mohammadhosein bijeh keshavarzi

Artemisia annua, a medicinal plant with a history dating back over two millennia, has been recognized in ancient Asian and European medical texts as a remedy for a wide range of ailments. The World Health Organization (WHO) has endorsed this plant for the treatment of malaria. Traditionally, decoctions of the whole plant have been used to treat diseases such as malaria, cough, and cold. The dried leaf powder is employed to treat diarrhea. The entire flowering plant exhibits a multitude of therapeutic properties, including anthelmintic, antipyretic, antiseptic, and digestive aid. In addition, it can invigorate the body and improve gastric function. Artemisia annua contains a highly significant compound, artemisinin, which serves as the primary constituent of medications used globally to treat malaria. Furthermore, research has demonstrated artemisinin's ability to eradicate breast cancer cells. Tea prepared from Artemisia annua is utilized to manage HIV/AIDS. Recent scientific studies have extensively investigated the plant's antiviral effects on the HIV virus. Given the widespread prevalence of AIDS worldwide, these studies hold immense importance. Through this review, we aim to illuminate the significance and therapeutic applications of Artemisia annua. It is our hope that this study will contribute to a deeper understanding of this plant and its role in promoting public health.

In modern agriculture, identifying salt-tolerant plants is crucial for efficient utilization of saline water and enhancing productivity. However, plant salt tolerance can vary across different growth stages. Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), an annual herb belonging to the Lamiaceae family, not only imparts an exquisite flavor to our meals but also possesses remarkable medicinal properties and diverse applications. Given the significance of basil and the widespread challenge of soil salinity, a research study was conducted to investigate the effect of salinity stress on germination and seedling characteristics of basil. This experiment was designed as a completely randomized block design with 4 replications in the Agronomy Laboratory. 4 salinity levels (0, 50, 100, and 150 mM) were imposed using sodium chloride salt. All data were analyzed using the SAS software. Mean comparisons were performed using Duncan's test at a 5% probability level. The results demonstrated that soil salinity significantly impacted basil germination and seedling growth. The highest percentage and rate of germination, stem and root length, and fresh and dry weight of seedlings were observed in the control treatment (without salinity). Conversely, the lowest values of these parameters were recorded in the 150 mM salinity treatment. These findings indicate that basil is sensitive to salinity stress, and increasing soil salinity substantially impairs its germination and growth.

Recently the use of plant products instead of chemical materials is one of the most important needs of the modern civilization in terms of human health. On the other hand, drought is one of the abiotic environmental stresses that reduce the performance of the products. The objective in this study was to assess the effect of nutri-priming with (control, Fe, Zn, Fe + Zn, nano- Fe, nano- Zn, and nano- Fe + nano- Zn) on quinoa seed germination indices and physiological characteristics in PEG 6000 (polyethylene glycol), drought condition (0, -3, -6, -9 and -12 atm). Results indicated that the effect of drought in nutri-priming were significant on germination percentage, germination rate, mean of germination time, germination uniformity, seedling length, seedling length index, seedling weight, seedling weight index and photosynthetic pigments. Drought stress decreased the percentage and rate of germination and seedling indexes, however, nutri-priming reduces the adverse effects of drought stress. Drough also reduced the amount of photosynthetic pigments, in spite of all that this decrease was very low in terms of nutri-priming with Fe, Zn, Fe + Zn, nano- Fe, nano- Zn, and nano- Fe + nano- Zn) in high drought level (-12 atm). drought stress increased, mean of germination time, germination uniformity, that nutri-priming especially with the control more increased. The finding of this study leads to the conclusion that nutri-priming with nutrients, especially nano- Fe + nano- Zn increased the germination indices of the plant to improve germination and seedlings growth of quinoa under drought stress.

This study aims to investigate the effect of priming treatments (control without priming, hydropriming, priming with 0.25% potassium nitrate and priming with 0.5% potassium nitrate) on the germination characteristics of sugar beet cultivars and growth characteristics under five levels of salinity (0, 4, 8, 12, and 16 dS/m) on germination and seedling growth in four replicates in a petri dish in laboratory conditions as a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design. The results showed that the effect of seed priming and salinity stress on the average germination time, germination speed coefficient, germination variance, germination uniformity, root length, stem length, stem and root dry weight, water content relatively, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoids were significant. The results showed that in all three genotypes, the number of germinated seeds decreased with the increase in salinity level, and in the control levels and the use of water as a priming factor, this decrease was moderated. With the increase of salt concentration up to 12 ds level, the relative water content increased sigmoidally and showed a relatively stable trend at two levels of 12 and 16 ds. In most of the investigated traits, Shokofa variety has shown less reaction than other genotypes. In the investigation of the reaction process of genotypes to the speed, variance and homogeneity of germination in prime and salinity levels, it has shown a decrease with increasing salinity concentration.

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bert.) is an important source of natural sugar, for the use of people, especially those with diabetes. However, there is no data on the growth of stevia under drought conditions affected by plant growth regulators (PGR). A two-year experiment using 5 kg pots was conducted under field conditions. The objective was to determine the morphological properties of stevia affected by the foliar use of iron (FeSO4, 4 mg/L), zinc (ZnSo4, 3 mg/L), and salicylic acid (1 mM) under different levels of drought stress including control (field capacity, 0.5 atm), 3.5, 6.5, and 10 Atm. Soil water potential was investigated during the experiment using an eco-tensiometer, set with a computer. Different plant morphological properties including plant height (PH), number of leaf per plant (NLP), number of stem per plant (NSP), aerial part fresh weight (AFW), aerial part dry weight or biological yield (ADW), leaf dry weight (LDW), stem dry weight (SDW), and the ratio of LDW/ SDW were determined. Stress, PGR, and their interactions significantly affected the measured parameters. Accordingly, drought stress significantly decreased stevia growth, and there was not much of difference among different growth-related factors, under the stress, as they followed a similar trend of growth. The reduction of different growth parameters at the highest level of stress was in the range of 57-76%, related to the control. However, the use of PGR, especially the combined treatments, significantly increased the growth of the stressed plants related to the control treatment, with an increase range of 9.14-22.61% by the triple treatment. Among the single treatments, the iron treatment, and among the combined treatments, the combination of the three PGR, followed by Fe+Zn was the most effective ones. It is possible to increase stevia growth under drought stress using the PGR including Zn, Fe and salicylic acid tested in this research.

Salinity stress is a significant factor that imposes limitations on the growth and productivity of crops. Like other living organisms, plants are susceptible to various stresses and can suffer damage when exposed to them.Under conditions of salinity stress, the stages of germination and seedling growth become particularly crucial in the life cycle of plants.Artemisia annua L., an important medicinal plant with a long history of use in traditional Iranian and other Asian medicine, was the subject of investigation in this research.The aim was to examine the impact of salinity stress on the germination process(both in terms of percentage and rate)and the characteristics of seedlings(such as radicle length,plumule length, fresh weight, and dry weight)in Artemisia annua L.The study was carried out in 2023,employing a completely randomized design with four replications at the Department of Agronomy in Shahid University.The experimental treatments consisted of four levels of salinity(0,50,100,and150 mM)induced by sodium chloride salt.The data obtained were analyzed using SAS software, and the means were compared utilizing the Duncan test at a 5%probability level.The findings of this experiment demonstrated that the control treatment(without salinity)exhibited the highest percentage and speed of germination, as well as the longest radicle and plumule lengths, and the greatest fresh and dry weights of the seedlings.Germination was not observed at concentrations of 150mM and higher.Hence, based on the outcomes of this study, it can be concluded that salinity stress has an adverse impact on the germination process and seedling growth of Artemisia annua L.,revealing the plant's heightened sensitivity to salinity.