The inhibitory activities of the leachates and volatiles from 53 plant species (spices and herbs)... more The inhibitory activities of the leachates and volatiles from 53 plant species (spices and herbs) were evaluated against lettuce (Lactuca sativa "Great Lakes 366") seedling growth using the sandwich and dish pack methods, respectively. With the sandwich method, parsley (Petroselinum sativum) showed the strongest inhibitory effect on lettuce radicle growth (77%), followed by tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) (72%). However, caraway (Carum carvi), dill (Anethum graveolens) (seed), laurel (Laurus nobilis), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), and sage (Salvia officinalis) were the most inhibitory species (100% inhibition of lettuce radicle and hypocotyl growth inhibition at all distance wells) in the dish pack method. Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) also showed strong inhibitory activity (100% for radicle and hypocotyl growth inhibition at all 41 and 58 mm distance wells). The headspace sampling and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis identified the main inhibitory active compounds as carvone in caraway and dill (seeds), 1,8-cineole in laurel and cardamom, and borneol in thyme. Both camphor and 1,8-cineole were detected in rosemary and sage, and the total activity evaluation showed that camphor was the major inhibitory compound in rosemary, although both compounds played equal roles in sage.
In the current study, we assessed health risk posed to Iranian consumers through exposure to meta... more In the current study, we assessed health risk posed to Iranian consumers through exposure to metals via oral consumption of coffee, tea, and herbal tea of various trademarks collected from Iran market. Level of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Ni, and Pb in 243 samples was quantified by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The metal levels in coffee samples from different trademarks of a specific country had statistically similar levels of metals; however, metal levels differed significantly among brand names form different countries. Metal levels in tea samples differed significantly between domestic and imported products, while different trademarks of similar countries did not show significant variations in this respect. Metal level in herbal tea samples did not show significant variations among different trademarks. Nevertheless, it should be highlighted that mean concentrations of metals statistically differed among different herbal tea samples. Deterministic hazard quotients (HQs) were <1.0 for all non-carcinogenic metals and total hazard index (HI) values indicated no risk; however, probabilistic assessment calculated HI values >1. In both deterministic and probabilistic scenarios, carcinogenic metals As and Ni had an estimated incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) of medium level while that of Pb indicated no cancer risk. Sensitivity analysis showed that the concentration of metals had the most significant effect on noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks.
As one of the largest genera of the Lamiaceae family, Salvia has a wide distribution worldwide. D... more As one of the largest genera of the Lamiaceae family, Salvia has a wide distribution worldwide. Despite their great importance and medicinal use, most Salvia species are collected from their natural habitats, and some of them are endangered and vulnerable. This study aimed to evaluate the domestication process of eight Iranian native Salvia species. The studied species were cultivated and adapted to the cultivation area after two years, and then some of their important biochemical properties were investigated. According to some significant results, the root architecture was closely correlated with the climatic conditions of the species origins. The distribution of total dry matter varied widely among species; accordingly, S. sclarea and S. officinalis had 65.6% and 55.9% dry weights in their leaves, respectively. Moreover, S. nemorosa had a 24.3% dry weight in its flowers, while S. frigida (Jahrom), S. frigida (Targavar), S. virgata (Eghled), and S. macrosiphon had 44.6%, 43.3%, 46....
Introduction: The ever-increasing tendency to the use of medicinal plants in the world has grown ... more Introduction: The ever-increasing tendency to the use of medicinal plants in the world has grown concerns about their cultivation and production processes. As medicinal plants are more compatible with the nature, special interest and attention have recently been given to herb therapy, and use of medicinal plants, being limited by the rise of pharmaceutical drugs, has become again common and widespread due to a number of reasons. In a sustainable agriculture system, application of the fertilizers which are nature friendly and suitable for plants is essential. This becomes more important when dealing with medicinal plants. Doing studies over the effect of nano¬pharmax and humic acid fertilizer on the plant, no research findings were obtained. So, in order to use less chemical fertilizers to prevent environmental pollution and encourage farmers to use more organic fertilizer, the present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of foliar application of humic acid and nano-pharmax f...
The Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss.is a wild-growing flowering plant belonging to the Lamiaceae fam... more The Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss.is a wild-growing flowering plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family and has been used as a medicinal herb for rheumatoid diseases, headaches, congestion, stomach disorders, liver treatment. In order to study the effects of dryland farming system on some agronomical and physiological traits of D. kotschyi, two separate experiments were conducted in three locations of, Mashad (Golmakan station), Quchan (5km in the northeast of city) and Bojnord (Sisab station) under normal irrigation and dryland farming systems in 2018. The collected data were combined analysis over three locations and mean comparisons were made using Tukey method. The results showed significant effects of locations for all of the traits except carbohydrate contents. Effect of farming system was also significant for all traits. Farming system by location interaction effects were significant for aerial fresh and dry weigh, 1000 seeds weight, proline, DPPH, flavonoid, protein, chlorophyl...
Kelussia odoratissima Mozaff. an endangered endemic medicinal plant in Iran, is widely used for t... more Kelussia odoratissima Mozaff. an endangered endemic medicinal plant in Iran, is widely used for the treatment of several diseases. The wide range of curative properties like anti-inflammatory effects, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular properties are due to the presence of bioactive compounds which found in high amount in different parts of the plant. In this study, the effect of hormone combination (2, 4-D (0.5, 1 and 2 mgL-1) + (Kin (0, 0.5 and 1 mgL-1) and (NAA (0.5, 1 and 2 mgL-1) + BA (0, 0.5 and 1 mgL-1)) on callus induction (percentage, weight and size) on the MS basal medium was investigated. Combinations of 2, 4-D+Kin and NAA+BA were chosen as the most appropriate hormone combinations. Then suspended cells were grown on the MS liquid media supplemented with chosen hormone combinations with 3 levels of antioxidant (PVP, PVPP and PVP+PVPP) and wet and dry cell weights were measured. Finally, derived freeze dried cells were analyzed by GC/MS to determine and identify bioactive...
Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 2016
The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro proliferation of Astragalus adscendens . Ex... more The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro proliferation of Astragalus adscendens . Explants were taken from hypocotyl and cotyledon and were cultured on the basic medium of Murashige and Skoog (MS) complemented with various plant growth regulators, (NAA, BAP, KIN, ZEA), to induce direct shoot regeneration. Callus induction was significantly affected by different concentrations of PGRs. Callus formation was observed from hypocotyl explants, but they were not induced to adventitious shoot regeneration and most of them were turned into brown. Therefore, rapid multiplication, performed using shoot apical buds, and obtained from 15-day old sterile seedlings. Apical buds were cultured on MS medium containing various levels of BAP, KIN and ZEA (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 mg L -1 ) alone or in combination with 0.5 mg L -1 NAA. The highest number of shoot regenerants (8.5/explants) and leaves (22.4/explants) obtained on MS medium with 4 mg L -1 BAP . The highest root induction (100%) ...
Objective(s): Development of a nanobiosystem by using plant essential oils with green synthesized... more Objective(s): Development of a nanobiosystem by using plant essential oils with green synthesized silver nanoparticles that present synergistic antibacterial activity for overcoming antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria. Material and Methods: Essential oils (EOs) of Kelussia odoratissima and Teucrium polium extracted by hydrodistillation were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Then leaf aqueous extract of K. odoratissima prepared and used for green synthesise of silver nanoparticles (SNPs). The oils, and the colloidal preparations of silver nanoparticles, were then subjected to microdilution technique using ELISA reader to determine their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) on Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157: H7, Salmonella enterica and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The type of interaction between EO and SNPs was also determined by calculating the fractional...
The morphological specifications play a substantial role in classification and breeding programs ... more The morphological specifications play a substantial role in classification and breeding programs of various plant taxa. In the current study, some macro- and micro-morphological features of Salvia nemorosa, Salvia syriaca, Salvia frigida and Salvia virgata (three accessions), were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and image analysis program. The completely randomized design (CRD) was used to compare the morphological properties (r=4). Macro-morphological and agronomical measurements showed that Salvia species have great potential for cultivation as medicinal and ornamental plants. The cluster analysis suggested that S. virgata and S. frigida located in the same group; on the other side, S. syriaca and S. nemorosa had more similarity. The micro-morphological results showed that glandular trichomes (GTs) and non-glandular trichomes (NGTs) were widely distributed over the leaf and flower surfaces. The peltate GTs with high-density covered sepal and petal and were observed...
Vegetative and reproductive characteristics, fruit yield, and biochemical compounds of six bitter... more Vegetative and reproductive characteristics, fruit yield, and biochemical compounds of six bitter melon cultivars (Iranshahr, Mestisa, No. 486, Local Japanese, Isfahan, and Ilocano) were evaluated under Karaj conditions in Iran. The phytochemical properties of the cultivars were evaluated using both shade-dried and freeze-dried samples at three fruit developmental stages (unripe, semi-ripe, and ripe). There were significant differences in the vegetative and reproductive characteristics among cultivars, where cv. No. 486 was superior to most vegetative attributes. The fruit yield of cultivars varied from 2.98–5.22 kg/plant. The number of days to male and female flower appearance ranged from 19.00–25.33 and from 25–33 days, respectively. The leaf charantin content was in the range of 4.83–11.08 μg/g. Fruit charantin content varied with developmental stage, drying method, and cultivar. The highest charantin content (13.84 ± 3.55 µg/g) was observed at the semi-ripe fruit stage, and it w...
To assist the development of new therapeutic strategies for several disorders, biologically activ... more To assist the development of new therapeutic strategies for several disorders, biologically active peptides/proteins obtained from plant sources can be considered. Current study expected to determine the biological activities of peptide fractions of Mucuna pruriens against hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines (HepG2/ADM, HepG2, SMMC‐7721, and QGY‐7703), as well as normal cell line to prove their selectivity. Moreover, anti‐genotoxicity and antiviral activity against the hepatitis C virus (HCV) were assessed. The methods of this study were to isolate the peptides of M. pruriens and hydrolysate fractionation via fractionated pepsin‐pancreatin hydrolysates by ultrafiltration/high‐performance ultrafiltration cell, identify anti‐hepatoma activity of peptide fractions human liver cancer and normal cells by (3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazole‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐biphenyl tetrazolium bromide) (MTT) assay, determine anti‐HCV, and assess anti‐genotoxic effect of peptide fractions against damage that induced via al...
One of the major factors limiting the production of medicinal plants in arid and semi-arid areas ... more One of the major factors limiting the production of medicinal plants in arid and semi-arid areas is water deficit or drought stress. One-third of the land in the world is arid and semi-arid and is inhabited by nearly 4 × 108 people. Ocimum basilicum (sweet basil) is a valuable medicinal plant that is sensitive to water deficit, and water shortage negatively affects sweet basil yield and quality. Water availability in the root zone of basil could ameliorate the negative effects of water shortage. To the best of our knowledge, although the effects of hydrophilic polymers (HPs) have been studied in different agricultural crops, the effects of HP application in medicinal plants have not been previously investigated. This investigation was conducted to explore the effects on water use efficiency when using Stockosorb® (STS) and psyllium seed mucilage (PSM) as hydrophilic polymers (HPs) and the effects of these HPs on essential oil quality, quantity, and yield. The research was set up in ...
Rumex turcomanicus Czerep., belonging to family Polygonaceae, is one of native green vegetable in... more Rumex turcomanicus Czerep., belonging to family Polygonaceae, is one of native green vegetable in Northeast Iran. Despite the high consumption, its seed germination and dormancy aspects is inconsiderable. In order to investigate the effects of seed harvesting date on seedling emergence, vigour and growth traits of R. turcomanicus Czerep., the seeds were harvested at five different times, i.e., two weeks after fruiting (WAF), 6WAF, 8WAF (mature seeds), 2 month after seed ripening (MASR) and 4MASR, and were sowed immediately, at agricultural college of Ferdowsi university of Mashhad, Iran in 2012-2013. The results was showed that the highest and lowest of seedling emergence percentage, seedling emergence rate, seedling vigour index, seedling fresh and dry weight, seedling root and shoot length, total seedling length and %final normal seedling (%FNS) was obtained in the seeds which were sowed 4MASR and 2WAF, respectively. Maximum and minimum of mean emergence time (MET) was observed in...
The effect of plant growth regulators IBA (indole butyric acid), GA3 (gibberellin) and ethylene (... more The effect of plant growth regulators IBA (indole butyric acid), GA3 (gibberellin) and ethylene (as ethephon) in two methods of planting was investigated (each method was considered as a separate experiment) on morphological characters and yield of medicinal pumpkin. The experiments were carried out in a factorial trial based on completely randomized block design, with four replicates. The treatments were combined with priming and spraying with the above PGRs. The first seed priming with control (water), IBA 100 ppm, GA3 25 ppm and ethephon 200 ppm, and when seedling developed to 4 leaf stage sprayed there with control (water), IBA 100 ppm, GA3 25 ppm and ethephon 200 ppm for three times. In both planting methods, there were all of these treatments. The result showed that PGRs and planting method had significant effects on vegetative, flowering and yield characteristics including: leaf area %DM plant, number of male and female flowers per plant, number of fruit/plant, fruits fresh w...
Safranal, the main volatile chemical of Saffron (Crocus sativus) was studied to estimate its alle... more Safranal, the main volatile chemical of Saffron (Crocus sativus) was studied to estimate its allelopathic effects on the photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll, leaf electrolyte leakage, fresh weight, catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POX) activity of the test plant Lettuce (Lactuca sativa). In this study, the effective concentration (EC50) of safranal on CAT was estimated to be 6.12 µg/cm3. CAT activity was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by the increase in the safranal concentration while POX activity was increased. Moreover, Safranal caused significant physiological changes in chlorophyll content, leaf electrolyte leakage, and fresh weight of several weed species with Lolium multiflorum being the most sensitive. Furthermore, 5 µM Safranal showed significant inhibitory activity against dicotyledonous in comparison to the monocotyledons under greenhouse conditions. The inhibition of the CAT by safranal was similar to those of uncompetitive inhibitors, and therefore the decline in ca...
Dried parts of 75 medicinal plant species collected from different regions in Iran were assayed b... more Dried parts of 75 medicinal plant species collected from different regions in Iran were assayed by the Dish Pack Method for volatile allelopathic activity, using Lactuca sativa (lettuce) as the test plant. The highest (60%) inhibition was observed for saffron (stigma of Crocus sativus), followed by Dracocephalum kotschyi, Solanum nigrum and Artemisia aucheri. Safranal was identified as the main chemical by Headspace Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (HS-GC-MS) analyses of saffron. Moreover, the EC50 of safranal was evaluated as 1.2 μg/L (ppb). This is the first report on allelopathic activity of safranal as a bioactive compound identified from saffron.
The inhibitory activities of the leachates and volatiles from 53 plant species (spices and herbs)... more The inhibitory activities of the leachates and volatiles from 53 plant species (spices and herbs) were evaluated against lettuce (Lactuca sativa "Great Lakes 366") seedling growth using the sandwich and dish pack methods, respectively. With the sandwich method, parsley (Petroselinum sativum) showed the strongest inhibitory effect on lettuce radicle growth (77%), followed by tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) (72%). However, caraway (Carum carvi), dill (Anethum graveolens) (seed), laurel (Laurus nobilis), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), and sage (Salvia officinalis) were the most inhibitory species (100% inhibition of lettuce radicle and hypocotyl growth inhibition at all distance wells) in the dish pack method. Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) also showed strong inhibitory activity (100% for radicle and hypocotyl growth inhibition at all 41 and 58 mm distance wells). The headspace sampling and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis identified the main inhibitory active compounds as carvone in caraway and dill (seeds), 1,8-cineole in laurel and cardamom, and borneol in thyme. Both camphor and 1,8-cineole were detected in rosemary and sage, and the total activity evaluation showed that camphor was the major inhibitory compound in rosemary, although both compounds played equal roles in sage.
In the current study, we assessed health risk posed to Iranian consumers through exposure to meta... more In the current study, we assessed health risk posed to Iranian consumers through exposure to metals via oral consumption of coffee, tea, and herbal tea of various trademarks collected from Iran market. Level of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Ni, and Pb in 243 samples was quantified by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The metal levels in coffee samples from different trademarks of a specific country had statistically similar levels of metals; however, metal levels differed significantly among brand names form different countries. Metal levels in tea samples differed significantly between domestic and imported products, while different trademarks of similar countries did not show significant variations in this respect. Metal level in herbal tea samples did not show significant variations among different trademarks. Nevertheless, it should be highlighted that mean concentrations of metals statistically differed among different herbal tea samples. Deterministic hazard quotients (HQs) were <1.0 for all non-carcinogenic metals and total hazard index (HI) values indicated no risk; however, probabilistic assessment calculated HI values >1. In both deterministic and probabilistic scenarios, carcinogenic metals As and Ni had an estimated incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) of medium level while that of Pb indicated no cancer risk. Sensitivity analysis showed that the concentration of metals had the most significant effect on noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks.
As one of the largest genera of the Lamiaceae family, Salvia has a wide distribution worldwide. D... more As one of the largest genera of the Lamiaceae family, Salvia has a wide distribution worldwide. Despite their great importance and medicinal use, most Salvia species are collected from their natural habitats, and some of them are endangered and vulnerable. This study aimed to evaluate the domestication process of eight Iranian native Salvia species. The studied species were cultivated and adapted to the cultivation area after two years, and then some of their important biochemical properties were investigated. According to some significant results, the root architecture was closely correlated with the climatic conditions of the species origins. The distribution of total dry matter varied widely among species; accordingly, S. sclarea and S. officinalis had 65.6% and 55.9% dry weights in their leaves, respectively. Moreover, S. nemorosa had a 24.3% dry weight in its flowers, while S. frigida (Jahrom), S. frigida (Targavar), S. virgata (Eghled), and S. macrosiphon had 44.6%, 43.3%, 46....
Introduction: The ever-increasing tendency to the use of medicinal plants in the world has grown ... more Introduction: The ever-increasing tendency to the use of medicinal plants in the world has grown concerns about their cultivation and production processes. As medicinal plants are more compatible with the nature, special interest and attention have recently been given to herb therapy, and use of medicinal plants, being limited by the rise of pharmaceutical drugs, has become again common and widespread due to a number of reasons. In a sustainable agriculture system, application of the fertilizers which are nature friendly and suitable for plants is essential. This becomes more important when dealing with medicinal plants. Doing studies over the effect of nano¬pharmax and humic acid fertilizer on the plant, no research findings were obtained. So, in order to use less chemical fertilizers to prevent environmental pollution and encourage farmers to use more organic fertilizer, the present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of foliar application of humic acid and nano-pharmax f...
The Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss.is a wild-growing flowering plant belonging to the Lamiaceae fam... more The Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss.is a wild-growing flowering plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family and has been used as a medicinal herb for rheumatoid diseases, headaches, congestion, stomach disorders, liver treatment. In order to study the effects of dryland farming system on some agronomical and physiological traits of D. kotschyi, two separate experiments were conducted in three locations of, Mashad (Golmakan station), Quchan (5km in the northeast of city) and Bojnord (Sisab station) under normal irrigation and dryland farming systems in 2018. The collected data were combined analysis over three locations and mean comparisons were made using Tukey method. The results showed significant effects of locations for all of the traits except carbohydrate contents. Effect of farming system was also significant for all traits. Farming system by location interaction effects were significant for aerial fresh and dry weigh, 1000 seeds weight, proline, DPPH, flavonoid, protein, chlorophyl...
Kelussia odoratissima Mozaff. an endangered endemic medicinal plant in Iran, is widely used for t... more Kelussia odoratissima Mozaff. an endangered endemic medicinal plant in Iran, is widely used for the treatment of several diseases. The wide range of curative properties like anti-inflammatory effects, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular properties are due to the presence of bioactive compounds which found in high amount in different parts of the plant. In this study, the effect of hormone combination (2, 4-D (0.5, 1 and 2 mgL-1) + (Kin (0, 0.5 and 1 mgL-1) and (NAA (0.5, 1 and 2 mgL-1) + BA (0, 0.5 and 1 mgL-1)) on callus induction (percentage, weight and size) on the MS basal medium was investigated. Combinations of 2, 4-D+Kin and NAA+BA were chosen as the most appropriate hormone combinations. Then suspended cells were grown on the MS liquid media supplemented with chosen hormone combinations with 3 levels of antioxidant (PVP, PVPP and PVP+PVPP) and wet and dry cell weights were measured. Finally, derived freeze dried cells were analyzed by GC/MS to determine and identify bioactive...
Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 2016
The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro proliferation of Astragalus adscendens . Ex... more The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro proliferation of Astragalus adscendens . Explants were taken from hypocotyl and cotyledon and were cultured on the basic medium of Murashige and Skoog (MS) complemented with various plant growth regulators, (NAA, BAP, KIN, ZEA), to induce direct shoot regeneration. Callus induction was significantly affected by different concentrations of PGRs. Callus formation was observed from hypocotyl explants, but they were not induced to adventitious shoot regeneration and most of them were turned into brown. Therefore, rapid multiplication, performed using shoot apical buds, and obtained from 15-day old sterile seedlings. Apical buds were cultured on MS medium containing various levels of BAP, KIN and ZEA (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 mg L -1 ) alone or in combination with 0.5 mg L -1 NAA. The highest number of shoot regenerants (8.5/explants) and leaves (22.4/explants) obtained on MS medium with 4 mg L -1 BAP . The highest root induction (100%) ...
Objective(s): Development of a nanobiosystem by using plant essential oils with green synthesized... more Objective(s): Development of a nanobiosystem by using plant essential oils with green synthesized silver nanoparticles that present synergistic antibacterial activity for overcoming antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria. Material and Methods: Essential oils (EOs) of Kelussia odoratissima and Teucrium polium extracted by hydrodistillation were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Then leaf aqueous extract of K. odoratissima prepared and used for green synthesise of silver nanoparticles (SNPs). The oils, and the colloidal preparations of silver nanoparticles, were then subjected to microdilution technique using ELISA reader to determine their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) on Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157: H7, Salmonella enterica and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The type of interaction between EO and SNPs was also determined by calculating the fractional...
The morphological specifications play a substantial role in classification and breeding programs ... more The morphological specifications play a substantial role in classification and breeding programs of various plant taxa. In the current study, some macro- and micro-morphological features of Salvia nemorosa, Salvia syriaca, Salvia frigida and Salvia virgata (three accessions), were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and image analysis program. The completely randomized design (CRD) was used to compare the morphological properties (r=4). Macro-morphological and agronomical measurements showed that Salvia species have great potential for cultivation as medicinal and ornamental plants. The cluster analysis suggested that S. virgata and S. frigida located in the same group; on the other side, S. syriaca and S. nemorosa had more similarity. The micro-morphological results showed that glandular trichomes (GTs) and non-glandular trichomes (NGTs) were widely distributed over the leaf and flower surfaces. The peltate GTs with high-density covered sepal and petal and were observed...
Vegetative and reproductive characteristics, fruit yield, and biochemical compounds of six bitter... more Vegetative and reproductive characteristics, fruit yield, and biochemical compounds of six bitter melon cultivars (Iranshahr, Mestisa, No. 486, Local Japanese, Isfahan, and Ilocano) were evaluated under Karaj conditions in Iran. The phytochemical properties of the cultivars were evaluated using both shade-dried and freeze-dried samples at three fruit developmental stages (unripe, semi-ripe, and ripe). There were significant differences in the vegetative and reproductive characteristics among cultivars, where cv. No. 486 was superior to most vegetative attributes. The fruit yield of cultivars varied from 2.98–5.22 kg/plant. The number of days to male and female flower appearance ranged from 19.00–25.33 and from 25–33 days, respectively. The leaf charantin content was in the range of 4.83–11.08 μg/g. Fruit charantin content varied with developmental stage, drying method, and cultivar. The highest charantin content (13.84 ± 3.55 µg/g) was observed at the semi-ripe fruit stage, and it w...
To assist the development of new therapeutic strategies for several disorders, biologically activ... more To assist the development of new therapeutic strategies for several disorders, biologically active peptides/proteins obtained from plant sources can be considered. Current study expected to determine the biological activities of peptide fractions of Mucuna pruriens against hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines (HepG2/ADM, HepG2, SMMC‐7721, and QGY‐7703), as well as normal cell line to prove their selectivity. Moreover, anti‐genotoxicity and antiviral activity against the hepatitis C virus (HCV) were assessed. The methods of this study were to isolate the peptides of M. pruriens and hydrolysate fractionation via fractionated pepsin‐pancreatin hydrolysates by ultrafiltration/high‐performance ultrafiltration cell, identify anti‐hepatoma activity of peptide fractions human liver cancer and normal cells by (3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazole‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐biphenyl tetrazolium bromide) (MTT) assay, determine anti‐HCV, and assess anti‐genotoxic effect of peptide fractions against damage that induced via al...
One of the major factors limiting the production of medicinal plants in arid and semi-arid areas ... more One of the major factors limiting the production of medicinal plants in arid and semi-arid areas is water deficit or drought stress. One-third of the land in the world is arid and semi-arid and is inhabited by nearly 4 × 108 people. Ocimum basilicum (sweet basil) is a valuable medicinal plant that is sensitive to water deficit, and water shortage negatively affects sweet basil yield and quality. Water availability in the root zone of basil could ameliorate the negative effects of water shortage. To the best of our knowledge, although the effects of hydrophilic polymers (HPs) have been studied in different agricultural crops, the effects of HP application in medicinal plants have not been previously investigated. This investigation was conducted to explore the effects on water use efficiency when using Stockosorb® (STS) and psyllium seed mucilage (PSM) as hydrophilic polymers (HPs) and the effects of these HPs on essential oil quality, quantity, and yield. The research was set up in ...
Rumex turcomanicus Czerep., belonging to family Polygonaceae, is one of native green vegetable in... more Rumex turcomanicus Czerep., belonging to family Polygonaceae, is one of native green vegetable in Northeast Iran. Despite the high consumption, its seed germination and dormancy aspects is inconsiderable. In order to investigate the effects of seed harvesting date on seedling emergence, vigour and growth traits of R. turcomanicus Czerep., the seeds were harvested at five different times, i.e., two weeks after fruiting (WAF), 6WAF, 8WAF (mature seeds), 2 month after seed ripening (MASR) and 4MASR, and were sowed immediately, at agricultural college of Ferdowsi university of Mashhad, Iran in 2012-2013. The results was showed that the highest and lowest of seedling emergence percentage, seedling emergence rate, seedling vigour index, seedling fresh and dry weight, seedling root and shoot length, total seedling length and %final normal seedling (%FNS) was obtained in the seeds which were sowed 4MASR and 2WAF, respectively. Maximum and minimum of mean emergence time (MET) was observed in...
The effect of plant growth regulators IBA (indole butyric acid), GA3 (gibberellin) and ethylene (... more The effect of plant growth regulators IBA (indole butyric acid), GA3 (gibberellin) and ethylene (as ethephon) in two methods of planting was investigated (each method was considered as a separate experiment) on morphological characters and yield of medicinal pumpkin. The experiments were carried out in a factorial trial based on completely randomized block design, with four replicates. The treatments were combined with priming and spraying with the above PGRs. The first seed priming with control (water), IBA 100 ppm, GA3 25 ppm and ethephon 200 ppm, and when seedling developed to 4 leaf stage sprayed there with control (water), IBA 100 ppm, GA3 25 ppm and ethephon 200 ppm for three times. In both planting methods, there were all of these treatments. The result showed that PGRs and planting method had significant effects on vegetative, flowering and yield characteristics including: leaf area %DM plant, number of male and female flowers per plant, number of fruit/plant, fruits fresh w...
Safranal, the main volatile chemical of Saffron (Crocus sativus) was studied to estimate its alle... more Safranal, the main volatile chemical of Saffron (Crocus sativus) was studied to estimate its allelopathic effects on the photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll, leaf electrolyte leakage, fresh weight, catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POX) activity of the test plant Lettuce (Lactuca sativa). In this study, the effective concentration (EC50) of safranal on CAT was estimated to be 6.12 µg/cm3. CAT activity was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by the increase in the safranal concentration while POX activity was increased. Moreover, Safranal caused significant physiological changes in chlorophyll content, leaf electrolyte leakage, and fresh weight of several weed species with Lolium multiflorum being the most sensitive. Furthermore, 5 µM Safranal showed significant inhibitory activity against dicotyledonous in comparison to the monocotyledons under greenhouse conditions. The inhibition of the CAT by safranal was similar to those of uncompetitive inhibitors, and therefore the decline in ca...
Dried parts of 75 medicinal plant species collected from different regions in Iran were assayed b... more Dried parts of 75 medicinal plant species collected from different regions in Iran were assayed by the Dish Pack Method for volatile allelopathic activity, using Lactuca sativa (lettuce) as the test plant. The highest (60%) inhibition was observed for saffron (stigma of Crocus sativus), followed by Dracocephalum kotschyi, Solanum nigrum and Artemisia aucheri. Safranal was identified as the main chemical by Headspace Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (HS-GC-MS) analyses of saffron. Moreover, the EC50 of safranal was evaluated as 1.2 μg/L (ppb). This is the first report on allelopathic activity of safranal as a bioactive compound identified from saffron.
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