مهدی عیاری نوش آبادی

Every year, a significant amount of saffron petals remains as a by-product after harvesting and separating the thread-like parts of the flower (stigmas). The saffron stigma constitutes only 7.4% of the flower's weight and the remaining 92.6% is unused. This plant residue (petals) is a valuable source of plant bioactive compounds (phytobiotics), which based on previous studies, has useful effects on rumen fermentation, digestion and diet efficiency. However, there is no specific information about the effect of this by-product on ruminal microbial populations, enzymatic activity, antioxidant health, as well as the mechanism of effectiveness. In the present study, it was hypothesized that the use of low levels of saffron petals in the diet (as a natural additive) could improve microorganism populations, hydrolytic enzymes and antioxidant health of the rumen. Therefore, this research was carried out to investigate the mechanism of the positive effects of saffron petals on the energy and nitrogen metabolism and antioxidant health of the sheep rumen using the in vitro method.  Experimental treatments included a diet without saffron petals (control) and diets containing 1, 2, and 3% of saffron petals (based on dry matter). The 24 and 72-h gas production tests were performed in 2 series (runs; in different weeks) and 3 replicates in each run (i.e., 6 observations per treatment at each incubation time). The gas production from the samples incubated in the 100-mL glass syringes was recorded. Then, the protozoa (using a hemocytometer and light microscope), cellulolytic and proteolytic bacteria (using liquid medium and Hungate tubes), hydrolytic enzymes (via chemical methods and photometry), methane (by injecting NaOH solution to absorb CO2) and antioxidant capacity (via ferric reducing antioxidant power assay) were measured. Truly degraded substrate was determined by boiling fermentation residues in the neutral detergent solution and weighing, ammonia-N by phenol-hypochlorite method, and the volatile fatty acids (VFA) using gas chromatography. Microbial biomass production, digestibility, metabolizable energy and partitioning factor were estimated using the equations. Data were analyzed using the Proc GLM of SAS 9.1 in a completely randomized design (6 observations per treatment).  The inclusion of different levels of saffron petals in the diet decreased the in vitro ruminal protozoa population (P<0.05), due to its bioactive components, which damage the structure and function of the protozoa membrane, deactivate protozoa enzymes or deprive protozoa of the substrate and metal ions needed for their metabolism. Moreover, saffron petals increased the cellulolytic bacteria numbers and microbial biomass production (P<0.05). This was due to the reduction of protozoa, which leads to the reduction of the bacteria predation and thus improves the growth and population of the cellulolytics. The ruminal fibrolytic enzymes and amylase activity decreased with the use of saffron petals in the diet (P<0.05), because of the higher cellulolytic bacteria and microbial biomass, i.e., higher bacteria activity. These improvements resulted in more (P<0.05) diet digestibility, metabolizable energy, total VFA and truly degraded substrate in the saffron petals-containing groups. The inclusion of saffron petals in the diet resulted in decreasing in vitro ruminal methane release, ammonia-N production and acetate-to-propionate ratio (P<0.05). These changes were due to the decreased protozoa numbers leading to less hydrogen supply for methanogens and higher hydrogen shift toward propionate, as well as less deamination process and ruminal nitrogen recycling. Another reason was the increase of cellulolytic bacteria that consume ammonia as their main nitrogen source. Antioxidant capacity increased with the use of saffron petals in the diet (P<0.05), due to the bioactive compounds and antioxidants (such as flavonoids) present in this plant residue. The maximum truly degraded substrate was observed in the diet containing 3% of saffron petals. The lowest methane, protozoa and ammonia were in diets containing 2 and 3% of saffron petals. Moreover, adding 2 and 3% of saffron petals caused the highest antioxidant power.  The results showed that the positive effect of saffron petals on the ruminal metabolism and antioxidative health of sheep, in vitro, was due to the beneficial changes that occurred in microbial populations (increase of cellulolytic bacteria and decrease of protozoa), hydrolytic enzymes (fibrolytic enzymes and amylase) and its antioxidants. Therefore, low levels (up to 3% of diet) of saffron petals can be used as a natural phytobiotic additive to improve rumen fermentation and reduce loss of energy and nitrogen resources, although it is better to confirm the results in vivo

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of applying different levels of vermicompost and nitrogen fertilizer and their combination on seed yield, seed protein, oil content, and fatty acids profile of the Blessed thistle. The experiment was arranged as a complete block design with three replications in 2018 and 2019 in the experimental field of the faculty of agriculture of Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. Treatments consisted of (control (no fertilizer), 100% nitrogen fertilizer requirement, 75% nitrogen fertilizer requirement + 25% vermicompost, 50% nitrogen fertilizer requirement + 50% vermicompost, 25% nitrogen fertilizer requirement + 75% vermicompost and 100% vermicompost). The results showed that the highest biomass (10.32 ton ha-1) and plant height (100.2 cm) was obtained in the combination of 50% nitrogen requirement and vermicompost. The highest 1,000-seed weight (30.9 g), seed yield (1708.3 kg/ha), seed oil percentage (18.9%), and oil yield (323.52 kg/ha) were observed in 100% vermicompost treatment. The highest percentage of linoleic acid (66.7) and oleic acid (25.8) were observed respectively in the treatment of 100% vermicompost and 100% nitrogen fertilizer requirement, and the lowest in the treatment of 100% nitrogen (61.01% linoleic acid) and without Fertilizer consumption (control) (23.09% oleic acid). The results indicated that the vermicompost fertilizer treatments had a positive effect on the quantity and fatty acid composition of the blessed thistle seeds, the treatment required 50% nitrogen fertilizer + 50% vermicompost and for seed production, 100% vermicompost treatment is more suitable in the climatic conditions of the experimental site.

In this study Eryngium noeanum Boiss. from four different regions of Alamot (AL) (Qazvin province), Ahuan Col (AH) (Semnan), Razaqan (RZ) (Markazi province), and Bashm Col (BA) (Semnan) and also, Eryngium iranicum Mozaff. from Nikpey village (NP) (Zanjan) at elevations of 1600, 1980, 2450, 2150, and 1400 m above the sea level were collected during the summer 2018. The shade-dried plant materials were hydro-distillated by a clevenger apparatus. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the essential oils were carried out by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and GC-FID, respectively. The essential oil contents were obtained as 0.3, 0.4, 0.55, 0.2, and 0.1% (w/w) for AL, AH, RZ, BA, and NP, respectively. The main components of essential oils were amorpha-4,11-diene (14.0, 17.6, 9.0, and 13.6%), δ-selinene (21.5, 40.5, 23.1, and 35.7%), spathulenol (4.6, 0.7, 6.4 and 5.5%), eudesm-7(11)-en-4-ol (3.4, 0.5, 6.7, and 4.4%), and cis-falcarinol (20.3, 1.0, 20.0, and 15.2%) for AL, AH, RZ, and BA, respectively. Also, the main components of the essential oils in NP sample were n-octanal (12.8%), myrtenol (12.5%), and cis-falcarinol (13.5%). The main compounds in different populations of E. noeanum and E. iranicum essential oils were sesquiterpenes (about 70-90%) and non-terpene (56%), respectively. Eryngium noeanum Boiss. is a medicinal rangeland and native plant of Iran, has not been given due attention. Despite prickly appearance, it has a big aerial part with considerable essential oil contents including valuable sesquiterpenes and polyacetylenic compounds ranking it among the highly commercial essential oils worldwide. This calls for many research studies in different fields as extensive biological studies on the essential oil components of this plant can greatly help determine and standardize its quality.

Dorema ammoniacum D. Don. is a perennial herbs from Apiaceae family that grows wild in central and eastern regions of Iran such as Yazd, Isfahan, Kerman, Semnan and Khorasan provinces, and its local names are Kandal, Vasha or Oshagh and Koma-kandal. There is some evidence in Iranian traditional medicine about the anticonvulsant and anti-inflammatory properties of D. ammoniacum gum resin exuding from its root and stem. In this study, roots, stems, leaves, flowers and gums of D. ammoniacum were collected in the spring 2018 from Birjand in South Khorasan province. After drying the samples, the essential oils were extracted by hydro distillation and their content and compositions were investigated with gas chromatography techniques. The highest and lowest yield of essential oil in D. ammoniacum was obtained for gum and roots with a value of 1.0% and 0.2%, respectively. Based on the analysis of essential oils, 73 compounds were identified in organs and gum. In roots, stems, leaves, flowers and gum essential oils 91.3 %, 97.15 %, 91.8 %, 88.4 % and 89.4 % of the total components were identified, respectively. (Z)-sabinene hydrate, (2E, 6E)-farnesol, elemicin and n-hexacosane were common compounds among all essential oils. In addition, a series of monocyclic bisabolene compounds such as α-bisabolol, Z-α-bisabolene, β-bisabolene, ar-curcumene, ar-dihydro turmerone in different organs of the D. ammoniacum essential oils. The percentage of bisabolene compounds identified in different D. ammoniacum essential oils was 35.5% for root, 3.4% for stem, 1.4% for leaf, 14.5% for flower and 8.5% for gum essential oil. The most identified compounds in the D. ammoniacum essential oil were sesquiterpene compounds.

Baneh (Pistacia atlantica Desf.) is one of the main wild species of Pistacia in Iran. The exudate of this plant is an oleo-gum-resin that comes out of the outer layer of plant bark and is called “Saghez” in Iran. In this study, the content and chemical composition of oleo-gum-resin essential oil from thirteen habitats in Iran, including: Lamerd, Gachsaran, Dehpabid, Jiroft, Marivan (Govaz, Ghamishleh, Anjiran, Haneh sheikhan), Kahnoj, Shorigeh, Dalaho, Andimeshk, Ilam were investigated. The essential oil extraction was carried out through hydro-distillation by the Clevenger apparatus for three hours. Identification and quantification of individual components were performed by GC/MS and GC-FID, respectively. The results showed that the highest and the lowest essential oil content (26.6% and 9.5%) belonged to Marivan (Govaz) and Jiroft, respectively. Also, the essential oil content of Shorigeh (25%), Marivan-Anjiran (25%), Marivan-Ghamishleh (24.6%) was desirable. In total, thirty-nine compounds were identified. α–pinene, β–pinene, camphene, sabinene, δ-2-carene, α–phellandrene, α-terpinene, ρ–cymene, cis-limonene oxide, ρ–cymenene, trans-pinocarveol, cis-isocitral, neo-iso-verbanol and myrtenal were identified as main constituents. Also, monoterpene hydrocarbons were the main group of essential oils in all samples and they formed 81.1% to 97.9% of components.

Nepeta crispa Willd. Locally known as Mofarrah belongs to Lamiaceae family. It is an Iranian endemic self-growing medicinal plant to Alvand Mountains in Hamadan province. N. crispa has carminative, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, antibacterial and antifungal properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the phytochemical composition of essential oil compounds of this plant in the vegetative stage, which cultivated in Tarbiat Modares University of Tehran at an altitude of 1283 m above sea level, and compare with samples taken from natural habitats in Arzanfood and Gashani with the altitude of 3015 and 2489 m above sea level, respectively. The plants were harvested during the late July 2018. The essential oils of all samples were obtained by hydrodistillation and were analyzed by GC-MS and GC-FID. The yield of essential oil in the sample collected from Arzanfood, Gashani and field samples were 2.13, 1.97 and 0.55% (w/w), respectively. Twenty components were identified among the samples, representing 93-96% of the oils. The main components were 1, 8-cineole (40.25%, 48.5, 49.9%), 4aα, 7β, 7aα-nepetalactone) 34.8%, 3.7%, 24.7%) and β- pinene) 6.2%, 5.4%, 5.4%) for cultivated field, Gashani and Arzanfood samples, respectively. Although the percentage of oil and 1, 8-cineole in the cultivated sample were low, but the amount of nepetalactome compounds was high. According to the results, the environmental conditions had an important role in the qualitative and quantitative changes in the essential oil of this plant but cultivation of N. crispa in a place with more than 1200 m difference in altitude, lower than the main habitat, was a promising sign for domestication of N. crispa. Optimization of other factors including, cultivation in an area close to the natural habitat, nutrition, biotic and abiotic stresses treatment could even improve the quality of this plant compared to the self-growing ones.

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara L.) from Asteraceae family is a perennial plant. T. farfara is native and widespread from Europe to Western and Northern Asia and North Africa. Coltsfoot distributed in wet mountainous regions of Iran, such as Azerbaijan, Tehran and Northern provinces. Its flowers and leaves have been used traditionally for the treatment of cough, bronchitis and phlegm disorders. T. farfara leaves and flowers have expectorant activity and are used for chronic dry cough and various pulmonary diseases. The extracts of T. farfara were shown to exhibit various activities, such as antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. Biologically active agents of T. farfara have been studied due to their antimicrobial and antioxidant characteristics.

For morphological study, the rhizomes of seven Iranian coltsfoot populations were collected in August 2016 from different regions of Iran including Pol-e zangholeh, Damavand, Firoozkooh, Nur, Deylaman, Kaleybar and Namin. The collected samples were planted in the same condition during 2016-2017 in research field of Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran (51º10ʹ23ʺ N, 35º44ʹ17ʺ E), with a randomized complete block design experiment and three replications. The average annual rainfall and temperature of cultivating place is about 220 mm and 16.4 ºC. In order to study the morphological characteristics between different samples, traits such as the number of flowers per plant, stem height, flower length, flower diameter, flower dry weight, root length, root dry weight, leaf area and leaf dry weight had been measured. Morphological traits were measured under the same conditions and for this research, were used ruler, caliper and balance. The leaves and flowers were prepared for phytochemical studies. DPPH method has been used to evaluate the antioxidant activity, and the IC50 was used to compare the antioxidant properties. The absorbance of the samples was measured at 517 nm with ELISA reader. The radical scavenging capacity (RSC) was calculated by the following formula: % In=[(Ab-As)/Ab]×100, where In is DPPH inhibition, Ab is the absorbance of the blank, As is the absorbance of samples including extracts and BHT as a positive control. The phenolic contents of different extracts were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu method and the aluminum chloride method was used to measure total flavonoid.

Analysis of variance showed that there is a significant difference between all evaluated traits in studied populations (p ≤0.01). Pol-e zangholeh population of T. farfara, has shown the best performance for all morphological traits. The results of the flowers per plant showed that the Pol-e zangholeh population was the highest and the Deylaman population had the lowest number of flowers. The maximum length of the stem was related to the Pol-e zangholeh population while the population of Namin had the smallest amount. Comparison of flower diameter showed that the Pol-e zangholeh population had the largest diameter and Nur population of all the smaller. The results of the flower length showed that the maximum flower length was related to the Pol-e zangholeh population and Deylaman population had the smallest amount of flower length. Comparison of mean of flower dry weight showed that the Pol-e zangholeh population of T. farfara had the highest value while the population of Nur had the smallest amount. Pol-e zangholeh population of T. farfara, considered as superior populations and its flowering time were earlier than the others. It was found that there is a significant difference (p ≤0.01) between different populations. This variation may be due to Population differences of People, either due to differences in environmental conditions or sometimes due to the interaction of the population and the environment. Our results also indicate the presence of comparable genetic potentials of T. farfara in these population for any further cultivar development. Analysis variance showed that there was significant difference between populations for total phenol, flavonoid and antioxidant activity (p ≤0.01) and the Nur population had the highest total phenolic content and highest antioxidant activity. Comparison of antioxidant activity of different extracts from leaves and flowers of T. farfara showed that the most antioxidant activity was related to leaf extract of Nur population with IC50 271 µg/ml closer to BHT (33 µg/ml) as a synthetic and industrial antioxidant. The least amount of this activity was related to Kaleybar leaf extract with IC50 888 µg/ml. Nur population showed the highest total phenol content with 242 mg GAE/g dried weight. Damavand population showed the highest total flavonoid content with 40 mg QE/g DW extract.

Our results indicate the presence of comparable potentials of T. farfara in these populations for any further cultivar development. Study of antioxidant activity in different habitats shows that Nur habitat is a suitable place for the cultivation of T. farfara to increase the amount of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity.

In order to study the effect of N rate and plant density on grain yield and N use efficiency of blessed thistle, a field study ‎was carried out in a randomized complete block design with factorial arrangement of treatments in three replications‏ ‏at ‎Research Field of Tarbiat Modares University in 2013 and 2014 growing seasons.‎‏ ‏Treatments comprised of four pure N ‎rates (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg N ha-1)‎‏ ‏from urea source and five plant densities (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 plants m-2).‎‏ ‏The main ‎effects of nitrogen and plant density were significant for grain yield, NUE, plant height, SPAD value, root to shoot weight ‎ratio and N content of grain. Increasing N rates increased grain yield, SPAD value, plant height and grain N, but agronomic ‎efficiency, N recovery and utilization were decreased by increasing of N rate; Higher densities resulted in decreased grain ‎yield and chlorophyll index, while improved NUE throughout increment of root to shoot weight ratio and plant height‏.‏‎ ‎Novel findings of this study could be used for N management. ‎

The white button mushroom is the world’s most widely grown culture mushroom species, that can utilize various kinds of agro industrial lingo-cellulosic waste as a substrate. selection of compost components in each region is essential factor for production of mushrooms. The objective of this study was to evaluate application of pistachio waste by utilizing as a substrate component for button mushroom production and their effects on the quality and quantity of produced mashrooms in 2013, at Tarbiat Modarres University. In this study one control (without waste), pistachio hull and shells mixed (ratio 50:50) (PH), pistachio shelling waste (PSW) and pistachio hulls (PH) were applied in three levels consisting of 25, 50 and %75 combined with substrate control in completely randomized design with four replications (40 experimental units). The results of experiments indicates that the highest yield and biological efficiency percentage was obtained from 25 and %50 of PH and PSW, that the mushrooms production on this experimental substrates were more prolific than of the control substrate. In this experiment, it was found that production of substrate with the PH in compared to the control, is not suitable to yield and biological efficiency percentage.This study demonstrated that Agaricus bisporus may successfully produce from compost containing pistachio waste.