IRANIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS
Year:2020 | Volume:36 | Issue:4 (102)|Papers Count:12

To study the effect of biofertilizers and zinc sulfate on some morphological and yield characteristics of summer savory (Satureja hortensis L. ), an experiment was conducted as a factorial in a randomized complete block design with three replications in the research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Maragheh University in 2013. Treatments included biofertilizers (1: no inoculation (control), seeds inoculated with 2: Nitroxin and 3: Super Nitro Plus) and foliar spray of plants with zinc sulfate (the concentration of 0, 2. 5 and 5 per thousand). The results showed that the effect of biofertilizers and zinc sulfate on the number of branches per plant, flowering shoots dry weight per plant, wet and dry weight of aerial parts at 50% flowering stage, biological yield and essential oil yield was significant. The highest values of these traits were obtained in Super Nitro Plus and Nitroxin inoculation treatments, respectively. Plant height was also increased by applying zinc sulfate at concentrations of 2. 5 and 5 per thousand compared to the control. Stem diameter reached to the maximum value under Super Nitro Plus + zinc sulfate foliar spray at a concentration of 2. 5 per thousand and Nitroxin + zinc sulfate foliar spray at a concentration of 5 per thousand treatments. The treatments of zinc sulfate at a concentration of 5 per thousand + Super Nitro Plus and zinc sulfate at a concentrations of 2. 5 and 5 per thousand + Nitroxin with the highest percentage of essential oil, increased the amount of summer savory essential oil by 34. 5% compared to the control. In summary, the results of this study showed that Super Nitro Plus, Nitroxin, and zinc sulfate can be used to promote plant growth and increase the essential oil of summer savory.

In this study, the chloroform extract of Ferula ovina (fam. Apiaceae) stems was investigated. The plants were collected at the flowering stage from Tehran province (Damavand), Iran. The extract was purified using column chromatography on silica gel with a solvent gradient of n-hexane-ethyl acetate and yielded 12 fractions. Further purification of the fractions resulted in the isolation and identification of four monoterpenoid ester derivatives named tschimgine (1), (1S, 2R, 4S)-1, 7, 7-trimethylbicyclo[2. 2. 1]heptan-2-yl 4-methoxy benzoate (2), (1S, 2R, 4S)-1, 7, 7-trimethylbicyclo[2. 2. 1]heptan-2-yl 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy benzoate (3) and stylosin (4). So far, no report has been found on the isolation and structure identification of the compound No. 2. The structure of the compounds was determined by spectroscopic analysis and finally confirmed by comparison of their spectral data, melting points, and optical rotations with those described in the literature.

Broadleaf plantain (Plantago major L. ) is a herbaceous wild plant of the Plantaginaceae family with 10 to 45 cm in height and without stems. It grows in a wide area of Europe and Asia continents, as well as North Africa and North America, and in Iran almost everywhere. The seeds of the plant stop bleeding and are known as a plant source that plays an important role in at least one of the coagulation pathways. Therefore, this study was designed and implemented to evaluate the in vitro effect of ethanolic extract of broadleaf plantain seeds on human coagulation tests. The broadleaf plantain seeds were ground in a mortar and extracted in ethanol 80% for 48 hours. Extracts were dealcoholized by a rotary evaporator at 50  C and the remaining water was removed from the oven at 40  C. The obtained plant dry extract was prepared in different concentrations in Owren-Koller buffer and their effects on coagulation indices including prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and clotting time (CT) were evaluated and the results were analyzed by t-test. The results showed that the ethanolic extract of broadleaf plantain seeds reduced APTT, but had no significant effect on PT and CT. Although the ethanolic extract of broadleaf plantain seeds showed the coagulation effect in this study, further studies on animal and human models seem necessary.

The family Apiaceae contains valuable commercial species including medicinal, spicy, vegetable, and ornamental species. Although there are many reports on medicinal properties and phytochemical content of commercial Apiaceae species, little information is available about other relatives of this family. In this study, the medicinal properties including anti-acetylcholinesterase, anti-tyrosinase, and antioxidant activities along with total phenolic content (TPC) of nine Apiaceae species were assessed. Our results revealed a wide variation of medicinal properties and phytochemical content between different species. The studied plants were identified as potential sources of anti-acetylcholinesterase, anti-tyrosinase, and antioxidant properties. The highest antioxidant, anti-acetylcholinesterase and anti-tyrosinase properties were found in Conium maculatum, Prangos uloptera and Malabaila secacul, respectively. Moreover, the results showed that the TPC and consequently antioxidant properties of methanolic extract were several times more than that of ethyl acetate extract in each species. Overall, the species studied in the present research possessed favorable to extreme amounts of medicinal properties and phytochemical content that was first reported here and could be considered in the pharmaceutical, food, and agricultural industries.

Lavandula stricta Delile is a native species of Iran growing in southern Iran. Polyploidy induction using mutagenic chemicals such as colchicine is one of the breeding methods of medicinal plants, which has potential to produce the crop purposefully. To evaluate the feasibility of polyploidy induction in L. stricta, a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with two treatments including five concentrations of colchicine (0, 0. 05, 0. 1, 0. 2, 0. 4 %) as a gel on the end plant meristem and four times (8, 16, 24 and 48 hours) with three replications and 20 experimental units were performed under greenhouse conditions. To observe the effect of colchicine on morphological and biochemical characteristics at the flowering stage, the height of aerial parts, number of main leaves (leaves on the main stem), number of sub leaves (leaves on sub-branches), number of internodes on main stems, number of lateral stems, spike length on the main panicle, number of spikes, number of flowers per panicle, fresh and dry weight of aerial parts, fresh and dry weight of roots, root length, leaf area, internode length, total phenol content, total flavonoids content, antioxidant activity, total sugar content and chlorophyll quality were measured. The results of the analysis of variance showed that the studied treatments had a significant effect on all traits except the number of main leaves, the number of internodes on main stems, and root length. The means comparison showed that with increasing the concentration and period of colchicine application, height of aerial parts, internode length, the number of flowers per panicle, and total sugar content decreased and spike length on the main panicle and total phenol content increased. Based on the results of flow cytometric analysis, the mean genome size was 0. 73 pg in plants treated with colchicine at a concentration of 0. 4% for 48 hours, while the mean genome size in the control plants was 0. 55 pg. Plants in other treatments showed a mean genome size of 0. 57. In general, the results of this experiment showed a positive response of L. stricta to colchicine for the induction of polyploidy and the possibility of using this method in the future breeding of this plant.

To compare some ecomorphological, phenological and phytochemical properties of common mallow (Malva sylvestris L. ) in two regions Ferdows and Tabas, three habitats from each region were randomly selected and studied in 2018. Soil analysis of the habitats indicated the growth of the plant in sandy loam soils. On the other hand, the soil of these two habitats was alkaline with low salinity. Soil lime content was higher than crop soils. The results of phenological studies also showed that in Ferdows, this plant grows in early April and blooms in June. Then the seeds begin to ripen in late October and fall in late November. In Tabas, the plant begins to grow in the second half of March, flowers in May and flowering continues until early autumn. The seeds start to ripen in the second half of August and fall in early November. In Ferdows and Tabas, the recession period of plant activities coincided with dryness of the environment and the onset of the cold season, respectively. Phytochemical analysis of leaves, flowers, seeds, and stems extracts of the plant in two regions showed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, emodol or emodine, saponins, carbohydrates, starch, sterols, steroids, anthocyanosides, and cumarins in low to high amounts in each organ of the plant. Anthracenoside was not found in any of the three ethanol, aqueous and ether extracts. Also, four phenolic acids (linoleic, linolenic, synergic, and paracomaric acids) were detected by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) in seeds, stems, flowers, and leaves of the plant in both areas. The results also showed that the anthocyanin content of the leaves decreased with increasing the region's altitude.

To investigate the effect of integrative application of mycorrhizal fungus and chemical fertilizer on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of medicinal plant dragon’ s head (Lallemantia iberica Benth. ) under rainfed conditions, an experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with seven treatments and three replications in the research farm of Maragheh University, Iran, in 2017. Treatments included 100% conventional chemical fertilizer (250 and 150 kg ha-1 urea and triple superphosphate, respectively), Glomus mosseae (GM), G. intraradices (GI), 50% chemical fertilizer+GM, 50% chemical fertilizer+GI and 50% chemical fertilizer+GI+GM. The results demonstrated that the highest (802. 8 kg ha-1) and lowest (463. 5 kg ha-1) seed yield and the highest (40. 64%) and lowest (25. 85%) harvest index were achieved in the integrative application of 50% chemical fertilizer+GI+GM and separate application of GI treatments, respectively. Besides, the highest content (9. 18%) and yield (73. 75 kg ha-1) of mucilage was observed in 50% chemical fertilizer+GI+GM treatment. Furthermore, the highest amount of mucilage compounds (glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, arabinose, raffinose, galactose, glucose, xylose and rhamnose) was obtained in 50% chemical fertilizer+GI+GM treatment. Based on cluster analysis, the treatments were divided into three groups. In general, the application of 50% chemical fertilizer+GI+GM while reducing the use of chemical fertilizers improved the quantitative and qualitative yield of the dragon’ s head.

Salvia sharifii Rech. f. & Esfand. is an endemic medicinal plant in Iran and belongs to the Lamiaceae family. In the current study, different plant parts (flower, leaf, and stem) of this species were collected from the Bokhon region of Hormozgan province in March 2018 and were studied in terms of the amount of essential oil and variability in their composition. The essential oils of air-dried samples were extracted by hydro-distillation and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The essential oil yield of flower, leaf, and stem was obtained 1. 38, 1. 14, and 0. 84% (w/w), respectively. The total number of essential oil compounds identified and quantified was 45 in flower, 42 in leaf, and 43 in the stem. The results of essential oil compounds analysis revealed that linalool (38. 7%), hexyl isovalerate (13. 8%), hexyl caprylate (6. 2%), hexyl isobutyrate (4. 6%), hexyl-2-methyl butyrate (4. 4%), trans-caryophyllene (3. 8%), and n-hexyl hexanoate (3. 7%) were the major compounds in flower. In leaf, linalool (17. 0%), hexyl caprylate (11. 1%), α-humulene (7. 8%), trans-caryophyllene (6. 2%), sclareol oxide (5. 9%), nootkatone (3. 7%), hexyl isovalerate (3. 5%) and agarospirol (3. 0%) had the highest amounts in essential oil. In stem essential oil, linalool (18. 7%), sclareol oxide (8. 0%), α-humulene (7. 5%), trans-caryophyllene (7. 2%), hexyl isovalerate (5. 2%), caryophyllene oxide (5. 0%), n-hexyl hexanoate (4. 8%), nootkatone (4. 1%) and dibutyl phthalate (4. 0%) were the major compounds. The major and common compound in the different organs essential oil of this species was linalool which was the highest in flowers and the lowest in leaves. The presence of chemical diversity in the essential oil of different organs of this species can be considered by the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries, as well as medicinal plant breeders in selecting the appropriate organ for consumption and breeding purposes.

Different species of Salvia genus are used in folk medicine for the prevention and treatment of many diseases due to their active and effective compounds. In this research, the chemical composition of aerial parts essential oil (EO) was studied in four Salvia spp. including S. limbata C. A. Mey. (two populations), S. reuterana Boiss. (two populations), S. syriaca L. (one population) and S. ceratophylla L. (one population) collected from different areas of Kashan in Isfahan province at the flowering stage. Extraction and qualitative analysis of EO were performed using the Clevenger apparatus and Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), respectively. In this study, the EO yield ranged from 0. 15 to 0. 32 % (w/w). Spathulenol was the major constituent of EO in S. syriaca (16. 8%) and S. ceratophylla (27. 2%) species. The major compounds of the other two species EO were sclareol in S. reuterana (Maragh (21. 2%) and Darreh (11. 5%) populations) and β-pinene in S. limbata (Qaza-An (20. 4%) and Darreh (13. 8%) populations). The quantitative and qualitative EO diversity observed in the studied species and populations can be attributed to different ecological, genetic, geographical, and nutritional factors of their origin. Therefore, for the optimal use of the active constituents of this medicinal plant in pharmaceutical industries, more studies are needed on the different species of this genus in different regions.

Hypericum sp. is one of the most widely used medicinal plants in the world. Both genetic and environmental factors influence the growth and phytochemical properties of the plant. Therefore, in this study, growth characteristics, essential oil content, total phenol and antioxidant potential were evaluated in different populations of three Hypericum species (H. scabrum (HS), H. asperulum (HA) and H. vermiculare (HV)). The results indicated that only flowering stem height was affected by species and other measured traits were not affected by species and population. But the interaction between species and population was significant on all measured traits. So that the highest flowering stem length (77. 7 cm), flower and leaf weight (42. 4 g), stem weight (30. 9 g), plant weight (65. 6 g), essential oil content (0. 43%), total phenol (204. 9 mg gallic acid. g-1 dry extract) and antioxidant potential (52. 7 μ g dry extract. ml-1) belonged to populations No. 5 in HA, No. 3 in HS, No. 4 in HA, No. 4 in HA, No. 4 in HS, No. 6 in HV, and No. 5 in HA, respectively. A positive and significant correlation was observed between stem weight, flower and leaf weight and plant weight with mean annual rainfall of the habitat, between essential oil percentage with soil phosphorus and mean annual temperature of the habitat, and between the electrical conductivity of the habitat soil with the antioxidant potential of the extract. There was also a negative correlation between essential oil percentage and soil organic matter of the habitat. Stem weight, flower and leaf weight, and plant weight had the highest variance among populations belonging to the same species and, therefore, were identified as desirable traits for separation of populations. Generally, one population cannot be considered superior to the others because the superior population was different depending on the trait. Therefore, to achieve a superior population, all populations of the three species must be cultivated and compared under the same conditions.

This research was aimed to investigate the foliar application of Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) on growth parameters, yield, some morphophysiological traits, and alkaloids of rosea periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus L. (G. Don) under drought stress conditions. The field study was conducted based on split-plot factorial in the randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications at the research farms of Shahid Chamran University in Ahwaz city in 2016-17. The experimental treatments included drought stress as the main factor at three levels of 40% (control), 60% and 80% of maximum allowable depletion (MAD) and foliar application of jasmonic acid (JA) at two levels (0 and 10 μ M) and salicylic acid (SA) at three levels (0, 0. 1, 1, and 10 mM) as subplots. Based on the results of the mean comparison of main effects, drought stress (80% MAD) reduced 36. 6% of fresh weight and 25. 4% of the dry weight of the plant compared to the control. The treatment 10 mM SA resulted in 13. 4, 125. 5, and 59. 6% increases in plant height, leaf area and flower dry weight, respectively, compared to the control. The foliar application of JA increased flower dry weight and plant fresh weight by 16. 3 and 8. 6%, respectively. The results showed that the foliar application of SA in concentrations of 1 and 10 mM caused the highest content of vincristine and vinblastine, respectively. The interaction of both PGRs and drought stress showed the highest alkaloids content. The highest vinblastine and vincristine under severe drought stress were obtained in foliar application of 1 mM SA+10μ M JA and 10 mM SA+10μ M JA, respectively.

Recent advances in the biological sciences have become particularly important because they are the basis for some related sciences such as agriculture, medicine, pharmacology, biotechnology, and even bionanotechnology. In this study, the effect of different salinity treatments (0, 50, 100, and 150 μ M) on Hyssopus officinalis L. and the properties of silver nanoparticles) Ag NPs) biosynthesized using these under-salinity stress plants leaves extract were investigated. The color change of the solutions, surface plasmon resonance at 450 nm and X-ray diffraction pattern confirmed the biosynthesis of Ag NPs. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images showed that most of the nanoparticles were spherical, with few angular shapes visible in 50 and 100 μ M treatments. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results revealed the participant functional groups of the plant extract in the biosynthesis process such as OH, CO, =CH and C=C. The 50 μ M salinity treatment had the highest effect on increasing plant metabolites. The smallest nanoparticles (25. 3 nm and spherical) were related to the control treatment. Some nanoparticles biosynthesized using the extract obtained from 150 μ M salinity treatment were angular in shape with 34. 2 nm in size and showed the highest antibacterial properties. Gram-negative bacteria were more sensitive to Ag NPs than the gram-positive ones. These results, following our previous research, revealed for the first time the effect of salinity treatments on the properties of Ag NPs biosynthesized using hyssop extract. The present results can provide an interesting background for Ag NPs biosynthesis that can be a good alternative to antibiotics.