مجله تحقیقات گیاهان دارویی و معطر ایران
سال بیست و پنجم شماره 1 (پیاپی 43، بهار 1388)

In order to study the effects of biofertilizers on N, P, K concentrations and seed yield in fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare Mill.), an experiment was conducted at Homand Research Station in Damavand at 2005 and 2006. The factors were mycorrhizal inoculation (inoculated and non-inoculated), phosphate biofertilizer (0, 30, 60 kg/ha) and vermicompost (0, 5, 10 ton/ha). The experiment design was factorial experiment in the base of randomized complete blocks design with eighteen treatments and three replications. Mean comparison was carried out using Duncan multiple range test (at 5% level). Results showed that the highest concentration of N, P and K in seed and seed yield were obtained with mycorrhiza inoculums. Phosphate biofertilizer also showed significant effects on mentioned traits as the highest N concentration in seed with consumption of 60 kg/ha and maximum concentration of P, K and seed yield with consumption of 30 kg/ha from it were obtained. The highest concentration of N, P and K in seed and seed yield were obtained with application of 10 ton/ha vermicompost. There were positive and synergistic interactions between factors, like interactions between mycorrhizal inoculation and phosphate biofertilizer on N concentration and phosphate biofertilizer and vermicompost on P concentration.

In order to study chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oil of Bunium persicum Boiss., the seeds of this plant, which grows in Kerman Province in Lalehzar Mountains around of Kerman city, were collected in June 2006. The essential oil yield, obtained by hydro distillation from seeds, was 4.2%. The oil was analyzed by capillary gas chromatography (GC) using flame ionization (FID) and capillary gas chromatography coupled mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for detection. Twenty-six compounds were identified in the essential oil that concluded 99.7% of the total oil. The major components were γ-terpinen-7-al (26.91%), cumin aldehyde (23.29%) and γ-terpinene (22.02%). Other constitutes were ρ-cymene (7.32%), 2-caren-10-al (6.92%) and limonene (4.79%). For study of antimicrobial activity, the essential oil tested against 9 bacteria by disk diffusion method. The antimicrobial effects were determined against two gram positive bacteria: Staphylococcus areous (ATCC=25922) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC=1435) and seven gram negative bacteria: Pseudomonas aeroginosa (ATCC=1074), Shigella flexneri (ATCC=1234), Kellebsiella pnuomonae (ATCC=1053), Salmonella typhi (ATCC=1634), Serratia marcescens (1111), Escherichia coli (ATCC=25923) and Escherichia coli (ATCC=157). The results showed the seed oil of B. persicum had strong anti-bacterial effects. This property could be resulted from the relatively high amount of terpinenes and cumin aldehyde in the essential oil.

Hypercholesterolemia and oxidative stress increase serum total cholesterol and LDL-C cholesterol levels resulting in increased risk for development of atherosclerosis. Antioxidants play an important role in inhibiting and scavenging radicals thus could be other important measures to benefit individuals with the increased cardiovascular disease risk factors. This study was designed to investigate the effect of aerial parts of Hypericum perforatum L. and Amaranthus caudatus L. on the development of atherosclerosis in male hyperlipidemic rabbits. Twenty adult male rabbits were randomly divided into four groups of five and were fed for 60 days as follows: basic diet, high cholesterol, high cholesterol along with combination Hypericum perforatum and Amaranthus caudatus (HA) extract (75mg/kg) and high cholesterol along with Lovastatin (10mg/kg). Blood samples were taken at the beginning, one month later and at the end of the study in order to measure their serum factors (cholesterol, LDL-C-C, HDL-C-C, TG). The fatty streak formation evaluated at the end of the study. The results showed that both the extract and lovastatin reduced significantly the levels of cholesterol, LDL-C-C, triglyceride and HDL-C-C) increased in comparison with high cholesterol group. Fatty streak formation in extract recipient group significantly decreased in comparison with high cholesterol group with lovastatin. The result showed that HA significantly decreased TG, cholesterol and fatty streak formation in comparison with high cholesterol group and lovastatin. These findings suggest HA extract is more effective in decreasing the level of cardiovascular risk factors than Lovastatin in hypercholesterolemic rabbits.

The present study was designed to evaluate comparison of the effects on the intestinal microflora population and immune system of broilers of three commercial herbal extracts and virginiamycin antibiotic. A total four hundred and eighty 1-day old male broiler chicks were assigned to the basal diet (control) and basal diet supplemented with 150 ppm virginiamycin, 0.1% extract of thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.), coneflower (Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench.), garlic (Allium sativum L.) and blend of extracts with the same dose. The colony forming units of Escherichia coli in digesta of ileo-cecum in the blend group showed a significantly lower number compared with control group. However, there was no difference in E. coli counts between blend group and others except control. The lactic acid bacteria counts in the thyme group increased compared with other groups except coneflower (p<0.05). Relative weights of immune organs (spleen and bursa of Fabricious) as two immune indexes were compared among different groups. Relative weight of bursa of Fabricious in the Garlic group showed a significantly increase compared with other groups, but relative weight of spleen was unaffected by treatments. Cutaneous basophils hypersensitivity response (to phytohemagglutinin injection) and antibody responses to sheep red blood cells were higher in coneflower group (p<0.05). Antibody responses to Newcastle vaccine (Lasota) was unaffected by treatments but coneflower group improved antibody levels (p>0.05).

Proper drying is essential to successful marketing in regions which cultivated Garlic (Allium sativum L.) and most serious post harvest losses result from improper drying. For this reason, after the cut off irrigation, white garlic population were harvested at three stages. The first stage of harvesting was done after that approximately 70 percent of the top leaves turned yellow, while the second harvesting was began when whole leaves became yellow and eventually the last harvesting was ensued by getting dry, brown leaves which fell over on the field. After harvesting, bulbs dried at natural condition and artificial state at 35, 45 and 55oC. Effect of harvesting stage and drying conditions on the garlic shelf life were investigated during 6 months and qualitative and quantitative factors i.e. moisture content, pyruvate, color and texture in addition to weight loss and spoilage were measured bimonthly. The results of two years study showed that after harvesting, there was no significant difference between pyruvate, color and texture contents of cloves. Drying time at natural condition of the first stage of harvesting was longer than artificial drying process time as well as the other harvesting stages. At 55°C some cloves turned yellow, soft and sticky especially at the early stages of harvesting. During the post harvest drying of garlic the moisture content of cloves was relatively constant, while that of the skins and stem rapidly decreased. After curing, moisture contents of the cloves, skins and stems were 641, 202 and 154 percent respectively. Effect of drying on some quality factors showed that at low temperatures, the pyruvate content and color changes decreased. Qualitative and quantitative factors at the end of storage period showed that for harvesting at the first stage, drying at 35°C or natural conditions and at the second stage, drying at 35°C and 45°C or natural conditions were the best.

In this research, the fresh leaves of Eucalyptus largiflorens were collected in the middle of spring from Kashan in Isfahan province. After drying the plant materials in oven 30°C, 40°C, 50°C, sun and shade, their essential oils were obtained by hydro-distillation. In addition, the essential oil of shade-dried sample was obtained by two other distillation methods (water and steam distillation and direct steam distillation). The oils were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Oil yields (w/w) of the oven-dried 30°C, 40°C, 50°C, sun-dried and shade-dried sample were 1.37%, 1.58%, 1.59%, 1.31% and 1.32% respectively. 1,8-cineole (25.0%, 26.2%, 40.6%, 29.7% and 24.6%), P-cymene (17.2%, 17.4%, 20.3%, 20.5% and 17.1%) and α-pinene (16.2%, 12.6%, 14.4%, 7.2% and 9.9%) were identified as the main components in oven-dried 30°C, 40°C, 50°C, sun-dried and shade-dried sample, respectively. On the other hand, the oil yields were 0.92% and 0.77% in water and steam distillation and direct steam distillation. In different drying methods the result showed the oil yield and 1,8-cineole percentage were higher in oven-dried 50°C sample and in different distillation the oil yield in hydro-distillation was higher and the highest percentage of 1,8-cineole was obtained by water and steam distillation.

The purpose of this study was determining the effects of different nitrogen and phosphorus doses on the plant growth parameters, yields and essential oil composition of Artemisia annua L. The effect of nitrogen (urea 46%) and phosphorus (Triple super phosphate %48) at four levels (0, 40, 80, 120 kg/ha) were examined. Experiments were designed based on Randomized Complete Block with 16 treatments and 3 replicates. Results indicated that differences between the average of height, number of branches and dry weight were significant at p≤0.05. The maximum of branches number and height of plant were gained in the N40P40 and N80P40 treatments. Increasing of P fertilizer more than 80 kg/ha decrease the growth parameters significantly. Essential oil of leaves at flowering stage was obtained by hydro-distillation. Percentage of essential oil showed significant increase in N40P0 and N80P0 treatments. Chemical compounds of leaf oil were identified by GC/MS. Twenty four components were found which the major compounds were artemisia ketone, camphor, 1,8-cineole, artemisia alcohol, viridiflorene and alpha-pinene

The essential oil yield and composition of the aerial parts of Diplotaenia cachrydifolia Boiss. were investigated in green and dry states, to understand why it is toxic and unpalatable in green state and palatable in dry state, for livestock. The essential oil was obtained by hydro-distillation method with Clevenger-type apparatus. GC and GC/MS analysis were carried out for investigating the oil composition. According to the results, the oil yield was 2.7% in green state and 0.4% in dry state. Ighteen components were identified representing 91.4% of the oil in green state and 17 components representing 91.6% of the oil in dry state. The major volatile components in green state were: limonene (49.6%), Cis-β-ocimene (12.6%), dill apiole (10.8%) and α-phellandrene (4.32%), respectively and in dry state were: limonene (50.7%), dill apiole (18.3%), Cis-β-ocimene (10.3%) and α-pinene (4.1%), respectively. The results showed that the high amount of the oil in green state is a factor for decreasing plant palatability. Furthermore, β-myrcene and α-phellandrene which are harmful biological compounds decreased in dry state. These compounds are introduced as forage anti-quality factors. In conclusion, the high quantity of volatile oil and some components are forage anti-quality factors.

With regard to importance of medicinal plants, this study has carried out in Kurdistan province in 1998-2001 for identification of medicinal plants of this province. There were various stages contained collection of rural and locale information about medicinal plants, field and in situ investigations and collection of herbal samples and identification of them. According to results, 144 medicinal plants species were identified that 59 species of them were new in comparison with previous references. The most numbers of medicinal plants were belong to the families of Compositae, Umbelliferae, Papilionaceae, Rosaceae, Labiatae, Cruciferae, Solanaceae, Ranunculaceae, Alliaceae, Malvaceae, Liliacea with 18, 16, 11, 10, 8, 6, 4, 4, 3, 3 and 3 species, respectively. In addition Anacardiaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiacea, Linaceae, Orchidaceae, Tamaricaceae, Polygonaceae, Moraceae, and Papaveraceae families allocated 2 species and the other families included one species.

One of the important aims of biological investigations is finding substances which are involved in relieving pain. Application of medicinal herbs for relieving pain is very useful. Carum copticum (L.) C. B. Clarke from Umbelliferae family has been introduced as an analgesic agent in Iranian traditional literature which is widely used for relieving neuropathy pain and headache. This study was conducted to investigate the analgesic effect of Carum copticum fruit on formalin induced pain as compared with oil part of Carum copticum. Formalin test was used as a standard pain inducing test and the analgesic effect of intra peritoneal injection of 20ml/kg of Carum copticum extract were evaluated. Our findings showed that aqueous part of Carum copticum extract had no effect during one hour formalin test as compared with control group (P>0.05). Therefore, due to the analgesic effect of essential fatty acids and its crude extract of Carum copticum, the non analgesia property might be related to absent of oil part.

Kelussia odoratissima Mozaff. is a plant belonging to the Apiaceae family which has got high nutrition and medicinal value and is extensively used for treatment several diseases. The objective of this research was determination of content and composition of fatty acids, total phenolic content and essential oil content on K. odoratissima seed. Extraction of total phenolics content carried out by Folin-Ciocalteu method and the absorbance at 750 nm was measured by spectrophotometer. Results showed that total phenolic content was 288.15 mg GAE/g DW in seed. Hydro distillation by Clevenger-type apparatus was used for the extraction of essential oil. 2.1% essential oil was obtained in the experiment. Moreover, extracting from the seeds was done using Soxhelet method, in addition to measuring fatty acids by GC. The results showed K. odoratissima seeds contain 25% oil. The major fatty acid present in seeds (75.35% of % total) was C18:1 including petroselininc acid (C18:1(n-12)) and oleic acid (C18:1(n-9)). Other fatty acids were including linoleic acid (19.14%), palmitic acid (6.65%), stearic acid (1.9%) and linolenic acid (.95%).

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) are various forms of activated oxygen and nitrogen that cause DNA damage that may lead to mutation 3. In fact, free radicals are believed to play important roles in different health conditions, including the aging process, cancer and atherosclerosis. Several anti-inflammatory, digestive, anti-necrotic, neuroprotective, and hepatoprotective drugs, have recently been shown to have an antioxidant and/or radical scavenging mechanism as part of their activity. Many studies have demonstrated the antioxidant activities and health benefits of the anthocyanins occurring in various fruits and vegetables. Anthocyanins are a group of naturally occurring phenolic compounds, which are responsible for the attractive colors of many flowers, fruits (particularly in berries), vegetables and related products derived from them. These polyphenolic substances are glycosides of poly hydroxy and poly methoxy-derivatives of 2-phenylbenzopyrylium or flavilium salts. Grapes and berries are the chief dietary sources of anthocyanins. Berries are rich in anthocyanins, compounds that provide pigmentation to fruits and serve as natural antioxidants. Earlier studies have shown that berry anthocyanins are beneficial in reducing age_associated oxidative stress. The aim of this study was evaluation of inhibitory effect of anthocyanins from three spicies of berries. In this study, anthocyanin pigments were extracted from berries with Cribago & Francis method. Nitric oxide radical inhibition assay of berries’ extracts have been done by the use of Griess Illosvoy reaction. The scavenging of nitric oxide by berries extract was increased in a dose-dependent manner.

Nowadays, steroidal anti inflammatory and opioide analgesics are widely used to attenuate the chronic Pain. For achieving new analgesics, many investigations have been focused on understanding the antinociceptive effects of different ethnic medicinal plants. In this study, the effects of Solanum melongena L. extract on chronic pain is assessed and compared with morphine. This study was conducted as an experimental trial on 40 male mice, equally and randomly divided in to 8 groups. 15 minutes after intra peritoneal injection of the extract, morphine or saline, 25µl of 2.5% formalin was subcutaneously injected to left hind paw of each mouse. Immediately after this injection the animals were placed under a chamber on the formalin test observational set up. Then pain scores were ascribed to each mouse according to pain intensity expression every 15 seconds during 1 hour. Our findings showed that 1000mg/kg Solanum melongena extract was analgesic in the 1st (acute) and the 2nd (chronic) phases of formalin test. This effect was more prominent during 20 to 40 min. after formalin injection and the pain score was significantly less than control (p=000). The analgesic effect of this eggplant dose, didn’t show any significant difference with 4mg/kg morphine sulfate in this time period (P=0.146). According to our findings the hydro-alcoholic extract of Solanum melongena reduces chronic pain produced by formalin injection.