Plant Biotechnology Persa
Volume:3 Issue: 2, Summer and Autumn 2021

The study assessed the hepatoprotective and therapeutic effects of methanol extract of Asystasia gangetica leaves (MEAGL) on rats induced liver injury with monosodium glutamate (MSG).

In this study, fifty-four rats were selected into nine groups, with each of the groups having six rats. Group 1 was the negative control; group 2 was a positive control treated only with MSG, and group 3 was group treated with MSG + 100 mg/kg/day of silymarin. Groups 4 and 5 were extract groups administered with 200 and 500 mg/kg MEAGL/day, whereas groups 6 and 7 were hepatoprotectant groups pre-treated with 200 and 500 mg/kg MEAGL/day before MSG administration. Groups 8 and 9 rats were the therapeutic groups firstly treated with MSG and then orally administered with 200 and 500 mg/kg MEAGL/day, respectively.

The positive group treated with MSG only had significantly (P < 0.05) elevated alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities relative to the negative control. MSG induction further caused a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in total protein and albumin concentrations and elevated total and direct bilirubin concentrations of the positive control relative to the negative control. In the groups of MEAGL pre-treated rats as well as the rats treated with MEAGL after being treated with MSG, significantly (P < 0.05) reduced ALT, AST and ALP activities and elevated total protein and albumin concentrations and improved liver architecture compared with the positive group treated only with MSG, were observed.

The findings revealed that the MEAGL possess both hepatoprotective and therapeutic activities that could ameliorate MSG-induced hepatic disorders.

Varthemia persica Dc. (Compositae) is an aromatic plant which is used as anti-spasmodic, anti-emetic and for some kidney conditions. In the present study of the chemical composition of the leaf and stem oils of the plant collected from south Khorasan province (Iran). The essential oils were obtained by hydro distillation method and were analyzed using the GC and GC-MS techniques. The efficiency of extracting (w/w%) are 0.93 and 0.37 on a dry weight basis for the leaf and stem oils respectively. In the leaf oil, forty-two compounds were identified that accounting to 84.63 % of the total oil. The major compounds were, naphtha[2,3-b] oxirene, dehydrate-(22.90%), cysteinyl-acetate (21.36%), isolongifolene,7,8-dehydro-8a-hydroxy (8.73%), and Unknown constituents (0.84%). The main components among the thirty constituents characterized in the stem oil representing 45.41% of the total components detected, naphtha[2,3-b] oxirene, decahydrate (10.12%), isolongifolene,7,8-dehydro-8a- hydroxy (9.66%), bicycle [3.1.1] hept-2-en-4-ol,2,6,6-trimethyl-acetate (8.15%).  It seems that the leaf oil is a sesquiterpene-rich essential oil (43.26%). In leaf essential oil, the percentage of oxygenated terpenoids is 68.20 % which is an indicative of their antibacterial properties. The leaf sample’s essential oil is of the best quality compared to stem oil sample.

Recently, mathematical modeling and computer expertise are advancing hastily. Their progression has been smooth sailing. The advancements have expedited and speeded up our scientific analyses. Hence, it is fruitful and essential to take advantage of the opportunities. Leaf area is among the most important plant properties which are directly related to ecological and physiological variables of a plant including leaf area index, light interception, evapotranspiration, photosynthesis, and growth. Thus, its calculation is extremely important. In this study, leaf area of species typica tress in Citrus and Subtropical Fruits Research Institute of Iran named Kotra Germplasm Bank include Orange (Citrus sinensis), Mandarin (Citrus reticulata), Lime (Citrus aurantifolia), and Lemon (Citrus lemon) were estimated using a non-destructive method Artificial neural network (NN) and by measuring quantitative leaf variables including width, length and a combination of width and length. For this purpose, four genera from each species were chosen and 200 leaves from different parts of their crown were collected. The width and length of the leaves were measured in the lab using a ruler, and their area was measured by a leaf area meter. This disquisition answered if GMDH-type NN was able to be applied to assess the area of the leaf as deferent according to particular variables consisting of a leaf with and leaf length. The average width, length, and area of leaves values significantly differed among the studied species as per the results.GMDH type NN provides a thriving tool for efficient detection of the model in data and precisely anticipating a proceeds indicator based on search input data and it’s able to be used to predict leaf area according to width and length.

Due to different cultures and areas for the use of medicinal plants, there are various customs and traditional valuable methods that botany offers for finding new medicinal plants and herbal medicines. Lack of useful and effective drugs for itching and skin inflammation leads to the expansion of research on effective and natural remedies for patients. For this systematic review, databases such as Web of Science, PubMed, PubMed Central, Scopus, SID, Magiran, and Google Scholar were used to access articles on skin pruritus as well as the role of herbs in treating pruritus without release time limit. Words that were used separately in the title to retrieve articles as keywords included herbs, traditional medicine, herbal medicine and itching. This article lists 19 plant species that are used in different parts of Iran as anti-pruritic herbal remedies. According to traditional Iranian ethnobotanical sources, Carthamus oxyacantha, Castor, Fumaria officinalis, Ziziphus, Milkvetch, Gallium verum, Trifolium repens, Fumaria asepala Boiss, Rumex chalepensis Mill, Salix elbursensis Boiss, Solanum nigrum, Chris, Verbascar citrulluscolocynthis, Matricaria recutita, Falcaria vulgaris Bernh and Anagallis arvensis are the most important medicinal plants used in Iranian ethnobotanical sources to treat pruritus. We believe that this study of the identification of antipruritic herbs is of great importance to society.

Diabetes is a degenerative disease caused by an unhealthy lifestyle. In Indonesia, diabetes is the third leading cause of death. Elevated blood sugar (hyperglycemia) is one of the clinical features of this disease. Indonesia's biodiversity has abundant potential for herbal plants. Red betel leaf is one of the promising herbal plants (Piper crocatum). Alkaloids, saponins, tannins, and flavonoids are one of the phytochemical components found in red betel leaves. This research is used as a medium of renewable information that is supported from several previous reference sources to strengthen the evidence of the benefits obtained from red betel leaf as an antihyperglycemic agent. This study uses a literature review method using journal database platforms such as Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect as search engines for journals related to this article. The potential activity of red betel leaf as an antihyperglycemic drug that can lower blood glucose was found from the findings collected from various journal sources and related research. Red betel leaf contains flavonoid compounds that are antioxidants. Antioxidants can bind to hydroxyl radicals that damage pancreatic cells of the islets of Langerhans, enabling these substances to activate insulin activity and treat diseases such as gout, cancer, hypertension, and diabetes. Red betel leaf has candidate effective compounds that have the potential as antihyperglycemic agents through the mechanism of lowering blood glucose.

Medicinal plants are useful in perfumery, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Recognition of compounds and functional groups of these plants helps to more understand their structure, medicinal and therapeutic applications. Essential oils and extracts are used to recognition structure. One of these spectroscopic methods for identifying functional groups in medicinal plants is Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectroscopy. This study aimed to identify the functional groups of medicinal plants of Oliveria decumbent native to Ilam by the FTIR method. Based on the results obtained, it was determined that this plant includes 15 spectra including groups O-H, C-H, C = O, C = C, N-O, C-O, C-N, and C-I. So, the present study concluded that the Oliveria decumbens possessed strong functional groups.

Chamomile is one of the most important and oldest medicinal plants in the world known to man. The main origin and center of the gene pool of this plant is the Mediterranean region, especially Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate the drug interaction of chamomile with routine chemical drugs. Consumption of chamomile with anticoagulants, sedatives, drugs requiring GI absorption, and iron supplementations causes drug interactions. Concomitant use of chamomile with these chemicals should be used with caution to prevent drug interactions and side effects.

The human intestinal microbiota is a collection of microorganisms that reside in the gastrointestinal tract and there is a direct link between the presence of beneficial microbiota and the development of immune function, the nervous system and the host metabolic pathways.  Probiotics are known to be non-pathogenic microorganisms that, if taken in sufficient amounts, can have health effects. Therefore, consumption of foods or supplements containing post-biotic compounds is one of the most important strategies to balance the microbiota and to improve the health of the host. Evidence suggests that post-biotics do not require survival compared to their parent probiotic cells and can produce health-like effects similar to probiotics. Also, the production and use of post-biotics is safer, more stable and more cost-effective. Post-biotics have biological activity, including immune modulating, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancer activity.  Clinical studies also confirm the efficacy of probiotics as an effective factor in improving the treatment of a wide range of diseases such as ulcerative colitis, acute infectious diarrhea, antibiotic resistant diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, necrotic enteritis, liver disorders, and gastrointestinal cancers. In this study, a review of the concept of post-biotics and classification of post-biotics has been done based on type and chemical composition and physiological activities and promising effects on prevention or improvement in treatment methods as well as delaying spoilage and increasing shelf life in food products.

Hair loss is one of the problems that affects both men and women in different ages. This hair loss can have many causes. Some are caused by treatable problems and for some no effective cure has yet been found. Lawsonia inermis, Spinacia oleracea, Nigella sativa, Cinnamomum verum, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Matricaria chamomilla, Thymus vulgaris, Allium sativum, Allium stipitatum, Arctium lappa, Linum usitatissimum, Aloe vera, Zingiber officinal, Altighaber officinale, Lavandula angustifolia, Mentha piperita, Salvia officinalis, Ocimum basilicum, Urtica dioica, and Achillea millefolium stimulate hair growth and treat baldness. It can be said that the use of herbal medicines that are from natural sources do not have the side effects of chemical medicines. Herbal hair loss treatment products usually affect hair follicles and also regulate scalp fat or increase the health of hair grafts and prevent hair loss.

Prostatitis can occur at any age, after its enlargement, it puts pressure on the urinary tracts and causes urinary symptoms.  Factors influencing the prevalence of prostatitis include age, genetic, diet, cancer, hormonal factors, and environmental factors. A microbial infection often causes prostatitis. In this systematic review, we tried to report the most important herbal medicines that have been mentioned for prostate treatment in Iranian ethnobotanical documents.   Some keywords have been used, such as prostate, prostate inflammation, medicinal plants, ethnobotany, identification of medicinal plants. Also some Iranian Databases have been used, such as ISI Web Science, PubMed, Scopus, ISC, SID, and Google Scholar to review articles and resources. Ethnobotanical knowledge has a solution for treating this disease. Based on the results obtained in Iranian ethnobotanical documents, Lamium album L., Origanum vulgare, Silybum marianum (L.) Gaerth., Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers., Polygonum aviculare L., Urtica dioica L., Alhagi persarum Boiss. & Buhse., Eremurus persicus (Jaub. & Spach) Boiss., Gundelia tournefortii, Myrtus communis L., Tribulus Terrestris L., and Physalis divaricata D. Don are the most important herbal medicines used in Iranian ethnobotanical sources for prostate treatment. Aim of this systematic review, was to report the most important medicinal plants for prostatitis treatment mentioned in Iranian ethnobotanical documents.

Rhus coriaria L. (Anacardiaceae), generally known as sumac, is a commonly used powder spice, condiment, and flavoring agent, especially in the Mediterranean region. Owing to its bountiful beneficial values, R. coriaria (RC) has been used in traditional medicine for the management and treatment of many ailments including hemorrhoids, wound healing, diarrhea, and reduction of blood sugar, cholesterol and uric acid levels. R. coriaria is rich in various classes of phytochemicals including polyphenol compounds, flavonoids, anthocyanins, tannins, organic acids, and many others. By virtue of its bioactive, R. coriaria possesses powerful antioxidant capacities that have ameliorative and therapeutic benefits for many common diseases including neurodegenerative disease, diabetes, and cancer. The purpose of this study is a brief review of the effects of R. coriaria on diabetes, cancer, hyperlipidemia, as well as the study of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of this plant. Due to its mineral elements, neurotransmitters, organic acids and high antioxidant ability, Sumac plant can cause significant changes in various organs of the body when consumed.  To sum up, the findings summarized here can be used as a useful dietary supplement and an attractive target for drug discovery.

This investigation examines empirical knowledge about the effect of stress oxidative and the advantageous and harmful role of produced antioxidants on animal reproduction in both sexes. An antioxidant treatment is impressive in barricade stress oxidative. Although many improvements have been made regarding use of antioxidants to reduce oxidative stress, there are still debatable issues. Since many studies on the use of plant extracts containing antioxidants showed inappropriate results in a variety of identical animal species, the plant-produced antioxidants may have beneficial or harmful effects on reproduction of animals, including spermatogenesis sperm and ovary tumors, ovulation cycles, fetal growth, and pregnancy. Accordingly, achieving accurate results requires more studies.