Melissa officinalis (MO) is a perennial herb and it is a member of Lamiaceae family. MO is native to Europe and the leaves of the plants are used in traditional medicine for its effects on the central nervous system functions such as sedation, anxiolytic and memory enhancement. Furthermore, MO has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Convincing evidence shows that molecular changes such as oxidative stress and inflammation are associated with a decline in cognitive abilities, including learning and memory. MO and its main ingredient, rosmarinic acid, possess robust antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Besides, animal model studies have shown that MO and rosmarinic acid can improve memory loss in Alzheimer's disease. In this review beneficial implications of MO have been discussed.

This study investigated the impact of nonverbal prompts on the speaking grammatical accuracy of Iranian male and female EFL learners. To this end, 80 EFL learners who were students of the intermediate level of a language school in Tehran and were randomly assigned to two experimental and two control groups took part in this study. The four groups were statistically compared in terms of their general language proficiency level and also speaking skill, indicating that they were eligible for this study. Two control groups of male and female participants received recasts and two experimental groups of male and female participants received nonverbal prompts in the form of body language and facial expressions. The results showed that using nonverbal prompts did significantly improve the speaking grammatical accuracy of the two experimental groups of male and female participants. Furthermore, female learners receiving nonverbal prompts outperformed their male counterparts. To investigate the degree of the impact of nonverbal prompts on male and female learners, the researchers conducted two regression analyses which revealed that male learners benefited more from the experimental condition than the female learners.Finally, this study showed that the speaking improvement of female learners, unlike that of male learners, is not influenced by the type of feedback they receive during instruction.

In our study, bioactivity of essential oil extracted from Ginger (Zingiber officinaleRoscoe.) that belongs to family Zingiberaceae was analyzed. Ginger rhizome oil was found to be effective against a range of bio-deteriogens. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) value was determined by Poisoned Food Technique and Volatile Activity Assay. The study demonstrates that essential oil had a wide spectrum of antifungal activities against common biodeteriogens Aspergillus niger van Tiegh., Penicillium chrysogenum Thom., Alternaria alternate (Fr.) Keissl and Fusarium roseum Link. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of oil was found to be effective, showing results at 1.0mL/cm-3of oil in respect to all fungi. At higher concentration of 2.0 mL/cm-3 of oil was fungicidal in action.2.0 mL/cm-3 was proved appropriate concentration for commercial trial of ginger oil as preservative for stored pulses and nuts which were used as test commodities.

Bryozoans, commonly known as “moss animals”, are typically aquatic, filter feeding, sessile, colonial marine animals. Although, they are a rich resource of new bioactive secondary metabolites, but studies on their secondary metabolite have been neglected. Although over 8000 species are known, the lowest numbers of novel compounds were isolated from the phylum Bryozoa. In addition, presently nothing is recognized regarding the origin of the bioactive compounds isolated by bryozoans. At present nothing is known regarding the origin of the natural products isolated by bryozoans. The most famous of compounds obtained from these organisms are macrolide lactones of Bryostatins. They are potent modulators of protein kinase C. The amazing compounds such as Flustramines, Hinckdentine, Convolutamines, Kororamides, Chatellines, Chartellamides, Convolutamines, Convolutamidines, euthyroideone, amathaspiramide, lutamides, Volutamides, tambjamines, Phidolopins, and dozens of other compounds with different biological properties have been obtained. Very few studies have been done on these treasures in the sea depth, and more studies need to be done on them for access to their secondary metabolites.

Background: Despite numerous studies aimed at finding a new treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), glucantime remains the first-line approach. Side effects, drug resistance, and high cost are the challenges of glucantime treatment. A simple treatment method with the fewest side effects, minimum cost, and maximum efficacy is ideal. In Iranian traditional medicine (ITM), dry CL lesions are categorized as rashes, and for treatment, corrosive and keratolytic agents should be used, including garlic. The current study was conducted to assess the effects of an ITM treatment on CL. Methods and Results: In this experimental study, 10 patients with 20 dry CL lesions received treatment based on ITM. For this purpose, some garlic poultices were used. The mean age of the patients was 36. 2 years, and the average bout was nearly four months. Based on the findings, garlic poultices could treat all dry skin lesions completely during 14 days. Also, after 40, 70, 100, and 190 days of follow-up, 95% of cases were completely treated. On the 70-day follow-up, a nodule with negative direct smear and PCR results recurred in one patient. Overall, the applied treatment was cost-effective with no systemic side effects. Conclusions: Garlic poultices can be used as an alternative for glucantime. Topical use, shorter course of treatment, and lower numberof applications, side effects, and treatment cost are the main advantages of this regimen. We suggest similar multi-centered clinical trials with a larger sample size to further evaluate this treatment regimen.

Background: From old times, the human kind has used clays, externally or internally, for maintaining body health or treating some diseases. Meanwhile there are few scientific articles reviewing the beneficial effects of clays on body function. Bentonite clay is one of the available clays in nature, used as traditional habits, and remedies in many cul-tures. Methods: These articles explored among 2500 scientific articles published in PubMed to sort the scientific works have been done on the effects of this clay on body function (it was about 100 articles). Results: Bentonite has a broad range of action on different parts of body. Conclusion: As traditional remedies seem to have a deep root in maintaining body health, it merits doing more re-search works on bentonite clay and its impacts on body function.