وحید روشن سروستانی

Moringa oleifera, is a medicinal, fast-growing and perennial plant that grows in almost all tropical and subtropical regions and can tolerate a vast range of rainfall conditions. This survey was carried out as a factorial on a completely randomized design, in order to investigate the impact of foliar spraying of Cu nanoparticles (0, 5, 10 and 20 ppm) on the physiological traits and the content of phytochemical compounds of Moringa plants under sodium chloride salinity (0, 3.9, 7.8 and 11.7 dS/m). Based on the findings, ion leakage was enhanced under salinity stress, and treatment via nano-Cu reduced the parameter. Thus, the highest (75.01%) and the lowest (38.62%) ion leakage were recorded at the highest salinity level without nanoparticle application and the control treatment (without salinity stress and no nanoparticle application), respectively. The results illustrated an improvement in the anthocyanin, phenol, flavonoid and antioxidant activity of moringa leaves under salt-treated plants and nano-Cu. Therefore, the highest content of anthocyanin (4.68 µmol/g FW), phenol (16.02 mg of gallic acid/g FW), flavonoid (0.83 mg quercetin/g FW), and antioxidant activity (86.71 μg/ml) were obtained under 11.7 dS/m of salinity and 20 ppm of nano-Cu. A phytochemical investigation of leaf extract compounds indicated that salinity declined Caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid, while foliar spraying with nano-Cu enhanced them. Hence, the highest amount of caffeic acid was recorded at different levels of nano-Cu under no salt treatment and the lowest amount (1.09 mg/L) at the highest level of salinity without applying nano-Cu. In addition, the highest amount of chlorogenic acid (22.5 mg/L) was observed under no-salt treatment with the application of 20 ppm of nano-Cu and the lowest amount (2.6 mg/liter) at 7.8 dS/m Salt without the presence of nano-Cu. In general, nano-Cu improved the tolerance of Moringa to salt stress by boosting the compounds involved in the biosynthesis of antioxidants and other physiological traits, as well as the secondary metabolites of the plant.

To investigate the effects of Zinc-salicylic acid nano-complex and storage time on horticultural and phytochemical properties of Thymus daenensis Celak, a factorial experiment was conducted based on a randomized complete block design. Foliar spraying was done in two stages 15 days after establishment, at levels of zero, 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5% by volume. After harvesting and storage during periods of 0, 2, 4 and 6 months at room temperature, quantitative and qualitative changes in essential oil, phenolic compounds content and antioxidant activity of shoots were studied. Based on the foliar application of zinc-salicylic acid nanocomplex by 0.3%, it increased plant height, fresh weight, dry weight, flower height, leaf length, leaf width and wet to dry weight ratio, respectively, compared to the control without foliar application by 32.5, 26.7, 19.2, 38.3, 22.2 and 27.08%, respectively. Storage time had no significant effect on the percentage of essential oil. Concentration of 0.3% nanocomplex increased the essential oil by 0.822% compared to the control. The effect of interaction between nanocomplex concentration and storage time on the percentage of essential oil was not significant. The predominant compounds were essential oil, Carvacrol, Thymol, p-Cymene and Borneol. The highest antioxidant activity of plant extract was related to the interaction of foliar application of zinc-salicylic acid nanocomplex with a concentration of 0.1% and storage for 60 days. Treatment with zinc-salicylic acid nanocomplex (at a concentration of 0.3%) improved vegetative characteristics and storage time and increased the percentage of essential oil.

Iran is one of the richest sources of medicinal plants in the world due to its high climatic diversity. Cumin is one of the most important and economical medicinal plants of the Umbelliferae family, which has a high distribution in different parts of the country and is one of the most important export plants of Iran. This study was conducted to investigate the quantitative and qualitative diversity of cumin essential oil in Khorasan Razavi province in 2018-2019. For this purpose, seeds were collected from farms in 6 different regions of the province at the harvest time. Seeds were extracted by water distillation for 2 hours. Gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC / MS) devices were used to identify the essential oil compounds and determine their percentage. Nine compounds in the essential oils of Gonabad (N1), Neishabour (N2), Taybad (N3) and Khoshab (N4), 15 compounds in the essential oils of plants in Fariman region (N5) and finally 13 compounds in the essential oils of Dargaz region (N6) were identified. In total, 9 compounds; gamma-terpinene-7-al, cuminaldehyde, terpinene-4-ol, gamma-terpinene, α-phellandrene, p-cymene, sabinene, β-Pinene, α-Pinene were common in cumin essential oil extracted from 6 regions of Khorasan Razavi province. The two compounds cis-dihydrocarvone and (E) -Caryophyllene were identified exclusively in region (N5) with of 0.45% and 0.19%, respectively. α-thujene, α-terpinene, limonene and 1,8-cineol were obtained only from essential oils of (N5) and (N6).

Abstract Satureja is belonging to the family Lamiaceae. Satureja bachtiarica Bunge. is one of the endemic species. In this study, aerial parts of S. bachtiarica were colleted in full flowering stages from six populations of Fars Province and after were dried in laboratory conditions, the essential oils (EOs) and extracts were obtained by hydrodistillation and macetation methods. Chemical compositions of the EOs were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS and the phenolic contents were determined by HPLC analysis. EO yields were from 1.1 to 2.4 % (w/w) based on dried material. The major constituents of the EOs were thymol ( 10.9-49.8 %), carvacrol (1.1-49.7 %), p-cymene (18.0-32.8 %), γ-terpinene (4.3-7.5 %), linalool (3.3-5.1 %) and caryophyllene oxide (1.6-2.3 %). Among six populations, the EOs from the Kohanjan and Abadeh-Didegan populations had the highest thymol and carvacrol amount (49.8 and 49.7 %), respectively. Narengenin, carvacrol, hesperedin, eugenol, hesperetin, rosmarinic acid and thymol were the main phenolic copmounds in six studied regions. These results showed that variation of ecological characters had effect on quality of S. bachtiarica EOs and extracts.

The aim of medicinal plant storage is to preserve qualitative and quantitative properties of active substance. Carum copticum fruits (Zenyan in Persian) were used for its therapeutic effects. Seed storage condition after harvest till to extraction time is not suitable in our country and the major part of seed quality deteriorates during the storage period. So, the loss of seed qualitative and quantitative characteristics will increase during unsuitable storage condition. Appropriate storage conditions and management preserve seed active substance, seed viability and vigor for long periods by reducing the rate of seed deterioration. Optimal seed storage can be achieved by modifying the environment around the seeds. Numerous storage systems have evolved over the years for post harvest preservation of crop seeds. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of various storage conditions and storage time on essential oil percentage and germination factors in C. copticum seeds during the storage period. The results of this research will be used for optimum storage of these seeds to better preserve their quality.
In order to investigate the effects of storage conditions (packaging materials and temperature) and storage time on quality of C. copticum stored seeds, a split-plot factorial arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications is performed in Faculty of Agriculture at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during 2013 and 2014.Tukey's range test was performed to determine the significant difference between treatments. The calculations were conducted by JMP 8 software. Temperature) at two levels: 20±3°C and 30±3°C( as main plots and packaging materials (at six levels: paper, polyethylene, aluminum foil under vacuum condition, Polyethylene-polyamide packages under vacuum condition, Polyethylene-polyamide packages with a gas composition of [98%N2 2%O2] and [90%N2 %O2] ) and storage periods (at four levels: 0, 3, 6 and 9 months) as sub plots were considered. Seed samples were taken randomly from each package at four times period. Essential oil percentage, seed weight, gas composition in packages with modified atmosphere and seed germination factors (seed germination percentage (SGP), germination rate (GR), mean germination time (MGT), and germination Index (GI)) were evaluated during this nine months Storage.
The highest weight loss was 2/43% in the paper bags stored at 30°C at the fourth to sixth months especially in the fifth month. Aluminum foil package under vacuum condition stored at 30°C had the lowest weight and minimum weight changes during nine months of storage, so it was the best packages compared to others. The results show that Polyethylene-polyamide packages and Aluminum foil packages under vacuum condition are almost impermeable to air and moisture. Increasing weight at 20°C may be due to accumulation of water vapor from the respiration during early period of storage. Seed germination test provides an indication about seedling vigor as well as performance of seed in the field. In most cases, performance relates to the ability of seeds to germinate and produce a seedling that will emerge from the soil and development into a healthy vigorous plant. Packages with different combinations of gas (2% and 10% oxygen) at 30°C,aluminum foil under vacuum condition and Polyethylene-polyamide packages with a gas composition of [98%N2 2%O2] at 20°C were packages with higher germination percentage after nine months storage. Based on this results, it appears that packaging materials and storage temperature did not show any significant difference on essential oil percentage and further changes in the amount of oil related to duration of storage. Kumar et al. (2013) showed that the essential oil content and composition were affected by harvest time and storage conditions. Kazaz et al. (2009) investigated the effect of different storage temperatures (0◦C and 3◦C) and durations (7, 14, 21 and 28 days) on oil yield and essential oil components of oil rose (Rosa damascena Mill.). Their results showed that the effect of storage temperatures on oil content were not significant whereas the effect of storage duration was significant and it was similar to our results.
Essential oil percentage as the most important property of Carum copticum and germination percentage decreased significantly with increasing of storage period. Finally, results show that Polyethylene-polyamide packages with a gas composition of [98%N2 2%O2] and [90%N2 %O2] in 9 months storage time and 30±3°C storage temperature preserve qualitative properties better than other conditions. Whereas, aluminum foil package under vacuum condition and 20±3°C storage temperature are recommended for 6 month storage time.

Medicinal and aromatic plants can play an important role in commercial crops, which also represent a safe alternative for chemical pharmaceutical industries. St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) due to its therapeutic efficacy has been used for decades in folk medicine and is considered as a promising medicinal plant with valuable potential as a source of hypericin, essential oils and antioxidants. Studies on agronomic factors such as application of potassium and humic acid as well as nitrogen fertilization on yield, essential oil and antioxidant activity of Hypericum perforatum have not been investigated thoroughly until now. This study was designed to study the effect of using humic acid and potassium sulphate on morphological and phytochemical characteristics of Hypericum perforatum.
The plant material was prepared from Science and Technology Park in Khorasan-e Razzavi–Mashhad. In spring, the plants were transplanted into the field of Horticulture department, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, for fertilizing treatments. The experimental layout was factorial in a complete randomized design (CRD), with three replications. Potassium Sulphate (K2SO4) was applied at the rates of 0.0 (K0), 60 (K60) and 100 (K100) kg ha-1. The other treatment were humic acid, which was applied at three rates 0 (H0), 20 (H20) and 40 (H40) L ha-1. Plants were treated at two stages, before flowering by potassium fertilizer and fertigated four times in 15-day intervals with humic acid. Besides the fresh and dry weight, number of flowers, stem height and number of flowering stems were determined at the end of the growing stage.
The ANOVA indicated that most of measured attributes of Hypericum perforatum plant were significantly affected by both treatments. Data presented revealed that the highest stem (91.6 cm) was recorded at the highest level of potassium sulphate (K100) treatment, while the shortest height (60.4 cm) was recorded at the lowest level of potassium sulphate (K0) treatment. On the other hand, the highest stem (80.33 cm) was achieved with the highest level of humic acid treatment. No significant difference was observed between the highest level of humic acid (H40) and the second level (H20), while both mentioned levels showed a significant difference with control (H0). This means that the control plants possessed the lowest stem height (66.7 cm). The DPPH method for evaluation of antioxidant activity reflects the ability of the present compounds to scavenge hydrophilic free radicals. DPPH inhibition was investigated and the results were evaluated as relative activities against α-tocopherol as positive control. A lower EC50 indicates a higher antioxidant activity. As it is shown, the least EC50 which indicates the highest antioxidant activity belonged to plants treated with potassium sulphate at (100 kg.ha-1). Control plants possessed the least antioxidant activity and showed no significant difference compared with plants treated with 60 kg.ha-1 of this fertilizer. Humic acid had a significant effect on antioxidant activity of H. perforatum. The lowest value of EC50 was related to the highest level of humic acid, while the highest value of EC50 was obtained from control plants. There was also significant difference between control and two other levels (20 and 40 L ha-1) of humic acid. Applied fertilizers at their high levels showed significant effects on EC50 decrease, which means the increment of antioxidant activity of H. perforatum. The high antioxidant activity of this medicinal plant is the reason of flavonoids and phenols existence. It seems that application of these fertilizers have led to increment of the mentioned secondary metabolites and followed by an increase of antioxidant activity in comparison with control plants. Totally, H. perforatum possessed a high antioxidant activity. Based on recorded data of the present study, application of the mentioned fertilizers separately or simultaneously caused the increase of this important medicinal plant fresh and dry weight, and finally the yield. Number of flowers, stem height and flowering stems reached the highest value at the highest level of both fertilizers (K100H40). As potassium plays an important role in the development of reproductive parts of plants, it might be one of the reasons of the above mentioned increase. The highest essential oil content was recorded at high levels of both fertilizers (K100H40). Since the highest essential oil content accumulates in the flowering stems, an increase of these stems height and a higher number of flowers would lead to an increase of essential oil content of H. perforatum. Antioxidant activity of this plant is flavonoids contributed. It seems that application of these fertilizers increased the antioxidant activity by an increase of this pigment content.

In order to study the effect of natural antitranspirant compound and water stress on growth، development and essential oil content of Ocimumbasilicum a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replicates was conducted. 3 levels of water stress (500 as control، 375 and 250 ml/day) and 3 antitranspirant compound (chitosan، plantago mucilage and psyllium mucilage) in 3 levels of 0. 5، 1 and 1. 5% (m/v) and applied during the plant growth. Photosynthesis، transpiration، stomatal conductance، stomatal chamber CO2، leaf temperature، fresh and dry weight of herb، essential oil percentage and content were measured. The results showed that water stress and antitranspirant application had a significant effect on all measured traits (P≤0. 05 and P≤0. 01). The highest values of these traits were observed in control for water stress treatment and different levels of antitranspirant compounds. Transpiration levels from leaf were significantly decreased by antitranspirant compounds application. Chitosan (1 and 1. 5%) decreased transpiration by 200% over control. Photosynthesis was also increased up to 30% by chitosan treatment (0. 5 and 1) in comparison to control. Also، antitranspirant compounds increasing dry matter yield in water stress condition but reducing essential oil % and yield in comparison with control. In general، according to the result of this experiment، antitranspirant compounds with natural origin are safe، biodegradable، easy available، low cost and alternatives which can be used in substitution with common chemical types.