mansour ghorbanpour

Chicory has a wide range of uses in the pharmaceutical and food industries owing to its valuable bioactive compounds such as phenolic acids, terpenoids, vitamins, and inulin. The presence and content of these compounds are influenced by genetic and environmental factors, as well as the processing method. The present research aimed to evaluate the morphological and biochemical characteristics of wild chicory populations from the Markazi province, Iran. The essential oil was extracted through the distillation technique using Clevenger-type apparatus. GC and GC/MS were used to identify the compounds of the essential oil, and a spectrophotometer was used to determine the amount of inulin. The results showed high and significant diversity between populations for the measured traits. The maximum and minimum variations were observed for the plant height and branch weight, respectively. Significant correlations were observed between different traits. The yield and composition of essential oil in the studied populations showed considerable variation. The main components of the essential oil were chamazulene, 1,8-cineole, carvacrol, cuminic aldehyde, thymol, cinnamic aldehyde, camphor, borneol, linalool, and carvone. Cluster analysis separated the populations into two different groups based on morphological traits and chemical components of essential oils. In conclusion, the existence of considerable diversity in morphological traits and chemical compounds among the chicory populations can be useful in the breeding programs of this plant.

Soil and water salinity are considered as the main factors limiting plant growth. The effect of salinity will affect root spread before it appears in the over ground parts. In saline conditions, the plant tries to increase the absorption potential of key elements, especially potassium, by increasing the number of roots as well as the root length. These changes are accompanied by shrinkage of the aerial parts. Therefore, the stronger the plants appear in this category, the more powerful they will be in relation to salinity.The increasing trend of soil salinity increases due to the imbalance of precipitation and annual evaporation on saline soil surfaces. Therefore, increasing the area under salinity-resistant plants or using conservation techniques will be very important.Stevia, despite its importance, is sensitive to soil and water salinity. Today, the role of biotic and abiotic stimulants in the adaptation of plants, especially medicinal plants to adverse environmental conditions is very important. In the present study, the effect of endophytic fungi and melatonin on stevia root changes in treatment with saline under hydroponic conditions will be investigated.

The present study was performed as a factorial study in a completely randomized design with six replications under greenhouse and hydroponic cultivation. This experiment was repeated twice to obtain more reliable results. Treatments used included endophytic fungi isolated from yew (in three levels of fungus-free control, strain TB20, strain TB2-3), melatonin spraying (in three levels of melatonin-free control, 0.5 μM pure melatonin and 0.5 μM Thymus vulgaris extract) And three salinity levels of NaCl (no salinity, medium salinity of 80 mM and high salinity of 150 mM irrigation water). In both experiments, the first foliar application was performed seven days and the first irrigation with salinity levels was performed 10 days after planting. Experimental plants were examined in terms of root traits. The over ground biomass yield was also examined.

In both experiments, similar results were obtained and showed the positive effects of melatonin and endophytic on the improvement of root growth characteristics under salinity stress. The best treatments used included thyme extract and TB20 endophytic fungus under salinity conditions. Most of the measured traits such as root volume, root length, fresh and dry weight of roots increased 2.5, 1.5-2 and 1.2-2, respectively, compared to the control using fungal and melatonin treatments. Although salinity increased the root traits to a moderate level, but with increasing salinity, the amount of these traits decreased sharply and significantly. A similar trend was observed in over ground biomass yield.

Since the use of melatonin and endophytes, especially TB20, has reduced the growth limitations of stevia in salinity conditions, it is suggested that in these salinity conditions, plant extracts containing melatonin be further studied.

The use of herbal products with antimicrobial properties has widely been considered by researchers in recent years. Plant extracts such as lavender extract have a specific importance and role in terms of its application in pharmaceutical and medical industries due to its specific phenolic acids and terpenoid compounds. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antibacterial properties of lavender extracts on some common nosocomial pathogenic bacteria in comparison with antibiotics in vitro.

In the present empirical study, top flowering part of lavender plant was used to prepare the ethanolic and methanolic extracts at different concentrations (500, 250, 125, 62.5, 31.25, 15.62, 7.81 mg/dl) using maceration method. The high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) apparatus was used to determine the value of phenolic acids including rosmarinic acid and caffeic acid in the obtained extracts. To determine the diameter of growth inhibition zone and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) from agar dilution method and microdilution procedure were used against four strains of common pathogenic bacteria including Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella dysenteriae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pyogenes using well diffusion and microdilution techniques. Data were analyzed using One-way ANOVA in three replications at the probability level of p <0.01.

The amount of both compounds, rosmarinic acid (4.6±0.5 g/100 g DW), and caffeic acid (2.7±0.2 g/100 g DW) were higher in methanolic extract compared with those of ethanolic. Among the different concentrations of lavender ethanolic extract, only 500 and 250 mg/dl of the extract were efficient by creating 12±0.1 and 10±0.2 mm in diameter of growth inhibition zone, respectively. The MBC of all antibiotics and pathogenic bacteria was obtained at a concentration of 125 mg/dl of methanolic extract. However, the MIC for Staphylococcus aureus and Shigella dysenteriae was 250 mg/dl of the extracts.

The methanolic extract of lavender had a better inhibitory effect compared with the ethanolic extract against the tested bacteria mainly due to the higher content of phenolic acids.

In order to investigate the effect of some biotic and abiotic elicitors on yield and yield components of stevia plant under different salinity stress, the present study has been perfoemed as a factorial experiment based on the randomized complete design with six replications. It has taken place in a greenhouse under hydroponic and conditions in two consequential experiments. Endophytic fungi isolated from yew (at three levels of control, TB20, TB2-3), foliar treatment with melatonin (at three levels of control, 0.5 μM melatonin tablets, and 0.5 μM Thymus vulgaris extract), and three salinity levels (without salinity, medium salinity 80mM, and high salinity 150mM) have incorporated the present experiments’ treatments. The experimental plants have been investigated based on morphological parameters. In both experiments, results show a positive effect of melatonin and endophytic fungi on characteristics of plant growth’s improvement (one to two times) under salinity stress. Nevertheless, the best growth conditions have been observed in low salinity levels, using thyme extract and TB20 endophytic fungus. Most traits of stevia plant in non-saline conditions along with thyme extract and endophytic fungus TB20 have been at their highest, showing an increase of approximately 1.5 folds, compared to the control. Due to the positive effects of melatonin and endophytes, especially TB20, it is recommended to use melatonin-containing plant extracts as a protective treatment in stevia cultivation in saline conditions.

Climate change and rainfall patterns pose a serious ‎threat to the world's food supply to a growing population. Water scarcity is ‎currently limiting food security and economic prosperity in many parts of the ‎world. One of the solutions of the increasing the water productivity is ‎cultivation of the drought-resistant medicinal plants. Forest savory is one of ‎the native medicinal plants of Iran, which contains valuable medicinal and ‎chemical compounds. The aim of this study was to investigate the trend of ‎changes in antioxidant enzymes of two forest savory chemotypes under ‎drought stress conditions, re-watering and selenium foliar application.‎

‎In the present study forest savory chemotypes of “carvacrol/thymol/p-‎Cymene” (Darkesh chemotype) and “thymol/p-Cymene/carvacrol” (Pono ‎chemotype) with herbarium code of MPH-1347 were used. The experiment ‎was conducted in the form of a split plot experiment based on a randomized ‎complete block design. Drought were applied at 3 levels (control, moderate ‎stress (25 days without irrigation) and severe stress (40 days without ‎irrigation). selenium treatments was applied at 3 levels (0, 5 and 20 mg) as ‎foliar application. Re-irrigation was performed immediately after drought ‎stress. In order to measure enzymatic activity variation of plant 3 stages the ‎sampling was done. Including: at the end of drought stress of each treatments, ‎‎1 day and 5 days after re-watering.‎

Re-irrigation acts as a mechanism to restore physiological functions ‎that have been reduced by water stress. In other words, recovery is an ‎important component for adaptation of plants. In present study, drought stress ‎was not significantly altered the enzymatic activity of measured antioxidant ‎enzymes (except catalase in “Peno” chemotype) in both chemotypes. There ‎was also no significant reaction to selenium foliar application in different ‎levels. On the other hand, the study of changes in enzyme activity before and ‎after re-irrigation showed that, although the enzyme activity tended to reduce ‎after re-irrigation, but in the shortest possible time the activity of enzymes ‎reached to pre-irrigation conditions indicates the high resistance of this plant ‎species to drought. Also, the plant's response to drought levels and supportive ‎treatments in the two chemotypes had almost the same trend.‎

The lack of response of important antioxidant enzymes of forest ‎savory to drought stress and supportive treatments stated that this plant as a ‎drought-tolerant plant containing is suitable for cultivation in areas with ‎limited water resources and irregular rainfall. Therefore, it is suggested that ‎this plant be used for cultivation in low water conditions of Shahrood and ‎similar areas.‎

In this split plot study, the morphological and phytochemical changes of Iranian Salvia (Salvia mirzayanii L.) under drought stress and cerium oxide nanoparticle treatment in a randomized complete block design with three replications were investigated. The main plot included drought stress at 4 levels of 25, 50, 75 and 100 (control) percentage of the field capacity (FC).  The sub-plot was foliar spray of Cerium oxide nanoparticle at five levels of non-consumption (control), 125, 250, 500 and 1000 ml/l. Essential oils were extracted from the organs using water distillation method and the compounds were separated and identified using GC/MS. The results showed that the interaction effect of conditions without drought stress × 1000 ml of nanocerium oxide compared to the control treatment had the greatest effect on increasing plant height (35%), root length (22%), root dry weight (14.9%), essential oil (19%), chlorophyll a (32%), chlorophyll b (31%) and catalase (16%). In addition, drought stress at the level of 25% in 125 ml nano cerium oxide decreased plant dry weight (12%), root length (13%), root dry weight (19%), essential oil percentage (10%), and chlorophyll a (14%). Based on the GS/MS results, decane compound (19.53%) in the condition without drought stress, the compounds of spatholeol (35.86%), docane (18.4%), butanic acid (19.8%) and linalool (25.03%) under condition of stress dryness of 50% field capacity and octane (13.76%) were included. Therefore, the concentration of 1000 mg/liter of cerium nanooxide had the greatest effect on improving the morphophysiological characteristics of Salvia. However, in the condition of 50% field capacity, the secondary compounds of spatholeol, dodecane, butanic acid and linalool were the highest, but in the condition of 75% of the field capacity, the highest amount belonged to the secondary compounds of octane, trimethyl and hexylisovalerate.

Nanoparticles depending on the plant species, methods used, culture conditions, concentration, etc. may have different effects on the induction of physiological and metabolic processes in plants. In this study the effects of different levels of silicon nanoparticles (0, 75, 150 and 300 mg/L) and salinity stress (0, 50 and 100 mM NaCl) were investigated as a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replications under hydroponic culture conditions on morphological, physiological and biochemical parametres of Calendula officinalis L. plant. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) confirmed the adsorption and translocation of silicon nanoparticles through leaves and roots upon experimental treatments. The results of analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the interaction effects of silicon nanoparticles and salinity stress on all measured traits were significant (P <0.05). Results showed that salinity stress reduced plant height, shoot dry weight, number of capitols, the largest flower diameter, flower yield, total chlorophyll and carotenoids and leaf relative water content.In contrast, the application of silicon nanoparticles reduced the negative effects of salinity stress (lipid peroxidation), improved growth parameters, photosynthetic pigments, quantitative (flower production) and qualitative (quercetin content) yield of the plant compared to the control, and there was a statistically significant difference in this regard between silicon nanoparticle levels. The results of analysis of extracts by HPLC showed that the highest amount of quercetin (309.78 μg/g dry weight) was related to the treatment of 150 mg/L silicon nanoparticles and salinity stress of 50 mM. Also, the antioxidant activity of plant flower extracts in different experimental treatments showed a significant (P <0.01) difference on inhibition of DPPH free radicals and had a similar trend with phenolic and flavonoid contents. Therefore, the use of appropriate concentration of silicon nanoparticles is effective in reducing the negative effects of salinity stress and increasing the content of pharmacologically active metabolites in marigold.

 The Pycnocycla bashgardiana Mozaffarian is one of the endemic medicinal species in Hormozgan province. Because of the valuable compound myristicin in the organs of this plant, it is used intravenously in the treatment of some diseases.

Evaluation of essential oil content and constituents of aerial parts during different phenological stages including before flowering, flower initiation, full flowering and seed maturity stsgegs.

the essential oil was isolated using Clevenger-type apparatus, and their constituents were identified using GC and GC/MS devices.

The highest essential oil content (2.22%) was related to flower initiation stage. The essential oil content at pre-flowering, full flowering and seed maturity stages were 0.64%, 1.54% and 0.74%, respectively. In general, 39 compounds were identified in the isolated essential oil, some of which were found only in one stage of growth and some others were observed in all of the four examined stages. Comparison of essential oil constituents showed that in all stages, p-cymene, E-beta-ocimene, myristecine, sabinene, (Z) -beta-ocimene and isomyristicin were the major compounds. The myristecine level in all stages was one of the three high compounds that reached to 52.71, 12.8%, 8.6% and 17% at before flowering, flower initiation, full flowering and seed maturity stages, respectively.

According to the results, the maximum amount of myristecine was obtained at the vegetative stage before the plant reaches flowering. Also, the maximum content of Z-beta-ocimine and E-beta-ocimine compounds were found during flowering, however, maximum iso-myristicin, subabinen, and parasimine were observed at seed maturity stage.

Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2NPs) may differentially affect physiological and metabolic processes of plants depends on plant species, culture conditions, concentrations and application methods.

Evalaution of the effects of different concentrations of CeO2NPs through two different methods at two growth stages on morpho-physiological and phytochemicqal characteristics of red sage (Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge).

In this study CeO2NPs (0, 250, 500, 1000 mg/l) was applied at two growth stages (vegetative and reproductive) via foliar and soil application in a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replications.

Maximum dry weight of aerial parts was obsrved in 250 mg/l CeO2NPs foliar application treatment at reproductive stage. Chlorophyll a content was peaked at 250 mg/l CeO2NPs soil applied treatment at reproductive stage. Furthermore, the highest content of total phenol, flavonoid, and antioxidant acitivity were obtained in leaf extract of plants foliar treated with 500 mg/l CeO2NPs at reproductive stage. The highest root rosmarinic acid and tanshinon content was achived at soil applied CeO2NPs of 500 mg/l at reproductive stage, which increased 58.7 and 24.6% compared to the respective control, respectively.

According to the obtained results in this study, CeO2NPs at 250 and 500 mg/l through foliar application at reproductive stage showed strong effect on improvement of morpho-physiological and phytochemical characteristics in S. miltiorrhiza.

Water stress is one of the limiting factors of plant growth. In order to investigate the effect of chitosan and nano-chitosan on Nigella sativa L. under drought stress, a split plot experiment based on randomized complete block design was conducted in research Field of Islamic Azad University Arak Branch in 2016. The main plots consisted of spraying with chitosan, nano-chitosan and water as control and the sub plots consisted of cultivars Arak, Azerbaijan, Semirom, Yasuj and Torbat-e-Heydariyeh. Irrigation was performed regularly from the beginning of planting until flowering stage and then stopped and spraying was achieved. After 80% emergence of floret, plots were sampled and number of secondary branches, capsules per plant, plant height, 1000 seed weight and oil percentage were evaluated. Percentages of oil and fatty acids were measured by gas chromatography.Experimental results were showed that drought stress reduced the components of black cumin yield but improved qualitative factors such as oil and fatty acids percentage. The highest and lowest seed oil content was in Azarbaijan (28.76%) and Semirom (26.39%), respectively. Yasuj can be considered as a drought tolerant cultivar due to its high content of capsules, 1000-grain weight and weight/m2. The effect of nano-chitosan in moderating stress-induced effects was better than chitosan. Azerbaijan and Semirom cultivars had the highest amount of oleic acid (Omega 9), Yasuj cultivar had the highest amount of linoleic acid (Omega 6) and Torbat Heydariyeh and Arak cultivars had the highest amount of linoleic acid (Omega 3).

Silicon is the second most structural element in the earth, which in plants, in induces physiological processes and causes resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses as well.

The effect of seed priming with nanosilicon under different levels of drought stress on morphological, physiological, total phenol and flavonoid contents, quercetin levels and antioxidant capacity of the Calendula officinalis L.

This study was conducted as factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) under four levels of drought stress (25, 50, 75 and 100 %FC), and different concentrations (0, 100, 200 and 500 mg/L) of silicon nanoparticles was considered as seed priming treatment.

The results showed that drought stress levels and seed priming with nanosilicon at the various concentrations caused significant changes (P < 0.05) on measured traits of plant. The highest antioxidant activity of the obtained extract was observed in plants pretreated with nanosilicone at 200 mg/L under 25 %FC. Drought stress at moderate level (50 %FC) along with seed priming with nanosilicone at 100 mg /L had the highest effect on quercetin content. Furthermore, the highest and the lowest content of total flavonoid was observed in plants pretreated with silicon nanoparticles at 200 mg/L and control (without priming) under drought stress at 25 %FC, respectively.

Applicationof nanosilicone at lower concentrations (100-200 mg/L) and drought stress at 50 %FC may improve plant physiological and metabolite indices in marigold.

In order to study the effect of drought stress at budding stage on five black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) ecotypes (Arak, Yasuj, Semirom, Azarbaijan, and Torbat Heydarieh), an experiment was conducted in based on a  factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications in Islamic Azad University, Arak branch, Arak, Iran. Treatments included control (normal irrigation) and drought stress (stop irrigation at budding stage until the end of the growth period). Oil percentage, oleic acid, linoleic acid, and linolenic acid were affected by drought and the highest values of oil percentage (2.6%), oleic acid (0.27%), linoleic acid (13.02%) and linolenic acid (1.57%) were observed in Arak, Torbat Heydarieh, Yasuj, and Torbat Heydarieh ecotypes, respectively. Results of tolerance indices showed that Torbat Heydarieh had the highest value of GMP (233.8), STI (2.26), and SSI (84.64). The correlation analysis showed Yp with GMP (r=+0.89**), STI (r=+0.95**), and MP (r=+0.89**). Based on the present study, Torbat Heydarieh ecotype is recommended for planting in arid and semi-arid regions.

zinc oxide nanoparticles have been synthesized using nigella sativa L. seed extract. Nigella sativa L. is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Ranunculaceae family. Concentration of plant extract plays a vital role in the synthesis of nanoparticles zinc oxide. Nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This experiment was conducted in Arak University in an experiment based on randomized complete block design with four replications. Each replication consisted of one fertilizer levels including 2 per thousand of Zn-nanoparticles in one stages of growth (8 or 12 leaves). During the experiment, the height of plant, number of branches was investigated. This study showed that using spraying had significant differences in the factors like plant height number of branches. Also, using all microelement treatments had significant effects to the level of 1%. In case of using spraying treatments, the best results for number of branches and height were related to 2.perthousand of Zn- nanoparticles and the least were related to control. This formulation can be used for increasing yield, enhancing the products and removing food deficiencies.

In this research, synthesized silver nanoparticles by using saffron petals extracts were applied on inhibition of bacteria growth in preservative solution for extending vase life of rose cut flowers "White Naomi", in three separate experiments. In the first experiment effects of different ratios of silver nanoparticles and saffron petals extract (1:20, 1:5, and 1:2) were investigated on growth inhibition of five important preservative solution's infecting bacteria including Bacillus subtilus, Bacillus cereu, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonads fluorescens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in completely randomized design with factorial arrangement. Results showed that applied concentrations had significant effect on growth of gram positive bacteria. Saffron petals extract didnt have any antibacterial effects in comparison with synthesized silver nanoparticles. 1:5 and 1:20 ratios showed the highest inhibition of bacterial growth in gram positive ones. In the second and third experiments effects of different concentrations of silver nanoparticles products were evaluated on vase life, relative fresh weight and relative solution uptake of rose cut flowers by two permanent and pulsing methods. Results showed that, low ratios of silver nanoparticles particularly 1:20 significantly increased vase life approximately two times in comparison to control due to increasing relative fresh weight.

White savory (Satureja mutica Fisch & C.A.Mey.) is one of the most widely used medicinal plants in food processing, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry due to the strongly scented and presence of phenolic compounds such as carvacrol and thymol. This experiment was carried out to evaluate the levels of inter and intra-populations variability of essential oil compositions of S. mutica grown in north of Iran. The essential oil was extracted by hydro-distillation method and analyzed using GC-FID and GC-MS apparatus. The results showed a high level of variation among individual plants of the studied populations based upon their essential oil production. The essential oil content ranged from 0.5 to 4.2%. thymol (6.5-74.6%), carvacrol (0.9-70.4%), borneol (0.1-38.0%), p-cymene (0.30-14.2%), and γ-terpinene (0.1-9.9%) were recognized as the major components of the all tested individual plants. Therefore, the variability identified here, might be considered as characterizing the large gene pool for breeding programs to comply the requirements of pharmaceutical and food industries.

Copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) are the important trace elements for plant growth، which also play key roles in many structural and biochemical function in plants. In this study، regarding the high importance of the Savory (Satureja hortensis) plants in pharmaceuticals and food industries، the effects of different levels of Cu and Zn on essential oils content، yield and composition of reference plant were undertaken to investigate. The employed treatments were considered as Cu (0، 5، 25 mg kg-1 soil from CuSO4. 5H2O) and Zn (0، 10، 50 mg kg-1 soil from ZnSO4. 2H2O) as well as their combination. Isolated essential oil (EO) was analyzed using GC and GC-MS apparatus. The results revealed that the highest and the lowest EO content and yield are obtained in Cu5Zn10 and Cu25Zn50 treatments، respectively. The GC-MS analysis showed that carvacrol، γ-terpinene، p-cymene and delta-3-carene are the main EO constituents and found in Cu5Zn10، Cu25Zn50، Cu25Zn10 and Cu5Zn0 treatments، respectively. The comparison of EO content، yield and compositions of plants treated with different Cu and Zn levels indicated that this characteristics and especially oxygenated monoterpenes value are increased with the low levels of employed elements and subsequently decreased with increasing the elements dosages.

Myocardial infarction is one of the major health problems worldwide that may be associated with hemodynamic instability and cardiac arrhythmias. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Peppermint aroma on vital signs and cardiac arrhythmias in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This is a randomized clinical trial. 126 patients with AMI were enrolled in the study with purposive sampling and randomly divided into two groups. In intervention group، pads saturated with 0. 2 ml of peppermint oil and in control group pads with normal saline were attached to the patient''s clothes on front of chest. Data was collected using a demographic questionnaire and visual analog scale for nausea. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 19 by Chi-square، independent t-test، and Generalized Estimating Equations. In this study، the mean age of patients was 62/1±12/3. Most subjects were male، non-smokers، with no history of motion sickness. There was no significant difference between groups in terms of demographics and risk factors. Results showed، although the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias in intervention group was lower than control group but the difference was not significant. Also، there was no statistical difference between the two groups regarding vital signs. Peppermint aromatherapy is noninvasive، safe، and convenient. It works rapidly and provokes nearly no side effect and is well accepted and tolerated by patients. However، further studies should be performed to investigate the possible effect of aromatherapy on arrhythmias and vital signs in patients with AMI.

The experiment was aimed to study the chemical constituents of essential oils from two Pimpinella L. species including P. deverroides - Boiss, and P. tragium Vill. growing wild in Iran. To do this, the essential oil of fruits of two P. tragium populations (Sefidkhani and Hesar, Markazi province, Iran) and one population of P. deverroides (Kerend, Kermanshah province) were extracted by a Clevenger-type apparatus and subjected to GC and GC/MS analyses. Based on the dry weight, the oil content of P. deverroides fruits was calculated as 0.43% and the oil yield of the fruits of P. tragium was ranged from 1.19% (Sefidkhani) to 2.23 (Hesar). In total, 42 compounds, constituting about 87.69-95.86% of studied essential oils, were identified. γ elemene (12.1%), cismuurol- 5-en-4α-ol (11.2%) and geijerene (10.1%) were the major components of P. deverroides essential oil. Geijerene (33.5%) and γ-elemene (19.4%) were identified as the major components of the essential oil from P. tragium fruits collected from Sefidkhani and geijerene (80.1%) constituted the major portion of the essential oil from P. tragium fruits collected from Hesar. There were significant differences in the phytochemical composition of examined populations, which, considering constituents of an essential oil determine its flavor and biological activities, enabled selection of favored populations for breeding program and for using in different industries.

Ferulago angulata subsp. carduchorum (Boiss. & Hausskn.) D.F. Chamb is a perennial species of the family Apiaceae and is locally used as a flavouring agent and for some medicinal properties. The essential oil of this plant if found to possess antibacterial and antifungal activities. The present study is aimed to determine constituents of essential oils from inflorescence of four F. angulata subsp. carduchorum populations. Air-dried samples were subjected to hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus and extracted oils were chemically analyzed by means of GC and GC-MS. With the average of 1.99% (w/w), the oil content of studied populations varied from 0.86% (Dalahoo) to 2.39% (Azgale). All oils were characterized by the high amounts of monoterpene hydrocarbons (71.1-83.6%), and the low levels of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (2.0-7.8%) and especially oxygenated ones (absent to 3.5%). α-Pinene (7.1-29.8%), (Z)-β-ocimene (14.7-45.9%), allo-ocimene (5.9-16.7%), γ-terpinene (2.0-12.2%) and bornyl acetate (3.0-7.3%) were found to be the principal volatiles of populations in question. There were significant differences in the chemical composition of studied populations, which, considering constituents of an essential oil determine its flavor and biological activities, enabled selection of favored populations for use in different industries.

Plants infection with microorganisms as well as physical factors such as osmotic stresses induced particular secondary metabolite pathways. To investigate the growth promoting effects of two Rhizobacteria strains including Pseudomonas fluoresces (PF) and Putida (PP) in combination with application of water deficit stress on plant biomass of Hyoscyamus niger young roots and variation of tropane alkaloids content and yield in root and shoot parts. Two grams of dried each shoot and root samples was added to appropriate volume of CHCl3: MeOH: NH4OH 25%, (15:5: 1), and sonicated for 20 min. Alkaloids extracted were analyzed by gas chromatographic (GC) method using a Younglin Acme 6000 GC system equipped with a flame ionization detector (FID) and HP-5MS capillary column (30 m × 0.25 mm, film thickness 0.25 µm). The identification of alkaloids was based on the comparison of their GC retention time and mass spectra data with their standards substances. Results indicated that the highest alkaloid content values in root (hyoscyamine: 0.26% DW; scopolamine: 0.12% DW) and shoot (hyoscyamine: 0.85% DW; scopolamine: 0.48% DW) were achieved in PF-187 treated plants grown under severe water stress conditions (W3). By contrast, the maximum alkaloid yield in root (hyoscyamine: 1.92 mg.plant-1; scopolamine: 0.83 mg.plant-1) and shoot (hyoscyamine: 5.88 mg.plant-1; SCO: 3.06 mg.plant-1) were obtained in PP-168 treated plants under low water stress conditions (W1). Rhizobacteria strains can function as environmentally sound tools to increase alkaloids production and counteract growing problems under stress conditions, especially by auxin production.

Hypericum perforatum L. is among important herbs worldwide, which growing wild in Iran various areas and altitudes particularly north of the country. However, according to different regional and genetic reasons, its secondary metabolites differ in its growth vegetative. Therefore, in order to define its best vegetative area, the most important biochemical components in five regions and three altitudes and four samples from each regions (60 samples all together) were sampled and analyzed. Experiment revealed that the highest values of hypericin (0.251% DW) and total phenols (412 mg/l) were obtained in Jannat Roodbar region in a height of 1218 m and the highest amounts of flavonoid (73 µg/ml) and carotenoid (0.13 mg/ml) were observed in Pole Zangoole region in a height of 2300 m. Regression equations have been demonstrated to have a positive linear relationship between hypericin and total phenols contents. While among hypericin and flavonoid as well as carotenoid, this relation forms a second degree equation. The relationship of hypericin and total phenols contents was a negative correlation as well.