azam akbari

Bitter fennel (Foeniculum vulgare var. vulgare) is a preferred subspecies in the food and pharmaceutical industries due to its high seed yield and essential oil content. However, traditional populations used by most farmers are not highly productive. To meet demand, high-yielding cultivars are needed. A five-year experiment in Pakdasht, Iran, screened 50 Iranian fennel populations for maturity habit, seed yield, essential oil content, and lifespan. Results revealed three distinctive groups based on maturity habits: early (120 days to seed harvest), medium (175 days), and late (230 days). Lifespan ranged from 3 to 5 years, with early maturities having the shortest lifespan and medium to late maturities having the longest. Populations from dry and hot/cold climates were early maturities with shorter lifespans, while populations from humid and temperate climates were medium to late maturities with longer lifespans. Over the first 3 years, essential oil yields varied among maturity groups. The highest yields were from Population Fasa (early), Meshkin Shahr, and Moqhan (medium), and population Sari (late). Populations with high essential oil yields, like Meshkin Shahr, Moqhan, and Fasa, show potential and require further investigation for potential introduction to farmers.

 The critical coronavirus pandemic presents a global challenge with dimensions yet unknown, underscoring the essential need to comprehend the lived experiences, especially for vulnerable groups. This study delves into the childbirth experiences of mothers dealing with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

 Employing hermeneutic phenomenology, this qualitative research was conducted at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (Iran). Purposeful sampling involved 16 mothers with maximum variation. Unstructured telephone interviews collected data, analyzed using the Diekelman approach.

 Unveiling the theme “Novel Memories of Motherhood,” four central themes emerged: “The Missing Link in Quality Care,” “Coronavirus Stigma,” “A lonely mother in quarantine,” and “Cascade of Psychological Trauma.”

 COVID-19 acts as an intervening factor, distorting routine care and delivery programs. The focus for service providers attending to mothers in labor should extend beyond physical care, encompassing the elimination of coronavirus-related stigma and prioritizing psychological attention. This holistic approach is crucial for maintaining quality care standards.

One of the major problems of the fetus is the excretion of the contents of the fetal intestine in the amniotic fluid sac or the amniotic fluid stained with meconium. If the time of stained with meconium is long or if the meconium is thick, it leads to serious risks for the mother and the fetus. The present study was conducted with aim to investigate the prevalence of babies born with meconial stained amniotic fluid and the associated maternal and fetal complications.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in a period of 6 months (Dec 2014 to June 2015) on 1383 women with a singleton pregnancy and a gestational age of more than 28 weeks who had referred to Omolbanian Hospital in Mashhad due to the onset of labor pains. The investigated information included: mother's age, gestational age, number of pregnancies, mode of delivery, amniotic fluid condition, baby's gender, baby's Apgar, ABG (arterial blood gas), birth weight and the need for baby resuscitation. Data analysis was done using SPSS statistical software (version 22) and t-test and chi-square statistical tests. P< 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

In the present study, out of 1383 cases of normal delivery, 114 cases had meconium-stained amniotic fluid (prevalence of 8.2%). The number of cesarean section was higher in the thick meconial group (26 cases (%43.3)) compared to thin meconial group (9 cases (16.7%)) (p=0.002). The amount of abnormal ABG was 10 cases (8.7%) in the meconial group, of which 6 cases (5.2%) were in the fetal distress group. The amount of abnormal ABG was 8%, which was significantly higher in the thick meconial group (p=0.002). First minute Apgar less than 7 was more in the thick meconial group (p=0.01) and 5th minute Apgar had no difference between the two groups. There were no cases of convulsions or death of infant in the two groups.

In this study, the prevalence of amniotic fluid stained with meconium was 8.2%. Although the rate of cesarean delivery was higher in the thick meconial group, there was no significant difference in fetal distress in the thick and thin meconial groups. Considering the complications of cesarean section for the mother, natural delivery can be a choice method in these mothers and cesarean section is limited to cases of fetal distress or thick meconium far from delivery.

The present research was conducted with the aim of students to investigate the relationship between bitterness in experience and life expectancy with the experience of covid-19.

The method of the present research was correlational and statistical population of students of Islamic Azad University of Zanjan. The sample consisted of 16 students who were selected by sampling using the applied method and using the social network, and the life expectancy questionnaires of Miller (1988), questioning, analytical (Floyd Garfield Velasota, 2005), acceptance and action of Hayez et al. 2013) and completed the demographic information questionnaire. Data analysis was done using Pearson correlation and stepwise regression in SPSS-25 software.

The results indicated that there is a positive and negative correlation between the overall score of hope, fear of physical concern, fear of seeing danger and experience with life in students with experience of covid-19. There is a meaning. The results of multivariate regression showed that the fear of not having cognitive control and preventing sabotage can predict life in two steps.

Based on the findings of the present study, it is suggested that psychological interventions be done in order to reduce the fear of the lack of cognitive and experimental control of students' experiences to increase their life expectancy.

In this study, 50 Iranian fennel landraces from different phenological types, were evaluated for their oil content and fatty acid profile. Landraces were categorized into three phenological groups: Late (180 days), Medium (140 days) and early maturity habit (110 days). The highest fatty acid content among the early, medium, and late maturity types were detected in Hamedan (19.5%), Marvdasht (23%), and Sari (21%) consequently. The highest yield of oil per square meter among the early, medium, and late maturity types were detected in Fasa (65.3 ml/m2), Meshkin Shahr (92.5 ml/m2), and Sari (71.4 ml/m2), consequently. The main component of fatty acid profile were, petroselinic/ oleic acid (52-64%), linoleic acid (26-39%), palmitic acid (0.3-4.1%), stearic acid (1.3-2.4%), linolenic acid (0.6-3.6%), and myristic acid (0.35-1.07%). It was observed that landraces with high petroselinic and oleic acid content originated from arias with a dry and warm environment, while landraces with high linoleic acid content originated from regions with a humid and cool climate. This pattern shows potential evolutionary adaption of biochemical pathways to the environmental condition. Our data showed that fennel oil contains a lower ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, and a higher ratio of monounsaturated to polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids. In conclusion, our result indicated that bitter fennel, furthermore of a medicinal plant, has a high potential for oil production with a high percentage of unsaturated fatty acids, and is a good candidate as at least a new table oil crop.

The present study investigated the differential influence of direct focused and unfocused written corrective feedback on the intermediate learners’ accuracy of simple past tense. To this end, 60 Iranian EFL learners were divided randomly into two experimental groups (focused and unfocused) and a control group. All groups were required to perform a story-writing task and deliver it to the teacher for four sessions. The focused group received feedback on regular and irregular simple past tense errors. The unfocused group received feedback on all types of errors. The control group received no feedback on their writing. Results revealed that the performance of the focused group was better than the unfocused and control groups on the immediate posttest. Results of the attitude questionnaire showed that learners preferred the focused feedback more than the unfocused one.

Three novel heterogeneous catalysts were prepared by immobilization of a synthesized cesium salt of 4-tungsto-8-molybdophosphoric acid (abbreviated as CW4Mo8) on well prepared and modified support materials of UiO-66, microsphere SBA-15 and Graphene Oxide (GO). The aim of this work was the investigation of the support effects on the Oxidative DeSulfurization (ODS) performance under a similar condition. These catalysts were characterized using FTIR, XRD, BET, BJH, N2 adsorption-desorption, SEM, and EDX methods. The Cs modification was performed to have an insoluble CW4Mo8 on the support materials. The Keggin structure of the synthesized CW4Mo8 and well immobilization on the supports were confirmed by the characterization results. A comparative examination was performed on the capability of these nanocomposites as catalyst-adsorbent in the ODS process. Dibenzothiophene (DBT) in n-hexane was used as an oil model. The examination results indicated the special impact of the support type on the catalyst design; High surface area and porosity, and functional group type significantly affected the efficiency of DBT oxidation and adsorption of DBTO2 from fuel by these catalysts. The maximum removal of 100 and 99% of DBT was achieved using CW4Mo8 supported on mesoporous SBA-15 (after 60 min) and UiO-66 (after 120 min) respectively. Furthermore, the best catalyst could be reused four times without a remarkable decrease in activity.

Inexpensive and low-viscosity Protic Acidic Ionic Liquids (PAILs) of N-metheyl-2-pyrrolidone formate, acetate, and propionate abbreviated as [Hnmp][HCOO], [Hnmp][CH3COO] and [Hnmp][CH3CH2COO] respectively, were prepared and characterized by FT-IR and H-NMR. Deep oxidative and extractive desulfurization of a simulated oil and a real diesel containing 1000 ppmw sulfur were studied under the catalysis of the proposed PAILs without additional carboxylic acid and extraction solvent in the system. The desulfurization efficiency in this study was influenced by both amounts of PAILs and concentration of the produced peroxy acids from H2O2. Comparing to [Hnmp][HCOO], [Hnmp][CH3COO] and [Hnmp][CH3CH2COO] had a relatively higher extraction ability however the weaker acidic properties of them resulted in a lower activation of H2O2 to produce peroxy acids and finally led to lower oxidative desulfurization (ODS) efficiency in the same condition. Additionally, the neutralization reaction may not be efficiently gone to the right hand by weaker acids. The effects of the main process variables were studied in detail. The highest desulfurization yield of 97% for BT and 99% for DBT and 4,6-DMDBT, were achieved using [Hnmp][HCOO] in the ODS system at a temperature of 40 °C, H2O2/sulfur molar ratio of 10, VPAIL/Voil of 0.2, and a reaction time of 90 min. The immiscibility of the proposed PAILs in this study with the oil phase caused the easy separation of them after desulfurization. The possible ODS pathway was also proposed.

Cancer is a fatal disease and relatively widespread in the world; Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women. Hydroxyurea (HU) is a chemotherapy drug for the cure of cancer different types in patients, for example breast cancer, but has several defects, for to remove these problems in this study a nanoliposome (NL) suspension for Hydroxyurea (HU) delivery in breast cancer cell therapy was developed.HU was encapsulated into NLs. Size was measured by nanosizer. The release of the liposomal formulation was assessed during 36 h. FTIR analysis for liposomal Hydroxyurea and free Hydroxyurea was carried out. The uptake capacity of the formulation was determined by transfection of nanoliposomal hydroxyurea (NL-HU) in MDA-MB231 cells via flow cytometer and fluorescence microscopy studies, the cytotoxicity of NL-HU and free HU was evaluated in cells. Size of NL-HU was 174nm, HU encapsulation efficiencies in NLs was 81%. FTIR analysis showed the stability of HU in the liposome and no improper interaction between liposome and HU, release after 36h depicted sustained release behavior.NL-HU had suitable uptake in MDA-MB231 cells. Cytotoxicity of NL-HU on cells was considerable. We confirmed these nanoliposomes are potentially useful for delivery of Hydroxyurea in breast cancer cells treatment.

Titanosilicalite-1 (TS-1) is a strong alternative for oxidative desulfurization of the fuels. The catalytic activity of this catalyst toward oxidation of organosulfur compound such as dibenzothiophene (DBT) is influenced by two factors of crystal size and framework Ti content. In this study, synthesized TS-1 zeolites at the presence and absence of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were synthesized. The TS-1 zeolite synthesized at the presence of PVA (TS-1-PVA) possess average crystal size of 100 nm while normal TS-1 synthesized at the absence of PVA showed crystal size of 210 nm. The TS-1-PVA and TS-1 showed similar framework Ti content. The obtained TS-1 zeolites were evaluated toward oxidation of bulky substrate of DBT. Moreover, oxidation of DBT by TS-1-PVA resulted in full conversion (100%) while normal TS-1 showed conversion of 26%. The higher catalytic activity of TS-1-PVA than that of normal TS-1 is coming mainly from much smaller particle size and preserved framework Ti content. Finally, the above results showed the possibility of modification of TS-1 zeolite at the presence of PVA for deep desulfurization of the fuels.

Hydroxyurea (HU) is a well-known chemotherapy drug with several side effects which limit its clinical application. This study was conducted to improve its therapeutic efficiency against breast cancer using liposomes as FDA-approved drug carriers.

PEGylated nanoliposomes-containing HU (NL-HU) were made via a thin-film hydration method, and assessed in terms of zeta potential, size, morphology, release, stability, cellular uptake, and cytotoxicity. The particle size and zeta potential of NL-HU were specified by zeta-sizer. The drug release from liposomes was assessed by dialysis diffusion method. Cellular uptake was evaluated by flow cytometry. The cytotoxicity was designated by methyl thiazolyl diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) test.

The size and zeta value of NL-HU were gotten as 85 nm and -27 mV, respectively. NL-HU were spherical.NL-HU vesicles were detected to be stable for two months. The slow drug release and Weibull kinetic model were obtained. Liposomes considerably enhanced the uptake of HU into BT-474 human breast cancer cells. The cytotoxicity of NL-HU on BT-474 cells was found to be significantly more than that of free HU.

The results confirmed these PEGylated nanoliposomes containing drug are potentially suitable against in vitro model of breast cancer.

Considering the importance of deep desulfurization of commercial diesels in accordance with the global standards, in this study, the oxidative desulfurization of a commercial diesel of Tehran Oil Refinery using MoO3/γ-Al2O3 catalyst has been fully investigated. The synthesized catalyst has been characterized using FT-IR, SEM, EDS, BET and XRD analyses. The effect of Mo loading and main process variables (temperature, O/S molar ratio, catalyst amount, reaction time and type of extraction solvent) have been investigated. Acetonitrile has been suggested as the most effective solvent. The stability of the catalyst has been evaluated. The evaluation has shown the main effect of other hydrocarbons of the commercial diesel on the catalyst stability in addition to the effect of ODS products and water impurity adsorption on the catalyst surface. The results have indicated a very good catalytic role of MoO3/γ-Al2O3 in ODS of the diesel. Finally, at the optimal process variables, about 90% of sulfur compounds which have been present in the diesel with initial sulfur concentration of 590 ppmw have been removed using one step extraction of sulfones by acetonitrile.

According to the benefits of oxidative desulfurization (ODS) and ultrasound assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAOD) processes and in order to industrialize these processes, it is necessary that the kinetics of these processes be studied and modeled, so as to be able to design and simulate them in semi industrial and industrial scale. Therefore, kinetics modeling of oxidative desulfurization reaction of 4,6-DMDBT over molybdenum catalyst supported on alumina has been investigated. For expression of reaction kinetics equations, Langmuir Hinshelwood and Eley Rideal mechanisms have been used. Genetic algorithm was used for optimization. Based on, Langmuir-Hinshelwood and Eley Rideal models results, Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism can describe the kinetic behavior of UAOD and ODS processes. Micro kinetics equations and rate determining step are identified according to the results of the models.

The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between selfregulated learning strategies and reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. The participants of the study were 119 Iranian B.A. and M.A. students majoring in English at Imam Khomeini International University in Qazvin and Islamshahr Azad University. The Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency was given to the participants to determine their language proficiency and reading comprehension. Then, the participants were asked to respond to the Self-Regulation Trait Questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed using a stepwise multiple regression analysis. The results revealed that from among the six components of self-regulated learning strategies, only planning and effort components were significant predictors of reading comprehension. The results of the present study may be helpful for teachers, learners, and materials developers.

Background and In human cytochrome P450 (CYP), enzymes are responsible for the oxidative metabolism of many medicines. The greatest metabolism proportions are carried out by enzymes that are found in the liver. CYPs are located in the microsomes. For these reasons preparation of microsomes and measurement of their protein are very important to determine the potency of liver for metabolic elimination of drugs in humans. The aim of this project was to extract microsmes and determine levels of microsomal protein in human tissue. Eighteen biopsies of human liver were obtained with their consents from patients undergoing surgery. Liver samples were finely chopped and homogenized in the buffer. Liver homogenate was centrifuged in different steps to yield a microsomal pellet. Then content of total protein was determined according to Lowry method. Data were analyzed according to descriptive statistics method. The value of MPPGL (microsomal protein per gram of liver) ranged from14.1 to 27.2 mg per gram of liver (mean 20.24±3.77). The values of MPPGL in this project were reported for the first time in Iran. The mean value of MPPGL in this project is lower than others studies. These results in this area, will aid the physicians to improve the level of safety of prescription of the medicines. Many doctors are unaware of the possible risks for patients whom have exposed by being treated with drugs.

Ecstasy, mainly composed of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), is one of the most popular addictive synthetic drugs. This study was aimed to investigate the amount of MDMA in the ecstasy tablets seized in West Azerbaijan province, northwest Iran and also to assess the relationship between the physicochemical and morphological characteristics of the tablets. MDMA content of ecstasy tablets was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography method. Flow rate was 3 mL/min and mobile phase consisted of a mixture of acetonitrile and water containing triethylamine (pH = 3.2). The fluorescence spectrophotometer detector set at an excitation and emission wavelength of 220 and 306 nm, respectively. The retention time of ecstasy on this system was 2.2 minutes. The calibration curve was linear (R2= 0.999) over the concentrations ranging from 0.2 to 2 µg/ml. The limit of detection and the limit of quantitation were found to be 0.06 µg/L and 0.19 µg/L, respectively with six times repetition. In this study, 85 ecstasy tablets were analyzed. Mean weight of the tablets was 275.6 ± 70.4 (range: 158.5-403.3) mg. Mean MDMA content of the tablets was 30.53 ± 23.23 (range: 0.05-70.7) mg. The tablets were classified into 8 groups based on their morphological features (color and logo). Considering the tablet groups, physicochemical features of the tablets (weight, MDMA content, and MDMA to weight ratio) were significantly different (P < 0.001). Correlation analysis showed that the MDMA content and weight of tablets were significantly correlated (P = 0.04). There is variability in the physicochemical properties of ecstasy tablets available in the black market for illicit drugs in northwest Iran. This variability may potentially put abusers at increased risk of overdose due to inadvertent excess ingestion of the tablets to achieve desired effects and also experiencing more harm due to tablets adulterants.

Quality control of medicinal products- especially the amount of active ingredients of toxic side effects and complications- is important. The present study was performed to measure oxytocin (OT) in commercially available drug products in the drug market of Iran. In this study pharmaceutical dosage form of OT with different brands at a concentration of 5 and 10 IU/ml was prepared from a local pharmacy. A previously published method was optimized for the conditions in our laboratory. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used as the preferred analytical tool. The method used a C18 column. The mobile phase consist of acetonitrile/ phosphate buffer with (pH= 5, 0.08 M) (20:80) and UV detection at 220 nm. The results of these experiments showed a linear standard curve for OT over the range of 0.5-12 IU/ml. The corresponding regression equation was A=133.1C-2.193 with an r2 value of 0.99. The Inter-day coefficient of variation for the method ranged between 1.97 IU/ml and 9.93 IU/ml% and the Intra-day value ranged between 1.10 IU/ml and 1.76 IU/ml. The accuracy of method range was between 96.40% and 107.5% for Inter-day analysis and 93% and 99.6 % for Intra-days analysis. The lower limit of quantification was 0.25 IU/ml. The percentage content, taking one of the bulk samples as 100% references, was 107-120% and 114.2-216.6% recovery of the label claim for OT of 10IU/ml and OT of 5 IU/ml, respectively. These findings confirm that the amount of oxytocin in some of dosage forms is higher than the declared amounts. This study emphasizes on the necessity of quality and accurate control s over the industrial pharmaceutical.

Quality control is the most common function to test and measure material and product. Quality control of active ingredients in drug formulation is to control the quality of the products of a company and evaluate their stability. The purpose of this study was to determine the amount of dextromethorphan available in drug market of Iran. For this purpose different pharmaceutical formulations of dextromethorphan with different serial number preparations were purchased from the market. Based on their standard methods of extraction (USP Pharmacopeia) the active ingredient dextromethorphan was extracted and determined by using HPLC Colum. The method utilize fluorescence detector. The results of this project on 40 commercial products were as follow: The respective forms of pharmaceutical tablets were 104-124%; drops 87-92%; simple syrup 91-119%; and syrup mixture 109-120% of labeled. The assay results obtained from forty commercially available formulations of tablet and syrup were more than the amounts declared which agree with the tolerances indicated by the USP pharmacopeia while the assay results for drops were less than the declared values.

Today, hematopoietic stem cells transplantation (HSCT) has been accepted as a therapeutic approach and is widely applied in many patients with disorders of hematopoietic systems or patients with malignancies. Concomitant use of this therapeutic approach with long term chemotherapeutic procedures and hospitalization requires special care. This study was conducted to examine basic needs of patients after HSCT. In this study, 171 hospitalized patients were selected after transplantation, using convenience sampling method. They completed a questionnaire formulated on the basis of Yura and Walsh Theory of Basic Needs. Most of the needs reported in the areas of vital functions, functional health status, and reaction to functional health status were chills (76.8%), insomnia (68.5%), and dissatisfaction with changes of lifestyle/habits (53.6%), respectively. Furthermore, 94.1% of the patients were aware of their disease. This study identified a broad spectrum of the needs in HSCT patients. Given the importance of determining needs to reach a thorough nursing care, paying attention to the provided list can facilitate the achievement of the goals of the care program for these patients.

The aim of this research was to explore whether the observed tendency in Iran's libraries to work in the technical services section is a personal preference or not. This research has examined this through studying the professional self-concept of B.A. graduates of Library and Information Science. Methodology/ Approach: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 20 B.A. students who were finishing their last semester. For analyzing the data, the techniques of continual comparison proposed in the Grounded Theory methodology were used in three levels of open, axial, and selective coding. The self-concept of B.A. LIS graduates has three components, namely 'personal feeling', 'social status', and 'perception of the profession'. Participants have become more fond of librarianship as they progressed in their studies during the program. However, they normally complain of the lack of social recognition and the low social status of librarianship. While the students consider librarianship as a service profession, they see their core of expertise in different areas. Some consider technical services as their main skill and others find general and direct services to the user most important. In their viewpoint, research and management are other aspects of librarianship. Participants in this research were interested in librarianship profession; however, they had concerns about its social status and recognition. They regard their field to be service oriented but prefer to work in specialized information and technical services.

Vasomotor flashes are one of the most common complaints in climacteric women. Currently, Hormone therapy is the gold standard for treatment of it but various studies have reported serious risks even in short-term use. Interest in plants source for treatment of hot flash has grown recently. Flaxseed is a rich source of lignans and many women are more inclined to use it, but literature on effect of flaxseed is rather limited. Objective of this study was to evaluate effect of 6-weeks consumption of flaxseed on vasomotor flashes in climacteric women.

In this double-blind randomized cross-over study 62 women aged at least 41 years with five moderate to severe flashes and other eligibility, were randomly assigned in two groups (n=31). Intervention was two 6-week periods (washout: 2 weeks) and consumption 40 (g) flaxseed powder or placebo twice daily. Participants filled out daily hot flash diary and night sweat diary during the study. Weekly mean of each variable, separately were measured by adding the points during a week and was divided on days that diary had been filled in same week. Outcomes were measured changes from baseline to the average for all follow-up regarding mean of each variable. Data were analyzed by, paired t-test, Wilcoxon and RANOVA using SPSS software.

Data analyzing (n=46) showed statically significant reduction in the mean changes of severity and duration of flashes, night sweat severity and sleep disturbances with flaxseed comparing placebo (p<0.009, p= 0.045, p=0/005, p=0/028 respectively).There were no significant reduction in frequency of hot flashes and night sweats but repeated measurement of ANOVA showed statistically significant reduction in mean of frequency of hot flashes and night sweats during 6 week intervention with flaxseed compared to placebo in women with 5-7 daily flushes and ≤ 2 night sweats, respectively (p<0.001).

Regarding the result of this study, 6-week consumption of flaxseed powder may be effective in reduction of vasomotor symptoms, especially for women with moderate vasomotor symptoms compared to women with more and sever symptoms.

Cell cultures of Varthemia persica, Peganum harmala and Pycnocycla spinosa have been studied to evaluate their abilities to bioconvert exogenous hydroquinone. Arbutin is an important substance that has several pharmaceutical applications; therefore, we have established V. persica and P. spinosa cultures which seem to be able to metabolize hydroquinone. Callus cultures of V. persica were established from seedlings, and healthy suspensions were grown using Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 2,4-D and kinetin. Exogenous hydroquinone was fed to cell suspension cultures and biotransformation reactions were detected over 24 h of incubation. The cultures then extracted with methanol and extracts subjected to TLC and HPLC analysis. The V. persica and P. spinosa cultured cells in this study seem to exhibit an ability in the glucosylation of hydroquinone to arbutin. No conversion was observed with P. harmala cell suspension cultures. The ability of cultured plant cells for biotransformation of substrates appears to be depended on the culture strains.