نشریه فناوری و گیاهان دارویی ایران
سال دوم شماره 1 (پیاپی 2، بهار و تابستان 1398)

The increasing need of pharmaceutical industry, the processing of herbal medicinal products, attending to the cultivation and increasing the level of cultivation of medicinal species are quite tangible. In Iran, most of the applicable medicinal plants are harvested in their main habitats, which, in addition to increasing the pressure and degradation of the habitats, the collected product is not pure for variety of reasons and lack desirable quality. In the case of cultivating medicinal plant species and determining the amount of net income and their effective substance, they can be used as alternative cultivations for common plants in allocated areas. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to investigate the economic viability of cultivation of the medicinal plants and compare them with crops and orchards. In this research, the only medicinally important species that are cultivated in Khorasan Razavi province, such as Descurainia Sophia, Echium amoena, Cuminum cyminum, Anethum graveolens, Satureja hortensis, Alpinia officinarum and Glycyrrhiza glabra are discussed. In 2012, for collection of the data and statistics, two different methods were applied: the documentary and the survey methods. The statistical population of this study consisted the farmers who were cultivating medicinal plants in Khorasan Razavi province. The results of the research show that the cultivation of medicinal plants under the study primarily, has the cost-benefit more than one and therefore has economic benefits, and secondly, the cultivation of one hectare of herbs will require less water consumption than other crops and orchards. The results of the research further indicate that they render higher profits than any other crop. Therefore, the cultivation of the medicinal plants is recommended to the farmers.

Introducing Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) as a medicinal plant has recently been the focus of the agricultural sector, due to its adaptation to the weather conditions of Sistan and Baluchestan province. The aim of this study is to determine effective factors on willingness of farmers for growingRoselle in the villages of Sistan and Baluchestan Province. Accordingly, the type of this research is both applied and developmental with survey methodology. The statistical population of this study were chosen from the farmers in Iranshahr & Dalgan (N=170). By using Cochran's (1977) formulas the sample size was determined (n=118) and the researcher designed questionnaire was used to collect data which its validity was verified using face validity procedure and its reliability was verified by calculating Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient (0.94) through a preliminary study. The results indicated that Yield evaluation is the main factor in the continuity of Roselle cultivation. Low water requirement of the Roselle compared to the alternative crops was considered as the main beneficial feature and chilling risk was pointed out as the main barrier for Roselle cultivation. The lack of suitable infrastructure, including the regional markets, harvesting machines, technical consultation, promotional and educational services, and labor shortages are viewed as the greatest obstacles to the development of Roselle cultivation in Sistan and Baluchestan province. Therefore, the elimination of the impediments deemed to be crucial for the development of Roselle in the region.

Echinacea purpurea (L.) is one of the most important and well-known medicinal plants in the world. This powerful herb has antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. Viral diseases have become a real problem in medicinal plants cultivation. Purple coneflower could be infected by 10 different viruses and almost all of them, such as Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), are considered to be highly harmful and economically effective plant viruses. During a survey in 2018, purple coneflower plants with yellow mosaic, mottling and malformation symptoms were observed in some regions of Isfahan province. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was conducted by using specific primers and developed to detect cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) in collected samples. Amplification of 867 bp fragment in PCR confirmed the presence of a CMV in symptomatic plants. No band was amplified from healthy control. Cultivation of medicinal plants requires the safety management, in case the application of the chemical substances against the viruses and their vectors is unacceptable. That is why well-timed detection of plant viruses and information about symptoms of diseases, and the main properties of these pathogens is almost the only method of prevention of the viral infections. Therefore, permanent virological inspections, well-timed diagnostics, use of healthy seeds, removal of contaminated plants, is necessary. In addition, weeds, as a potential source of contamination, can have a significant effect on the spread of disease, hence their management is crucial to ensure the prevention and reduction of the risk of the plant diseases.

The Persian carrot is one of the medicinal plants and native herbs of dry and warm desert regions of Iran, which has been cultivated in most parts of Iran for some decades, but in the last half century, due to the arrival of modified carrots (Daucus carrota), Iranian carrot cultivation were mostly abandoned. The primary origin of the Persian carrot is the plateau of Iran, Afghanistan and the Asia Minor. In this paper, a field study was conducted in Aran and Bidgol city in order to identify the characteristics of the neglected medicinal plant of Zardak and to investigate the causes of the withdrawal of this medicinal plant from Iran's agricultural system. In this research, we tried to select five expert farmers in four farms that are currently engaged in the cultivation of Iranian yellow carrots, in addition to expressing the unique characteristics of this neglected medicinal plant, the way of cultivating this native plant in the agricultural lands of Aran and Bidgol is determined. By referring to the Iranian carrot cultivating fields during the period from 2016 to 2017, and taking notes of the phenology of this plant; the planting, keeping and harvesting stages were investigated in Aran and Bidgol farms. The results showed that Iranian carrots as an indigenous medicinal plant is not only compatible with dry and warm desert climate of Aran and Bidgol farms, but also due to its deploy ability characteristics in arable lands with water and saline soils, it displays high potential for production compared to other medicinal plants and foreign crops.

Chia (Salvia hispanica) is an annual plant of the Lamiaceae family. Its center of origin is in mountain areas of Mexico and Guatemala. Chia flour, mucilage and oil are made from Chia seeds that it is widely used in food and pharmaceutical industries. It is also used as an ornamental plant due to its beautiful flowers and is used as an animal feed due to the production of high biomass. Chia oil contains omega-3 fatty acids (67-54%) and omega-6 (12-21%), which are in the category of beneficial fat. Grain oil yield ranges from 29% to 33% depending on the area of origin of the chia, climatic conditions and the technique used for its extraction. The largest production center is located in Mexico, it currently exports seeds to Japan, USA, and Europe. Nowadays chia is commercially cultivated for 370,000 hectares in several agricultural regions worldwide, mainly in Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Mexico, Australia, Central America, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, USA, Chile, south Italy, Brazil, Ghana and India. Since there is a little information about the introduction and cultivation of this plant in Iran and the seeds of this plant are imported, therefore, this study was carried out with the aim of studying the plant's history, botany, ecological conditions required for planting, nutritional value, chemical compounds and medicinal uses to this plant was investigated and cultivated in Iran.

Iran is the main source of various valuable plants with medicinal, food and industrial properties. Plants containing extractable gum are one of the most distinguished types of these herbs. This article was aimed at introducing local gums in Iran as natural additives for increasing the shelf-life and improving the quality of the frozen part-baked bread. The effects of Balangu, basil and tragacanth gums (0. 0/3 and 0/5 %) were evaluated on technological and sensory properties of frozen bread. The results showed that native gum at 0.5% level had the ability to reduce tissue firmness, increase specific volume and moisture content and improve the sensory properties of frozen part-baked bread. Therefore, native gum can potentially be considered as the best replacement for all types of chemical additives.

The purpose of this study is to identify and investigate the investment fields in the medicinal plants of Sistan and Baluchestan province. A structured questionnaire was used for the validity and evaluation of the findings by a panel of experts and its reliability was confirmed by Aloha Cronbach index. The sample included 30 medicinal plants experts. The research findings showed that there is a significant difference between the current status of attention to different investment areas and the impact of these areas on the development of the medicinal plants industry, in such a way that the current level of attention is much less than its impact. The results confirmed that in pre-planting stage, “production of organic fertilizers” and the “production of modified seeds” were the highest priorities. On the other hand, at the stage of harvesting and storing the highest investment priorities were in two areas: "Production of special equipment and machinery for harvesting medicinal plants" and "Technology for the detection of the most appropriate harvesting time, taking into account the highest quality and most effective ingredients". At the processing stage of medicinal plants, there are also two priority areas for the “production of aromatic, oral and medicinal products and medicinal plant extracts” and “the production of equipment and processing plants for medicinal plants”. Also, two important investment priorities in packaging and transportation of the medicinal herbs  determined the standards required in the field of packaging and transportation", "technologies for assessing the compliance with international standards for the packaging of medicinal plants", in the marketing  at export stage, "Training of pharmaceutical marketing and exporters", "Development of marketing and sales of medicinal herbs", "Creation and development of marketers and exporters (with guaranteed purchasing systems, etc.)" and the "Creation of Medicinal herbs markets in each of the cities" are recognized as the main investment priorities.