مجله تحقیقات گیاهان دارویی و معطر ایران
سال سی و پنجم شماره 3 (پیاپی 95، امرداد و شهریور 1398)

In order to study the effect of sowing date and different amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers on the grain yield, mucilage production, nitrogen and phosphorus uptake, utilization and use efficiency in Lallemantia royleana Benth., a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in medicinal plants research center  of Shahed University. The treatments included two levels of sowing date (autumn planting in the second week of November (2013) and spring planting in the second week of March (2014)) and three levels of nitrogen and phosphorus (control (without fertilizer), 50%: Npure 23 kg ha-1 + P2O5 50.6 kg ha-1 and 100%: Npure 46 kg ha-1 + P2O5 101.2 kg ha-1). The results showed that the interaction between sowing date and fertilizer application was significant on grain yield, mucilage production, and nitrogen and phosphorus uptake, utilization and use efficiency. At 50% fertilizer in both sowing dates, the amount of grain yield and mucilage production was obtained 377.15 kg ha-1 and 23.45%, respectively. The highest nitrogen utilization and use (respectively, 33.86 and 5 kg kg-1 at 50% fertilizer) and uptake efficiency (0.13 kg kg-1 at 100% fertilizer) were obtained in autumn planting. The highest phosphorus uptake and utilization efficiency (respectively, 0.06 and 11 kg kg1) was observed at 50% fertilizer in spring planting. The results showed the importance of nitrogen in Lallemantia royleana production in both sowing dates.

In order to study the effect of irrigation water salinity on the quantity and quality of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) oil, and seed production, a field experiment was conducted in a split-plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications. The experimental treatments included fennel genotype at four levels (German P11-820065, European 11486, and two indigenous genotypes including Lorestan and Hamedan) and water salinity at three levels (2 (control), 5, and 8 dS/m). The results showed that the effect of salinity was significant on all traits except α-pinene, myrcene, and essential oil percentage. Genotypes showed no significant difference in anethole, α-phellandrene, γ-terpinene, percentage, and essential oil yield. The interaction of salinity× genotype had a significant effect on all traits. Genotype P11-820065 had the highest essential oil percentage (3.90%) and yield (91.41 kg ha-1), and seed dry yield (2359.7 kg ha-1) between genotypes at control salinity level. With increasing salinity level, the seed and essential oil yield in non-indigenous genotypes decreased by a slope more than that of indigenous genotypes. Moreover, the content of anethole as the most important essential oil component of fennel increased to 5 dS/m salinity and then decreased. Based on the results of this study, under irrigation water salinity conditions, indigenous genotypes had higher economic efficiency due to their higher resistance to salinity stress. Water salinity affected only the content of essential oil components, but had no effect on its composition.

Melissa officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) has been used as an important medicinal herb since ancient times. The study of the biosynthetic pathways of the plant medicinal metabolites is of particular importance in identifying the materials affecting these pathways in order to change the quantity or quality of the medicinal metabolites. The metabolic pathway of phenylpropanoid includes sophisticated pathways of biochemical reactions that synthesize a set of secondary plant metabolites such as flavonoids, isoflavonoids, lignins, anthocyanins, etc. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and 4-coumarate-CoA ligase (4CL) are two main enzymes of the phenylpropanoid pathway, playing a fundamental role in the biosynthesis of plant phenolic compounds. Regarding the fact that stress and environmental changes lead to changes in the expression of certain genes in plants, in this study, the gene expression of two PAL and 4CL enzymes was investigated using Real-Time PCR technique in Melissa officinalis L. grown under in vitro conditions treated by calcium chloride. Moreover, the total protein was extracted and quantitatively measured. The results showed that increasing and decreasing calcium chloride by 880 and 220 (mg l-1) caused reduced PAL gene expression and increased 4CL gene expression, respectively. Also, the total plant protein content decreased by 585 and 595 (g l-1) in 880 and 220 (mg l-1) of calcium chloride treatment, respectively. According to Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, it was found that some phenolic compounds, carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins decreased in calcium chloride treatment than the control group. These results show the effect of calcium ion on the regulation of some genes expression and the production of their metabolites. Therefore, by changing the amount of calcium, the controlled amount of plant compounds could be achieved for specific purposes.

The reduction of photosynthesis is the most important reason for the decrease in productivity under drought stress conditions. For this purpose, this research was carried out to investigate the effect of moisture stress on shoot dry matter yield, water relations, chlorophyll fluorescence, photosynthesis, and gas exchanges in Salvia sahendica L. at Mobarakeh city, Isfahan, in 2016. The treatments included irrigation intervals of 4 (control), 8, 12 and 16 days conducted in a randomized complete block design under field conditions. The results of the analysis of variance showed that the effect of irrigation intervals treatments was significant on shoot dry matter yield, water relations, chlorophyll fluorescence, photosynthesis rate, and leaf gas exchanges. Based on the results of mean comparison, with increasing irrigation interval from 4 to 16 days, photosynthesis rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, photosystem II efficiency, shoot dry matter yield, and harvest index decreased significantly by 55, 62, 73, 57, 58 and 45 percentage, and water use efficiency and gas exchanges increased significantly by 35 and 92 percentage, respectively. For the attributes mentioned above, the irrigation intervals of 8 and 12 days had no significant difference with control treatment. By increasing stress, the amount of intercellular carbon dioxide below the stomatal cells did not change significantly, but the leaf temperature increased significantly. Correlation coefficients showed that the shoot dry matter yield had a positive and significant correlation with photosynthesis and transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and photosystem II efficiency, and a negative and significant correlation with leaf temperature, gas exchanges, and water use efficiency. Regarding the absence of significant difference between the indices studied at 8 and 12-day irrigation intervals in comparison with normal irrigation regime (control treatment), it can be concluded that the irrigation interval of 12 days is an optimum irrigation regime for using this plant in arid and semi-arid regions.

In order to determine the effect of fertilizer and plant density on qualitative and quantitative characteristics of guar (Cyamopsis tetragonaloba L.), a medicinal-industrial plant, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in 2015 and 2016 crop years. Fertilizer was considered as the first factor at two levels of 60-70-70 and 90-100-100 kg ha-1 nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, respectively, and the second factor was planting density at three levels of 60, 75 and 90 plants per m2. The results showed that in the first year, the effect of fertilizer treatment levels was not significant on the traits studied except seed swelling trait. Planting density affected the number of pods significantly (1%), but had no significant effect on other traits. The interaction of fertilizer and plant density was significant on mucilage production. In the second year, the effect of fertilizer was significant only on biomass and mucilage production. Also, the effect of planting density was significant on biomass and the number of pods, and the interaction of fertilizer and planting density was significant only on the amount of mucilage. The mean comparison indicated the increase in biomass and seed yield in the second year in both factors. By reducing the plant density, the number of branches and pods per plant increased, which increased the yield. In the second year, the amount of crude protein and seed mucilage increased and decreased, respectively. In this study, the amount of seed swelling was not positively correlated with the mucilage amount. Regarding the results of the present study, as well as guar as a legume, and the possibility of supplying part of the plant nutritional needs by the plant itself, if the purpose is mucilage production, the 60-70-70 fertilizer treatment and 60 plants per m2 are recommended under similar conditions to this research.

Foliar spray of chemical and organic compounds can affect the quantitative and qualitative yield of important medicinal plants such as German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.). In order to investigate the effect of salicylic (control, 200, 400 and 600 μM) and humic (control, 200, 400 and 600 mg l-1) acids foliar spray on some quantitative and qualitative characteristics of German chamomile, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in the research farm of Khuzestan Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University in 2015. The results showed that the highest number of flowers per plant was observed in 600 μM salicylic (91) and 600 mg l-1 humic (96) acids treatments. The highest fresh flower yield (1014 g m-2) was obtained from salicylic acid (400 μM) × humic acid (600 mg l-1), which was 115% higher than that of the control treatment. The use of salicylic and humic acids had a great influence on the total antioxidant capacity and the content of flavonoids, anthocyanins, and carotenoids. The highest percentage of chamazulene (6.1%) was obtained from salicylic acid (400 μM) × humic acid (600 mg l-1) treatment, and the lowest one (4.1%) from the control treatment. In total, the best results were obtained from simultaneous application of salicylic (400 μM) and humic (600 mg l-1) acids.

Considering the importance of medicinal properties of tarragon, and its propagation problems, tissue culture techniques can be used for its propagation. The aim of this study was to compare different culture media and chemical plant growth regulators on the growth traits and secondary metabolites of tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus L.). Treatments were culture medium at three levels of Murashige and Skoog (MS), Gamborg (B5) and Schenk & Hildebrandt (SH), and growth regulators at five levels of Kinetin (KIN), NAA, and 2,4-D alone (each with a concentration of 0.5 mg l-1), and two combinations of NAA+KIN and 2,4-D+KIN. The present study was conducted as a factorial based on completely randomized design with four replications. The results showed that culture media and growth regulators treatments had significant effects on callus characteristics, regenerated plantlets, callus secondary metabolites, and plant essential oil and its composition. MS medium caused a higher callus induction percentage and more increase in its fresh and dry weight. MS with NAA+KIN and 2,4-D+KIN caused the highest regeneration percentage (35.5), root length (1.28 cm), root (6.5 g) and stem (2.6 g) dry weight, the amount of callus phenolics, and also the amount of essential oil (2.42%) and ocimene (5.78%). Estragol percentage of essential oil increased by 2,4-D, while NAA enhanced ocimene, limonene, and linalool. The percentage of limonene in treatment with NAA alone and linalool in treatment with 2,4-D+ KIN was higher than those of other treatments. The results showed that the highest growth index, callus secondary metabolites, and plant essential oil were observed in MS medium containing growth regulators. Also, the application of kinetin with NAA and 2, 4-D resulted in improved callus growth, regeneration, essential oil, and some of its compounds production in tarragon.

In order to compare native populations and commercial cultivars of guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.), a factorial experiment was conducted in three growing seasons (March 10, June 5 and August 15) in a randomized complete block design with three replications in Iranshahr city, Sistan and Baluchistan province, in 2017. Qualitative traits (the percentage of protein, carbohydrate, chlorophyll, and gum), yield and its components were measured. The results showed that the effect of planting season and genotype (native populations and commercial cultivars) on plant height was significant at 1% level. The Mean comparison showed that "Pishen" population × August 15 planting and "Grembit" population × March 10 planting interactions had the highest and lowest growth periods, respectively. The highest number of pods per plant was obtained in the interaction of "Grembit" population × 10 March planting. Also, the interactions of "Sarbaz" and "Grembit" populations × March 10 planting and "Grembit" × June 5 planting caused the highest amount of seed in the plant. The highest weight of seeds was obtained in the interactions of "Sarbaz", "Grembit" and "Dalgan" populations × March 10 planting, and the lowest one in the interactions of "HG-563" cultivar × August 15 planting and "RGC-1033" cultivar × March 10 planting. "Saravan" population on August 15 planting time had the highest carbohydrate percentage. The interactions of "Grembit" × June 5 and March 10 plantings and "RGC-986" × June 5 planting had the highest protein percentage and "RGC-986" × June 5 planting had the highest gum percentage. According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that Iranian guar populations are very important for the shortest growth period (premature), protein percentage, seed yield, number of pods per plant, and seed weight, and could be suggested in breeding programs of the species.

Plant polyphenolic compounds have long been of interest to researchers due to their antioxidant and possibly anti-cancer effects. In this research, in order to study the phytochemical diversity of 32 wild populations of Salicornia iranica Akhani grown around Lake Urmia, some traits including the content of chlorophyll, carotenoids, total phenol, total flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity were measured in the Department of Horticultural Science, Urmia University in 2016. The results revealed a wide range of phytochemical diversity among populations studied. The highest amount of total chlorophyll (12.05 mg/g fw) was observed in "Karkhaneh Maseh" population, while the lowest value (0.84 mg/g fw) was found in "Ghoshchi I" population. The highest (10.41 mg gallic acid/g fw) and lowest (3.7 mg gallic acid/g fw) amount of total phenol were observed in "Ghoshchi II" and "Karkhaneh Maseh" populations, respectively. Also, "Dashkhaneh" and "Aji Chai river" populations had the highest (2.12 mg quercetin/g fw) and lowest (0.18 mg quercetin/g fw) total flavonoids, respectively. The extract antioxidant capacity of different populations varied in the range of 3.16% ("Aji Chai river" population) to 70.89% ("Myghitalou" population). Cluster analysis divided the populations studied into three groups. The highest genetic distance was found between populations "Aji Chai river" and "Myghitalou". Overall, the findings of this experiment showed that the studied Salicornia iranica populations had a high diversity, especially from the viewpoint of antioxidant capacity, which can be used in the germplasm management and plant breeding of the species.

In order to investigate the effect of vermicompost and mycorrhizal fertilizers on Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with four replications in the research greenhouse of Agriculture College of Gonbad Kavous University in 2016-2017. The First factor was vermicompost at four levels (0, 10, 20 and 30 % of soil weight) and the second factor was inoculation with biological fertilizers at three levels (no inoculation (control) and inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi Glomus intraradieces and Glomus mosseae about 400 fungi spores per pot). The results showed that all cuttings were gradually eliminated in the treatments containing 30% vermicompost due to its high salinity, and had very low growth in treatments containing 20% vermicompost. The effect of vermicompost and mycorrhizal fungi on all traits studied, except the main effect of mycorrhizal fungi on the number of lateral branches and anthocyanins, were significant at 1% probability level. Also, their interaction was significant for all traits except stem dry weight. Based on the results, the highest positive effect was obtained in application of G. mosseae with 10% vermicompost for morphological traits such as plant height (126.63 cm) and root length (33.75 cm), and G. intraradieces with 10% vermicompost for flower (1.03 g) and root (9.93 g) dry weight and leaf area (78212 cm2) compared to no inoculation of mycorrhizal fungi at different levels of vermicompost. The highest content of chlorophylls a and b and total chlorophyll, and carotenoids (1.25‚ 1.58‚ 2.83 and 1.08 mg gr-1) was obtained in application of G. intraradieces with 10%vermicompost. The maximum content of soluble sugars (158.15 mg gr-1) was observed in 10%vermicompostwithout mycorrhizal inoculation treatment. According to the results of this study, the use of G. mosseae and G. intraradices fungi together with 10% vermicompost had the most positive effect on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Stevia rebaudiana.

In Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.), leaf and root are the most important medicinal organs containing valuable secondary metabolites. In this research, the effect of foliar application of iron chelate and nano chelate fertilizers on morpho-physiological characteristics of chicory was studied in the aeroponic system.This system is a very suitable method for investigating the effect of nutrients and improving growth and development in different plants under controlled conditions. Experimental treatments included water (control), iron chelate (0.5, 1 and 1.5 g l-1) and iron nano chelate (0.5, 1 and 1.5 g l-1) fertilizers foliar application. Foliar spray was carried out at three stages including 20, 40 and 60 days after seed culture in the aeroponic system on leaf and root ina completely randomized design with five replications. After six months, some morphological and physiological traits were evaluated. The results of ANOVA indicated that the effect of different treatments was significant on plant height, root length, number and area of leaves, fresh and dry weight of root and shoot, photosynthetic pigments and iron content of root and shoot. The results of mean comparison showed that using 1.5 g l-1 of iron nano chelate resulted in the highest plant height (173.5 cm), root length (139.7 cm), root (65.2 g) and shoot (86.1 g) dry weight, leaf area (3448.5 mm2), chlorophylls a (2.43 mg g-1) and b (1.27 mg g-1) and carotenoid (1.25 mg g-1). The control treatment produced the lowest plant height (121.5 cm), root length (92.3 cm), root (15.1 g) and shoot (50.1 g) dry weight, leaf area (2259.6 mm2), chlorophylls a (1.46 mg g-1) and b (0.85 mg g-1) and carotenoid (0.76 mg g-1). In general, the results of this experiment showed a positive effect of iron nano chelate (with a concentration of 1.5 g l-1) foliar spray on the traits studied.

Dog rose (Rosa canina L.) is one of the most valuable medicinal plants belonging to Rosaceae, which is distributed in different parts of Iran. In this study, the fruit of different populations of the species was collected from Khorramabad, Noorabad, Aleshtar, Dorud and Aligudarz cities of Lorestan province, and evaluated for morphological and phytochemical traits in a completely randomized design with six replications. The traits included the fresh weight of fruit, fresh and dry weight of flesh, seed weight per fruit, flesh width, the content of phenols and flavonoids, ascorbic acid content and oil percentage. The results of ANOVA indicated that all traits studied (except flesh width) were significantly affected by the region. According to the mean comparison results, Noorabad population had the highest amount of fruit dry weight (0.95 g), seed weight per fruit (1.11 g), fruit length (24.96 mm), flavonoids (22.18 and 16.29 µg routine/ mg dry extract, respectively in ethanolic and methanolic extracts) and phenols (50.81 and 25 µg gallic acid/ mg dry extract, respectively in ethanolic and methanolic extracts) content, and ascorbic acid (0.42) and oil (14.56) percentage. There was a positive and significant correlation between ascorbic acid and oil percentage with fruit dry weight and seed weight per fruit. Therefore, it can be concluded that the bigger fruits are probably more nutritious and more medicinal, and maybe, this correlation can be used for selective selection of superior dog rose ecotypes based on morphological traits. According to the results of the present research, Noorabad population can be recommended as the superior ecotype for future breeding programs of the species.

In order to study the effect of plant density on some quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Thymus pubescens Boiss. & Kotschy ex Celak under rainfed conditions, a field experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in three different dry farming regions of the country during two years. Experimental treatments consisted of plant density (25, 35 and 50 cm between plants on rows equal to 8, 6 and 4 plant/m2, respectively), time (first and second year after planting) and location (East Azarbayjan, Kordestan, and Tehran). The traits including plant height, canopy diameter, dry matter yield of aerial parts, essential oil yield and content were measured at full flowering stage. The results of ANOVA indicated the significant effect of density, location and time and their interaction on all traits studied. The highest dry matter yield (1147 kg ha-1) was obtained in both two years in Tehran at 8 plant/m2. Kordestan with 2.25% and East Azarbayjan with 0.43% had the highest and lowest essential oil percentage, respectively. In density × location interaction, the highest amount of essential oil yield was obtained in Kordestan (21.73 kg ha-1) and Tehran (17.88 kg ha-1) at a density of 8 plant/m2. Thymus pubescens showed higher dry matter and essential oil yield under high plant density, indicating the establishment and adaptation of the species to different rainfed regions of the country especially Damavand and Kordestan.