of degradation of DPPH free radicals in different concentrations of essential oil including 50, 100, 200, 300, and 400 μ l were calculated to determine the antioxidant activity of the essential oil. The IC50 values were calculated 34. 21, 26. 85 and 21. 23 respectively for harvested plants from Shushtar, Masjed Soleyman and Behbahan regions. Finally, Behbahan ecotype with the highest antiradical properties can be considered as a new natural source of antioxidant supply.

This study was designed to investigate the total phenolic content, total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity of fruits methanolic extracts from Momordica charantia L., Ecballium elaterium (L. ) A. Rich, Cucurbita pepo L. cultivar pumpkin, Lagenaria siceraria L. cultivar Marankka belonging to Cucurbitaceae family. For this purpose, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications. The matured fruits were harvested from the research farm in Zanjan university during the September to December 2017. Phytochemical characteristics of total phenol content (Folin– Ciocalteu method), total flavonoid (Aluminum Chloride method) and antioxidant activity (DPPH method) were evaluated. The highest level of phenolic and flavonoid contents was recorded for the fruit methanolic extracts from the Ecballium elaterium (L. ) and Momordica charantia L., with 85/5 ± 3/5 mg GAE/g and 12. 13 ± 0. 8, respectively. The results of DPPH test showed that the methanolic extract of Momordica charantia exhibited potent activity (97. 09 % ± 0. 96), followed by Ecballium elaterium (87. 8% ± 1. 5) and the lowest antioxidant activity related to methanolic extract of pumpkin fruit (58/02 % ± 2. 7). Furthermore, there was a strong correlation between flavonoids content and antioxidant activity (P = 0. 87) and also there was a positive correlation between phenolic content and antioxidant activity (P = 0. 54). Generally, the phytochemical analysis showed that, Ecballium and Karella extracts are rich in polyphenol compounds against other sspecies and can be used as food. drug-

Artichoke (Cynara scolymus L. ) is a perennial plant that belongs to the Asteraceae family. It has a special place in the pharmaceutical and food industries all over the world. In order to evaluate some phytochemical characteristics of artichoke leaves at different growth stages, an experiment was conducted by using a randomized complete blocks design (RCBD) with three replications in Isfahan Agricultural and Natural Resources center during two consecutive years (2014-2015 and 2015-2016). In the second year, the leaves were collected at three growth stages: vegetative, heading and flowering in the second year. After harvesting, some quality factors such as their total phenolic content (Folin– Ciocalteu method), total flavonoids (Colorimetric Method of Aluminum Chloride), chlorogenic acid content (HPLC method) and antioxidant activity (DPPH free radical scavenging activity and reducing power) were measured. The results showed that the phytochemical and antioxidant properties of artichoke leaves were different at the three growth stages. The highest amount of phenolic content (76. 25 mg GAE g-1 DW), total flavonoid (1. 28 mg QE g-1 DW), chlorogenic acid content (2. 25 % DM), DPPH (92. 34 %) and reducing power (2. 16) of methanolic extract was observed in heading stage. There was a positive and significant correlation between total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. Also, the relationship between chlorogenic acid content and DPPH and reducing power was positive and significant. According to the results, the harvesting of artichoke leaves at the heading stage is better than other growth stages due to their favorable characteristics.

Due to secondary metabolites, such as thymol and carvacrol, presence in Thymus and Zataria plants, they are widely used in medicine. This study was carried out to evaluate and compare the quantity and quality of the active ingredient of three genotypes of Zataria multiflora, one genotype of Thymus daenensis and Thymus armeniacus under uniform environmental conditions during 2016 at Shahrekord University. In this regard, at 50% flowering stage, each genotype was harvested from two-year-old plants and at a distance of five centimeters soil surface. The analysis of secondary metabolites was done using Headspace Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry method. The results showed that most of the identified compounds were in the form of monoterpenoid compounds. The mean of thymol and carvacrol in the three genotypes of the species Z. multiflora was higher than the Thymus species. Alpha-pinene and β-pinene materials were observed in three genotypes of Z. multiflora, and alpha-trypinol, linalool and trypinolen in Z. multiflora were comparatively more than two species of Thymus. In contrast, some compounds such as beta-bisabolin, alpha-terpinen and para-cymene, were only presented in Thymus species and were not seen in three genotypes of the Z. multiflora.

In order to investigate effects of industrial contaminants on some physiological and biochemical reactions of Malva neglecta L. a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in farms around the Bandar Gaz Industrial Estate in Golestan province at spring, 2013. The first factor was the distance from the source of contamination in four levels (control, 100, 200 and 300m) and the second factor was the plant’ s organ on two levels (shoot and root). The control plot was also located in the same area at a distance of 1000 meters from the source of contamination. In this study, the amount of Anthocyanin, total soluble sugar, flavonoid, protein, activities of Catalase and Peroxidase enzymes, Glycine Betaine, Arsenic and Cadmium of soil and plant were measured. The highest amount of Anthocyanin (6. 37 µ mol g-1 of shoot dry weight ), total soluble sugar (42. 04 mg g-1 dry weight), Proline (15. 55 µ mol g-1 of shoot dry weight) and Glycine Betaine (46. 97 μ g g-1 dry weight) were related to the treatment of 200m distance from the source of contamination. The highest amount of protein (0. 099 g kg-1 dry weight), Flavonoid (1. 305 mg g-1 of shoot dry weight), Arsenic (515. 37 mg kg-1 dry weight) and activities of Catalase and Peroxidase enzymes (8. 84 and 25. 62 μ mol H2O2 min-1 respectively) were obtained in the treatment of 100m distance from the source of contamination.

Drought stress is as one of the most important limited factors that in agriculture systems can cause damage to growth, yield and secondary metabolites in medicinal and aromatic plants. A filed experiment to study on effect of irrigation frequencies, including 4, 6, and 8 every days on quantity and quality of the essential oil from the aerial parts of sage (Salvia officinalis L. ) was done based on a randomized complete block design (RCBD) in three replications at the research field at Islamic Azad University of Shahrekord, southwestern Iran in 2016. The leaves of sage were harvested at early flowering and the essential oil from the dried leaves was subjected to hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus. The essential oils under different treatments were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Results indicated that irrigation frequencies levels had significant effects on essential oil yield and percentages of 1, 8-cineole (as the main constituent in the oil), limonene and α – humulene. The highest yield of the essential oil and the maximum contents of 1, 8-cineole (11. 05%), limonene (2. 67%) and α – humulene (1. 32%) were obtained from treatment of eight every days of irrigation. Probably, it seems that increased irrigation intervals (mild drought stress) can be effective in quantitative and qualitative properties of essential oil from sage (Salvia officinalis L. ).

From distant past, Medicinal plants have played an important role in the prevention and treatment of diseases as a rich source of mineral elements and secondary metabolites. In this study the amount of some mineral elements and carbohydrates in gum tragacanth of six different provinces (West Azarbaijan, Hamedan, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiyari, Yazd, Kerman and Isfahan) were investigated. After collecting gum tragacanth of Astragalus gossypinus from late June to mid-September 1391 its mineral elements including phosphorus, potassium, iron, magnesium and zinc were measured using flam photometer, Spectrophotometry and atomic absorption spectroscopy device. To determine the glucose, fructose and sucrose, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used. The results of this study showed that there was a significant difference in 1% level among mineral elements and carbohydrates in studied places. So that the highest amount of magnesium, iron and zinc was found in Hamedan province, and the highest amount of potassium and phosphorus elements was found in West Azarbaijan province. The results showed among the mineral elements that the potassium element had the highest amount and the iron element had the lowest amount. The highest amounts of glucose (87 units), fructose (72. 5 units) and sucrose (23. 1 units) were obtained from gum in Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari Province, Hamedan and West Azarbaijan, respectively. Due to the difference in the amount of mineral elements and sugars found in gum studied from different provinces, it can be used in various industries including the pharmaceutical, healthcare and food.