a. mehrafarin

Energetic materials production has the risk of uncontrolled explosion at high temperature which is hazardous for personnel and equipment.  Flexible aerogel blanket is fireproofing and has the lowest heat transfer among the thermal insulations. In this study, aerogel blanket with 3mm thickness have been used as insulating layer within multilayer composite textiles contain clothes which are fireproof and compatible with the body. Then, its performance as heat transfer barrier have been evaluated against explosion of the energetic materials. Direct fire testing at controlled conditions and field testing under uncontrolled explosion of the energetic materials have been performed.  Results showed that aerogel composites have high capability in preventing from the temperature rising and burning of persons exposed in explosion of energetic materials. When aerogel composite exposed to explosion of energetic materials, the temperature of the other side of the composite did not exceed from the pain threshold temperature (44oC). Also, the experimental testing showed the aerogel composites provide sufficient time for escape and avoid from burn injury. Flexibility and thickness of the aerogel composites are such that it is possible to prepare insulating and fireproofing clothes using them.

Teucrium stocksianum Boiss. is one of the important medicinal plant species that is naturally grown in the Southern highlands of Hormozgan and Sistan & Baluchestan provinces, Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate the diversity of some morpho-physiological traits of different populations of T. stocksianum collected from natural habitats. The results showed significant differences among the populations for all the morpho-physiological traits. Plant height was positively correlated with plant height and width. Shoot dry weight was also positively correlated with root dry weight. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the first five components accounted for 84.15% of the total variation. In the first component, the inflorescence length, plant height, root dry weight, plant width, and stem dry weight were important traits (%31). Cluster analysis divided the populations into three groups and showed that the cluster analysis using morpho-physiological did not correspond to the geographical diversity. Based on the results, the populations of the second group due to having higher values for desirable traits such as large diameter, small diameter and plant length, stem and root dry weight, main stem diameter and the weight of 1,000 seeds, were introduced to breeding improved varieties.

To evaluate the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Echinophora platyloba DC. under the influence of different drying methods, an experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with 12 treatments and three replications in 2019. The experimental treatments included fresh plant, drying the plant in the shade and sun, drying the plant with an oven at three temperatures of 45, 55, and 65 °C, drying the plant with a vacuum oven at three temperatures of 45, 55, and 65 °C, and drying the plant with a microwave at three powers of 200, 400, and 600 W. The aerial parts of the plant was collected from the heights of Tuyserkan city in Hamedan province in June and was affected by the different drying methods. The essential oil was extracted by Clevenger apparatus and then its components were identified by GC-MS. The findings of this study showed that the different methods of plant drying had a significant effect on the percentage and all the components of essential oil. The microwave drying method at 400 W, despite not being suitable for preserving the secondary metabolites of the plant, caused the highest essential oil content. The shade-drying method, despite the long drying time, was the most suitable method for preserving the essential oil composition in E. platyloba. The essential oil percentage in this study ranged from 0.06% to 0.39% and the main essential oil constituents included trans-β-ocimene (34.16-57.52%), α-phellandrene (8.87-16.52%), cis-ocimene (1.69-4.57%), b-phellandrene (2.08-9.24%), p < /em>-cymene (1.53-5.05%), β-pinene (0.73-1.94%), a-pinene (1.83-5.15%), veloutone (0.39-3.78%), trans-carveol (0.38-1.92%), linalool (0.72-3.57%), and germacrene-D (1.67-4.91%).

Digitoxin is a glycoside isolated from leaves of various species of Digitalis genus that are commonly called foxgloves. Digitoxin is used for chronic cardiac insufficiency, tachyarrhythmia form of atrial fibrillation, paroxysmal ciliary arrhythmia, and paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. 1-Deoxy-d-Xylulose 5-phosphate Reductoisomerase (DXR) is an important rate-limiting enzyme in 2-C-Methyl-d-Erythritol 4-Phosphate (MEP) pathway, and expression level of DXR plays a critical role in control of plant isoprenoid biosynthesis pathway. The effects of different elicitors including putrescine, spermine, and spermidine at concentrations of 50 and 100 mg L-1 and also Methyl Jasmonate (MJ) at 50, 100, and 200 μM concentrations were explored on transcript levels of DXR gene in cell suspension culture of foxglove (Digitalis purpurea). DXR transcription levels were assessed by the semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Results showed that elicitors had significant effects on the expression level of DXR and contents of cardenolide and digitoxin. The highest digitoxin (61.3 μg g-1 DW) and cardenolide (1.48% mg-1 DW) content was observed in 100 mg L-1 spermidine treatment. In all treatments, the expression of DXR gene was increased compared with the control sample. The highest transcription levels of DXR gene was observed in 50 μM MJ and 100 mg L-1 putrescine elicitors, which was nine folds higher than the control condition, and the lowest levels were observed for putrescine treatments at concentrations of 50 and 100 mg L-1, respectively.

Nitrogen is the most important nutrient requirement for plants. Nitrogen supplying affected the leaf area, carbon fixation, glandular trichomes formation, ATP and NADPH content which resulted to the terpenoids biosynthesis enhancement and essential oils accumulation.

This study was aimed to evaluate changes of essential oil content and components by use different levels of Urea fertilizer and its relation with the antioxidant status of peppermint.

The two field experiments were conducted on randomized complete block design at 2013 and 2014. The treatments consisted of three levels of nitrogen fertilizer (urea) (0, 75, and 150 kg ha-1). The evaluated traits were included antioxidant enzymes, essential oil percentage and essential oil components.

The urea fertilizer had a significant effect (P≤0.01) on the soluble protein amount and antioxidant enzymes activity. Urea consumption in the both years increased the peppermint essential oil content. The interaction of nitrogen fertilizer and year had a significant effect on most of the essential oil components excepted to β-pinene, myrcene, Limonene, 1,8- Cineole, Z-β- Ocimene, and α- Terpineol.

Using nitrogen fertilizer increased the peppermint essential oil content. Also, nitrogen deficiency reduced the soluble proteins and essential oil content and in contrast, it increased antioxidant enzymes activity and pulegone content. Therefore, consumption of 75 kg urea per hectare is recommended due to increasing essential oil content, decreasing pulegone rate, and no significant effect on menthol, menthone, and menthofuran contents.

Fenugreek is a valuable medicinal plant and it is essential to investigate induction of mutations in order to increase its active ingredient.

In this study, the phytochemical and growth traits in hairy and normal roots of Fenugreek in response to gamma irradiation were evaluated.

In this study, gamma irradiation was applied to Iranian Fenugreek seeds in five doses (0, 100, 200, 300 and 400 Gy), and then the irradiation effects in root hair culture conditions in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications were evaluated. In order to induce hairy roots in fenugreek, ATCC15834 strain of Agrobacterium rhizogenesis was used.

The results showed that the different irradiation doses had a significant effect on all traits in normal and hairy roots. The comparison of mean of data showed that the highest values of traits were related to 100 Gy and the lowest values of traits related to irradiation of seeds with 400 Gy doses. The trigonelline content was significantly higher in hairy roots than normal roots, so that the amount of trigonelline of hairy roots at different treatments including 0, 100, 200, 300 and 400 Gy were 2.46, 2.67, 2.66, 2.44 and 2.64 times more than normal roots, respectively.

The results indicated that the cell proliferation, growth and amount of trigonelline were increased due to the stimulating effect of low doses of gamma irradiations.

Nowadays, the optimization of the culture conditions in bioreactors is considered as an approach to produce secondary metabolites such as thebaine.
Thebaine is the dominant alkaloid in Iranian poppy that is used as a precursor for the synthesis of analgesic compounds. Optimization of culture conditions of Papaver bracteatum adventitious roots in bioreactor for the scale-up thebaine production. In this study, adventitious roots was induced from the stem explants and then cultured in a bubble column bioreactor. The research was conducted as a factorial experiment based on randomized complete design. The bioreactor temperatures were 14, 20, 26 and 32 °C, as well as aeration volumes were 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 vvm. The results showed that the temperature and aeration volume had significant effect on root fresh weight and thebaine content. The highest root dry weight was related to aeration volume of 0.2 vvm and temperature of 26°C. The maximum content of thebaine was observed in aeration volume of 0.2 vvm and temperature of 26°C. According to the results, aeration volume and temperature were two important factors for large-scale production of Papaver bracteatum biomass and thebaine in bioreactor conditions.

Tropane alkaloids such as scopolamine (C17H21NO4), atropine (C17H23NO3) and hyoscyamine (C17H23NO3) are the most important plant secondary metabolites in the pharmaceutical industry due to anticholinergic activity, competition with muscarinic receptors and also treating different human diseases. Scopolamine, hyoscyamine and atropine are the most important tropane alkaloids used as anticoagulants and spasmolytic drugs in the digestive system and urinary excretion. Tropane alkaloids are natural phytochemical compounds, which are present in different plant families. These compounds are the main secondary metabolites in Solanaceae family plants such as Hyoscyamus niger and Atropa belladonna. The main source of raw material for the production of tropane alkaloids in the world is Duboisia spp. leaves which contain 2-4% alkaloids (more than 60% scopolamine, and 30% hyoscyamine). Common methods of analysis of tropane alkaloids include gas chromatography (GC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE), in which liquid chromatography is mostly adopted. Various enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of tropane alkaloids, in which N- Putrescine methyltransferase (PMT), tropinone reductase I and II, and hyoscyamine 6-beta-hydroxylase (H6H) have a key role. To increase the biosynthesis of these important alkaloids, many studies were focused on the manipulation of key genes expressing enzymes in the biosynthesis pathway such as pmt and h6h genes. Although many biotechnological and agronomic studies have been done to increase the biosynthesis efficiency of these metabolites, further investigations are necessary. This paper is intended to provide a comprehensive overview of these tropane alkaloids.

Peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) is native to Mediterranean region which cultivated for food, pharmaceutical, and perfumery uses in all over the world. The aerial part of peppermint contains essential oil, phenolic and flavonoid compounds, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and salicylic acid. Menthol is the most important constituents of peppermint oil which synthesized and accumulated in glandular trichomes on the leaf surface. Menthol creates a coolness sense in the mouth due to inhibition of the TRPM8 channel in the neurons. Clinical and experimental studies have demonstrated the peppermint effect on improving upper gastrointestinal disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, muscle spasm, and respiratory problems. It also has antioxidative, anticancer, anticoagulant, anti-allergic and anti-androgenic effects. Peppermint is a valuable herb in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries which needs further phytochemical and pharmacological studies. Therefore, this article reviews the anatomical, phytochemical and pharmacological properties of this plant.

The post-harvesting process of medicinal plants such as drying operation and storage conditions has great influence on their quality and quantity of the active ingredients. The aim of this experiment was to investigate the effect of pre-drying operation and also storage conditions and duration on the essential oil content and composition of Thymus daenensis. A factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with three replications. The first factor include drying operations (including pre-drying and without pre-drying), the second factor include storage method (shade storage and storage in a refrigerator at 4 °C), and the third factor was storage duration (storing the plant’s organs for 60, 120 and 180 days). The essential oil was extracted by clevenger apparatus and its components were identified using GC and GC/Mass. The highest amounts of essential oil, linalool, borneol, terpinene-4-ol, thymol methyl ether, e-anethol, thymol and carvacrol were observed in plants stored for 60 days. Also, the highest amounts of α-pinene, camphen, β-pinene, myrcene, α-phellandrene, α-terpinene, limonene, cis-sabinene hydrate and trans-sabinene hydrate were observed in the plants dried in the shade after pre-drying operation and stored in the refrigerator for 120 days. Drying of T. daenensis plants under shade without pre-drying operation and storing in 4 ° C was the best way to obtain the highest amounts of essential oil and its main components (thymol and carvacrol).

Hippophae rhamnoides L. known as sea buckthorn is a deciduous medicinal shrub belonging to Elaeagnaceae family. In this study, the most important chemical constituents of sea buckthornwere evaluated in wild populations of central Alborz Mountains in Iran during the growth season of 2014 and 2015.

Phytochemical analysis of fruit pulp and seed oil traits was performed using different methods of chromatography such as spectrophotometry, HPLC and GC.

Based on the results of combined analysis of variance, significant (p≤0.01) difference ranges between populations were found in respect to fruit dry weight (21.32 to 32.03%), total phenolic compounds (20.78 to 34.60 mg/g), extractable tannin (1.99 to 5.74 mg/g), glucose (38.14 to 110.70 mg/g), total carotenoids (0.80 to 1.17 mg/g), lycopene (0.13 to 0.20 mg/g), β-carotene (0.18 to 0.26 mg/g), total flavonoids (0.98 to 2.80 mg/g), total soluble solids (TSS) (11.85 to 31.50%), vitamin C (1.47 to 8.96 mg/g), seed oil content (4.51 to 7.91%), and two major unsaturated fatty acids including linoleic acid (28.71 to 37.44%) and linolenic acid (21.52 to 28.28%). Factor analysis based on principal component analysis (PCA) revealed most important traits with the highest correlation factor such as vitamin C, carbohydrates, TSS, fruit dry weight (FDW), and tannin for the first component.

content of vitamin C was the main variable in chemical constituents for effective detection of original wild populations of central Alborz Mountains. Accordingly, sea buckthorn populations were divided into four main clusters and groups with high diversity based on their chemical compositions.

Hazelnut (Corylus avellana) is a species belonging to the genus Corylus. Its various segments contain different metabolites with very valuable medicinal, anti-microbial and anti-cancer properties.

The present study was done to investigation the optimal conditions for hazelnut plants regenerated from cotyledon as explants and invitrotaxol production.

Cotyledon segments were cultured on MS medium containing 2,4-D concentrations of 0, 0.5 and 1 mgl-1 alone or in combination with concentrations of 0, 0.5 and mgl-1 BA for callus induction. For regeneration, Calli were sub-cultured to the same medium and or transferred to the MS medium containing BA at concentrations of 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 mgl-1 Callus was formed in all hormonal treatments. The ability of taxol production in calli was evaluated by adding methyl jasmonat in 0, 10, 40, 70, 100, 130 and 160 µM concentrations.

In hormonal treatment including 0.5 mgl-1 2.4-D regeneration was observed. The highest Taxol content (16.7 mg/KgDW) was obtained by adding 130 µM methyl jasmoante against of 4.3 mg/KgDW in control condition. In regenerative treatments maximum number of regenerated shoot (2.5) was in 1 mgl-1 BA. The regenerated shoots were rooted in MS medium containing 2 mg NAA in combination with 0.5 mgl-1 BA. After rooting process, the plantlets with suitable growth (10 cm length) were planted in the mixture of perlite: peat: cocopit in a 1:2:1 ratio and than were placed in a box with a humidity of 90%. The adapted plants were transferred to greenhouse after 4 weeks.

This study can be applied as an effective method for callus induction in order to establishment of suspension culture to taxol production and also results can be useful for regeneration of transgenic calli.

Foliar application of essential elements is one of the most effective methods for the supply nutritional requirements of plants and increase the quantity and quality of plants yield, especially in calcareous soils.

This study was aimed to evaluate the changes in morphophysiological and pharmacological of characterestics of dill under foliar application of iron and zinc at the field conditions.

This study has been conducted in the research farm of ACECR, Institute of Medicinal Plants during 2013 on the basis of factorial experiment in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The treatments were included of iron sulfate at 4 concentrations (0, 1, 1.5 and 2 g L-1), and 3 levels of Zinc sulfate (0, 1 or 2 g L-1).

Application of iron and zinc sulfate had significant effect (p<0.01) on the leaf number per plant, number of lateral branches, number of inflorescences, number of umbelets per main umbel, the number of seeds per plant, shoot dry weight, essential oil content, yield of essential oil and alpha phellandrene content. In addition, all traits were significantly influenced by the iron sulphate concentrations. While, the main effect of zinc sulfate was significant only on the number of branches, shoot dry weight, alpha phellandrene content (p<0.01), and also, essential oil content, essential oil yield, and number of inflorescences (p<0.05). The highest essential oil content in the treatment of foliar application of iron and zinc sulfate at 2 g.L-1 and the maximum essential oil yield in the treatment of iron sulfate at 1.5 g.L-1 with zinc sulfate at 1 g.L-1 were obtained.

Foliar application of integrated Iron and Zinc able to create favorable conditions for increase the quantity and quality yield of dill.