ajowan

The main objective of this study was to compare the performance of ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) with the soxhlet extraction method. In this research, the extraction of ascorbic acid from ajowan seeds (Carum copticum L.) was studied and compared with the soxhlet method, based on the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The experiments consisted of four factors with three levels. A Central Composite Design (CCD) experiment was employed at powers of 100, 200, and 300 W; temperatures of 40, 50, and 60 °C; total time of 10, 20, and 30 min and pulsed time of 0, 2, and 4 s, including 30 experimental runs. The soxhlet method was considered as a control with a run time of 240 min and a boiling temperature of 85 °C. Ascorbic acid, Total Soluble Solids (TSS), and DPPH radical scavenging assay of ajowan seeds extracts were determined, and the results were analyzed by RSM. The amount of ascorbic acid, in the ultrasound method was 0.30 mg/ml more than the soxhlet method and the free radical scavenging in the ultrasound method increased by 19.86 % compared to the soxhlet method. The results of the present study demonstrate that the ultrasound assisted extraction method is an alternative affordable for yield extraction compared to the soxhlet method.Optimum extraction conditions (power 172.59 W, temperature 59.94 °C, sonication duration 21.77 min, and pulsed time 2.10 s) were obtained for extraction TSS (23.76 °Bx), DPPH (63.18 %) and ascorbic acid (0.73 mg/ml).

Salicylic acid (SA) is a phenolic compound and its foliar application shows regulatory effects on plants. In this research, Ajowan (Carum copticum) plants were treated with 0, 0.5, and 1 mM SA and proline, total phenol, chlorophylls, carotenoids, soluble sugar, N, P, and K contents were studied. Results showed that application of SA affected both quantitative and qualitative traits of Ajowan. The plants treated with SA (0.5 and 1 mM) showed higher plant height, number of umbels per plant, stem diameter, number of branch, number of seed per umbel, seed yield, a thousand kernel weight, and percentage and yield of essential oil compared to control plants. With supplementation of SA and increasing its concentration, total phenol, chlorophylls, carotenoids, and soluble sugar contents were also significantly enhanced. Results also indicated that application of SA significantly improved the amount of macro-element (N, P, and K) in Ajowan compared to untreated plants. In sum, application of SA as a foliar agent resulted in a remarkable change in morpho-physiological and biochemical traits of Ajowan plants.

Water stress and soil nutrients affect the growth of medicinal herbs as well as the quantity and quality of their essential oils. The effect of drought stress and different fertilizers on yield and morphological traits of Ajowan was studied in a split-plot experiment on the basis of a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications in Qaen, Iran. The main plot was devoted to irrigation at three levels (full or weekly irrigation in the whole period of growth-C, weekly irrigation until the beginning of stem elongation and after that every other week irrigation-S1 and weekly irrigation until the beginning of flowering and after that every other week irrigation-S2). The sub-plot was devoted to fertilization at five levels (control, NPK chemical fertilizer, Nitroxin biofertilizers֪ 2, organic fertilizer, and cattle manure). It was found that irrigation significantly affected seed yield, branch number per plant, umbel number per plant, umbellet number per umbel, seed number per umbellet and plant height. Seed yield was reduced by 37. 8% under the treatment of S1 as compared to full irrigation. The influence of fertilization treatments was significant on seed yield, umbellet number per umbel, seed number per umbellet and plant height. The treatment of chemical fertilizer resulted in the highest seed yield. In total, full irrigation accompanied with the treatment of chemical fertilizer produced the maximum seed yield. However, since chemical fertilizers are not recommended to be applied especially for medicinal herbs, it can be recommended to use biofertilizer (Nitroxin֪ 2) given the fact that its yield had no significant difference with that of chemical fertilizer.