zahra tofighi

Ferula assa-foetida is an herbaceous plant from Apiaceae family. Several pharmacological effects of oleo-gum resin of this plant were introduced in modern and traditional medicines such as digestive, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, appetizing, insecticidal, and etc.

This study aimed to acute and sub-chronic toxicity of chloroform fraction of oleo-gum extract of Ferula in Wistar rats. The safety of this can guarantee its use in treatment and various industries.

Rats in six groups including male and female (kept separately) at different doses (50 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg, and 2000 mg/kg) and two control groups (control and DMSO( were selected to evaluate the acute toxicity of chloroform fraction of Ferula. For 30 days, 50 mg/kg and 250 mg/kg of sample was administrated to male and female rats. Mortality, appearance and behavioral changes, food intake, the weight of rats, and hematological, biochemical variables and histopathological changes were examined.

Physical and behavioral changes were not observed in acute and sub-chronic toxicity conditions. Food intake significantly differed between male and female DMSO control and other groups. In biochemical variables study, only SGOT (AST) showed a significant difference from the control group (DMSO) in acute toxicity and BUN, ALP and SGOT (AST) in sub-chronic toxicity. Also, any histopathological change was observed in spleen, liver, and kidney organs.

Oleo-gum resin of F. assa-foetida has not toxic effects, so it should be used with caution in the long term.

Fenugreek is one of the most widely used medicinal plants in terms of therapeutic properties, and numerous pharmacological effects have been found in various studies. Fenugreek seed extract contains many effective substances, including phytosterols (mainly β-Sitosterol).

This investigation was conducted to determine the optimal extraction method for fenugreek seeds based on the amount of β-Sitosterol detected on HPLC using a response surface methodology (RSM).

At first, the appropriate solvent was selected. The main variables affecting the extraction efficiency,including temperature, time, solvent percentage, and the ratio of solvent to powder, were investigated to optimize the best method. Optimizing the number of 29 experiments determined that extraction was done using the dynamic maceration method. After finding the optimized method, the extracts were injected into the HPLC device three times to determine the amount of total β-Sitosterol. Then it was modelled, and the final formula was obtained.

The analysis of results were shown that the optimal extract (based on the amount of total β-Sitosterol and weight), using the dynamic maceration extraction method with 96 % ethanol at a temperature of 44 ˚C, a duration of 30 minutes, a solvent percentage of 70 % and a ratio of solvent to powder of 7:1 was obtained.

The findings suggest the, this method seams the most efficient for maximum extraction of the β-Sitosterol compound from fenugreek seeds.

The Stachys genus is a medicinal plant, with 34 different species, from Lamiaceae family that grows in Irano-Anatolian plateau. There are 12 species of Stachys native to Iran. Some species of Stachys have been used in traditional medicine of Iran, Turkey, Italy, Greece, China, and Japan for the treatment of various diseases like inflammation, common cold, and etc. Some researchers have noted many biological effects, such as cytotoxic, antioxidant, immunomodulator, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial effects for the members of this genus. There are a few evidences on phytochemical constituents of S. byzanthinaThe aim of this study was phytochemical investigation of various extracts of this plant to obtain the most efficient fractions and compound(s) to study the antimicrobial effects of this plant. Separation and isolation of compounds was performed by various methods of chromatography. The structure of each compound was identified by spectroscopic methods.Antimicrobial studies were performed on different fractions of S. byzantina by microdilution method and to determine the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), agar well diffusion was done.Ethyl acetate fraction has the highest total phenol contents (1082.05 mg GAE/g fraction) and antioxidant capacity (IC50= 1.23 mg/ml). Also, ethyl acetate fraction, the most potential fraction of S. byzanthina, was demonstrated the largest inhibition zone (17.5 ± 0.7 mm) with 5 mg/ml in MIC against Staphylococcus auresus.Apigenin and its derivatives were isolated from this fraction and according to literature; they can be responsible for antibacterial activity of this fraction of S. byzanthina.

Influenza A virus (IAV) is a contagious illness. Different species of Scutellaria genus are used as a traditional remedy to reduce influenza symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the anti-influenza capacity of several species of Iranian Scutellaria and identify active compounds of the most potent species for the first time.

Some Iranian species of Scutellaria were collected from different regions of Iran, including S. pinnatifida with mucida, viridis, and alpina subspecies; S. tournefortii; S. tomentosa; S. persica. They were fractionated to chloroform and methanol. The total phenols and flavonoids of samples were examined by the folin-ciocalteau and aluminum-flavonoid complex methods, respectively. The 50% cytotoxic concentrations (CC50) on MDCK cells and non-cytotoxic concentrations (NCTC) were determined by MTT assay. The percentage of cell protection against IAV and their effect on virus titer were investigated in pre-, post-, and co-penetration treatment groups. Phytochemicals of the most effective species were isolated by various chromatographic methods and identified by different spectroscopic methods.

Methanol fraction of S. pinnatifida subsp. viridis demonstrated the highest amounts of flavonoid content and best activity against influenza A virus in all combination treatments, which reduced the virus titer by 5 logs with no cytotoxicity. Kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, apigenin-4′-methoxy-7-O-glucoside, luteolin, and luteolin-7-O-glucoside were purified and identified from this species.

Scutellaria pinnatifida subsp. viridis can be introduced as a source of flavonoids with acceptable anti-influenza activity. S. tomentosa also showed potent antiviral effects and is a candidate for elucidation in further studies.

The oleo-gum resin from Ferula gummosa</em> Bioss. is commercially important. Variability of geographic location has shown a deep effect on essential oil of different genus of plants. Thus, evaluation of oleo-gum resin of Ferula gummosa</em> from different locations is important for further studies. In the present study, phytochemicals profile of essential oil of oleo-gum resins from F. gummosa</em> in different geographic location and various bioclimates of Iran, were studied.

The oleo-gum resin of F. gummosa</em> was collected from different regions of Iran. The essential oils of the samples were extracted by Clevenger apparatus and were analyzed by GC-MS.

The highest amount of essential oil compared was observed in the samples from Damghan area (24.0%), Firuzkuh area (22%) and Kalat-e-Naderi area (22%). The variability in the oil composition of different samples exhibited a notable difference in monoterpenes content from 39.15 % to 87.48%. Based on GC-MS analysis, the major components were β</em>-pinene (5.11-63.80 %), sabinene (3.37-30.69%), α</em>-pinene (4.43-12.72%) and δ</em>-carene (2.38-10.23 %). The highest concentrations of β</em>-pinene (63.80%) and sabinene (30.69%) were observed in the Shiraz and Torbat-e-Jam essential oils, respectively.  The highest amounts of α</em>-pinene (12.72%) and δ-</em>carene (10.23%) were recorded in Firuzkuh and Shiraz areas, respectively.

Significant variation in the component of the essential oils from different oleo-gum resins can be used to improve the knowledge about the endemic medicinal plants.

Nowadays, many efforts are being in the worldwide to find alternative methods for controlling postharvest horticultural waste. In the present study, the effect of different concentrations of melatonin (000.001, 0.01 and 0.1 mM) on increasing the storage life of raspberries was investigated. After 5 min immersion, the fruits were maintained in a cold storage with a 4±1 °C 90-95%RH for 9 days. The results showed that the highest level of pH and TSS were observed in the control treatment on the ninth day and TA in the treatment of 0.001 mmol on the third days of storage with mean 3.64 and 0.62 mg citric acid/100 ml fruit Juice and 16.31 ̊brix, respectively. The highest levels of total phenol and flavonoids content were observed with 25.37 mg GAE/ 100 ml juice and 9.60 mg QE/ 100 ml juice on the third day storage, respectively. The results of data factor analysis also confirmed that the two factors PC1 (64%) and PC2 (14.8%) had the most role in the classification of treatments. In general, the results of this study showed that treatment with 0.001 mM melatonin, as a natural compound compatible with the environment and humans, in addition to the maintaining the nutritional values of the harvested raspberry it,s can increased storage life and reduced waste of fruits.

Plants of the genus Scutellaria, commonly known as skullcap, belong to the Lamiaceae family. There are 22 species of Scutellaria in Iran, 10 species of which are native to Iran. Plants of this genus have several effects including neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, anti-cancer, antimicrobial, antiviral, and antioxidant. They are also effective in insomnia and dementia conditions.

The aim of this study was to investigate the composition of essential oils and aromatic waters of some native Scutellaria species from Iran.

Aerial parts of Scutellaria pinnatifida with different subspecies such as mucida, viridis, and alpina, Scutellaria tournefortii, and Scutellaria tomentosa were collected from different regions of Iran. The essential oils and hexane extracts of aromatic waters of selected plants in this genus were obtained by hydrodistillation with clevenger type apparatus and analyzed by GC-MS.

The results of this study showed that germacrene D, caryophyllene derivatives and linalool are found in abundance in the essential oils of these plants. The main terpenoids in the aromatic waters of these plants were linalool and 1-octen-3-ol.

The analysis of the essential oils and aromatic waters of Scutellaria species demonstrated that different geographical factors such as altitude and the season of plant collection can be effective on the production of plant secondary metabolites.

Stachys L. genus from the Lamiaceae family is distributed worldwide. It is used for medicinal purposes in traditional medicine. Stachys laxa as an endemic species and S. byzantina which grow in the north of Iran were selected in this study for analyzing the chemical compositions of the volatile oils and investigation of some biological activities.

The chemical constituents of the oils from the aerial parts were analyzed by GC-MS. The antimicrobial activity of the essential oils was investigated by disc diffusion method and the MIC was determined. Toxicity and total phenolics content were surveyed by brine shrimp lethality and Folin-Ciocalteu assays, respectively. Two different methods (DPPH and FRAP) were conducted to assess the antioxidant activity of both extracts.

Sixty-one compounds were identified in the oils, whereas sesquiterpenes were the major components in both volatile oils. Hexadecanoic acid (16.65%) and hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (20.41%) were the main compounds in S. laxa and S. byzantina, respectively. The ethyl acetate fraction of S. byzantina showed the strongest antioxidant activity (DPPH IC50: 18.3 µg/mL; FRAP: 687.4 FeSO4.7 H2O mg /g extract) and the highest total phenolics content (115.43 gallic acid mg /g extract) compared to other fractions. The volatile oil of S. laxa showed more potent antimicrobial activity on Salmonella paratyphi A (MIC: 5.62 µg/mL).

Both species were safe and showed no toxicity. They demonstrated strong antioxidant properties. The essential oil of S. laxa showed potent activity against Salmonella paratyphi A.

Many pharmaceutical factories have dramatically improved the quality of herbal remedies in cancer treatment. The results of somestudies have shown anticancer effect of Astrodaucus genus. Therefore, the aim of this article was to review the chemical ingredients and biological effects of Astrodaucus genus especially A. persicus from the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae).

Online databases ScienceDirect, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched using the keywords Astrodaucus, Apiaceae, Biologic, Phytochemistry, and Benzodioxole to retrieve studies published between 1970 and 2020.

The Astrodaucus genus has two species, Astrodaucus persicus (Boiss.) Drude and Astrodaucus orientalis (L.) Drude. In this genus, 5 new biologically active phytochemicals with benzodioxole structure were introduced and their biological effects were assessed.

Since many of the most commonly used anticancer drugs such as etoposide, teniposide, podophyllotoxin and sanguinarine have benzodioxole structureand according to the results of biological tests, it seems that more researchwith these perspectives should be done on this genus.

Apiaceae fruits as common spices used for prevention of many chronic diseases including cancer.

The present study compared the biological effects of different fruits from various Apiaceae tribes to compare and find the fraction source(s) with potential characteristics for further investigation including cancer prevention.

Fruits of Apium graveolens L. (celery), Bunium persicum (Boiss.) B.Fedtsch. (black cumin), Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss (parsley), Pimpinella anisum L. (anise), Trachyspermum ammi (L.) Sprague (ajwain), Coriandrum sativum L. (coriander), Foeniculum vulgare Mill. (fennel), Anethum graveolens L. (dill), Heracleum persicum Desf. ex Fisch., C.A.Mey. & Avé-Lall. (Persian hogweed), Ferula assa-foetida L. (asafoetida), Cuminum cyminum L. (cumin) and Daucus carota L. (carrot) were extracted with 80 % methanol and fractionated by petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol, respectively. For different fractions and total extract of all 12 samples, cytotoxicity by brine shrimp test (BST) and MTT assay against cancer and normal cell (foreskin fibroblast cells), antioxidant effects by FRAP, and total phenols by Folin-Ciocalteu method were measured.

The general toxicity of ethyl acetate fractions (mean of data) was higher than others in the brine shrimp test (P < 0.05). The most cytotoxic fractions against colon carcinoma (HT-29), breast adenocarcinoma (MDA-MB-231) and alveolar basal epithelial adenocarcinoma (A549) cell lines were from Ammineae and Peucedaneae tribes while fruits fractions with high phenol contents and antioxidant powers were from Ammineae tribe.

The Apiaceae fruits have significant biological effects, therefore the isolation of phytochemical compounds from active fractions with cytotoxicity is suggested in future studies.

Postpartum depression (PPD) is one type of major depression that has harmful effects on mother, infant and family relationships. Therefore, this study investigated the protective effects of hydro-alcoholic extract of Nigella sativa on PPD in mice. In this experimental study, adult female mice were randomly divided into 6 groups (n=10): control, PPD, Nigella sativa 200, bicuculline, muscimol and fluoxetine. In all animals except in the control group, PPD was induced by progesterone withdrawal. In groups of Nigella sativa 200, bicuculline, muscimol and fluoxetine, mice received 200 mg/kg Nigella sativa, 1 mg/kg bicuculline + 200 mg/kg Nigella sativa, 0.5 mg/kg muscimol and 15 mg/kg fluoxetine, respectively. Then, after 1 hr, the forced swimming test and open field test was examined. PPD caused significant increases in the immobility times in the forced swimming test (P < 0.05). Administration of Nigella sativa, muscimol and fluoxetine attenuated depression-related behaviors in compared to the PPD group (all P < 0.05). However, combined administration bicuculline with Nigella sativa prevented antidepressant effects of this extract. Moreover, there were no significant differences in the crossing number in the open field test of all groups. Administration of Nigella sativa hydro-alcoholic extracts can be beneficial to the improvement in PPD and exerts possibly these protective effects partially through increase of gamma amino butyric acid (GABA)-A levels.

The emergence of physiologic and chronic diseases influences the parents’ (especially the mothers’) mental health. Therefore the present study was conducted aiming to compare the effectiveness of teaching resilience and emotion regulation on the life quality and self-efficacy of the mothers of the children suffering from cerebral paralysis.

It was a quasi-experimental study with pretest, posttest, control group and two-month follow-up design. The statistical population included all the mothers of the children with cerebral paralysis in the city of Shiraz in 2017. Non-probable available sampling method and random replacement were used in the present study. After selecting the sample size and replacing them into experimental and control groups, the experimental group received ninety-minute teaching interventions during three months once a week. The applied questionnaires were life quality questionnaire (World Health Organization, 1993) and self-efficacy (Shrer and Adams, 1980). The data from the study were analyzed through repeated measurement ANOVA.

The data from the study showed that teaching resilience and emotion regulation has been effective on the life quality and self-efficacy of the mothers of the children with cerebral paralysis while there was not observed any significant difference between effectiveness of these two methods on life quality and self-efficacy.

Based on the results of the present study, resilience and emotion regulation training can be used to improve the quality of life and self-efficacy of mothers with children with cerebral palsy.

Biosurfactants, the microbial originated surface active agents, can modify the physicochemical properties of surfaces and reduce the bacterial adhesion via changing bacterial adhesion interactions on surfaces.  They were also able to block oxidative chain reactions and might show antioxidant properties. The goal of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant and antibiofilm activities of biosurfactants which were derived from two autochthonous biosurfactant-producing strains, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens NS6 (surfactin), andPseudomonas aeruginosaMN1 (rhamnolipids). Their antioxidant activities were determined by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methods. Ferric thiocyanate (FTC) assay was used for determination of their lipid peroxidation inhibition capacity. Their effect to reduce the adhesion of Streptococcus mutans on polystyrene surfaces and disruption of its pre-formed biofilms were also investigated. Our results indicated that surfactin showed higher antioxidant activity than rhamnolipids and showed relatively similar efficiency to BHA that suggests it as a good alternative for synthetic antioxidants. In other hand, rhamnolipid conditioned surfaces showed higher antiadhesive and antibiofilm activity in comparison with surfactin treated surfaces.

Antibiotics resistance and unpleasant side effects of AChE inhibitors have led to an increased interest in herbs as potential sources. Ferula aucheri (Syn: Dorema aucheri) an indigenous species of Ferula (Apiaceae) grows in Iran and is used as food and medicinal plant. The present study was aimed to identify the oil composition and evaluate antimicrobial and AChE inhibitory activity of flowering tops, fruits and roots.

The chemical composition of the oils was recognized by GC and GC‐MS. The antimicrobial effects were assessed on 12 microorganisms by disc diffusion and micro-well dilution methods and AChE inhibitory potentials by a modified version of Ellman's method.

Sixty five compounds were identified from different organs and the notable characteristics have been high amounts of sesquiterpenes. Germacrene B (14.96%) and β-caryophyllene (12.87%) were distinguished as major components of flowering tops. Cis-dihydroagarofuran (9.02%) and δ-cadinene (8.28%) were identified as the remarkable constituents of fruit. δ-cadinene (18.25%) and gurjunene (12.62%) were detected from the roots by high content. All volatile oils exhibited lower MICs on Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Shigella dysenteriae,and Salmonella paratyphi-A serotype compared with gentamicin. Root and fruit oils were more effective than gentamicin against Escherichia coli and flowering tops oils proved lower MICs versus Staphylococcus aureus. Fruits and root oils showed weak potency for inhibiting AChE with IC50 values 554.05±4.65 and 239.69±3.5 μg/mL, respectively and flowering tops exhibited moderate activity (179.06±4.3 μg/mL).

The findings demonstrated that F. aucheri essential oils possessed antimicrobial activities with inhibition properties toward AchE.

Constipation is a common gastrointestinal problem worldwide.
The current study aimed to prepare a dosage form containing flaxseed and figs and evaluate the effects of this drug to treat functional constipation.
A total of 10 formulations were developed using various proportions of excipients by wet granulation method. The best formulation containing 300 mg flaxseed powder and 1200 mg figs extract (total weight of 2000 mg) was selected. After compression of caplets, evaluation tests such as general appearance, hardness, thickness, weight variation, friability, disintegration time and standardization studies were performed. During clinical study, 15 patients with functional constipation received the prepared dosage form three times daily for two weeks, and then statistical differences within the groups were compared.
After the first week of experiment the increase of defecation frequency and reduction of retentive posturing, large fecal mass, pain feeling during evacuation and consistency of stool were significantly noticeable (P Prepared caplets of Linum and Ficus reduced the severity of constipation in patients.

The present study was conducted to investigate the comparison of the effectiveness of resilience and emotion regulation on perceived social stigma and mental endurance in the mothers of the children with CP. The present research method was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest and control group design. The statistical population of the current study included all the mothers of the children with CP in the city of Shiraz in 2017. Non-probable available sampling method and random replacement were used in the present study. After selecting the sample size and replacing them in the experimental and control groups, the experimental group received teaching interventions in ninety-minute sessions once a week during three months. The applied questionnaires in the present study included social stigma and mental endurance. The results from the data analysis showed that teaching resilience and emotion regulation have been effective on perceived social stigma and mental endurance of the mother of the children with CP

Astrodaucus persicus (Apiaceae) is one of the two species of this genus which grows in different parts of Iran. Roots of this plant were rich in benzodioxoles and used as food additive or salad in Iran and near countries. The aim of present study was evaluation of antimalarial and cytotoxic effects of different fractions of A. persicus fruits and roots extracts.
Ripe fruits and roots of A. persicuswere extracted and fractionated by hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol, separately. Antimalarial activities of fractions were performed based on Plasmodium berghei suppressive test in mice model and percentage of parasitemia and suppression were determined for each sample. Cytotoxicity of fruits and roots fractions were investigated against human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), colorectal carcinoma (SW480) and normal (L929) cell lines by MTT assay and IC50 of them were measured.
Hexane fraction of roots extract (RHE) and ethyl acetate fraction of fruits extract (FEA) of A. persicus demonstrated highest parasite inhibition (73.3 and 72.3%, respectively at 500 mg/kg/day) which were significantly different from negative control group (P According to the results, RHE and FEA fractions of A. persicus could be introduced as excellent choice for antimalarial drug discovery. In addition, cytotoxic activity of RHE was noticeable.

Background and Breast cancer is the most common cancer in woman. About one million new cases are diagnosed every year worldwide. Many researchers are interested in anti-cancer effects of natural products. In this research, cytotoxic effects of Crocus caspius extract against breast cancer and normal cell lines were investigated and total phenols and flavonoids were also determined.
Flowers of Crocus caspius were collected from Neka in Mazandaran province, Iran, in autumn 2014. The powder of dried flowers were macerated with 80% methanol, three times every 48 hr. The methanol extract was concentrated under reduced pressure. Cell viability was determined using MTT and trypan blue assay was done on breast carcinoma cell lines (MCF7, 4T1, and SKBR3) and Swiss mouse embryo fibroblast (NIH/3T3) as normal cell lines. Various concentrations (1, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 µg/ml) of the extract and positive control were examined for determination of IC50.
Crocus caspius extract showed no considerable cytotoxic effects against breast cancer and normal cell lines. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the extract were quite high; 238.25±4.35 mg GAE/g and 85.41±6.24 mg quercetin/g of dry extract, respectively.
These results indicated non toxicity of Crocus caspius extract. Further studies are needed to investigate the preventive effect of C.caspius extract against cancer according to its total phenolic and flavonoid contents.

There are many efforts for identification of natural compounds from dietary or medicinal plants. Young roots and aerial parts of A. persicus have been used as food additive or salad vegetable in some parts of Iran. In this study, different fractions of the root extract of A. persicus were subjected for isolation and purification of secondary metabolites. The methanol extract of the roots was fractionated with hexane (HE), chloroform (CL), ethyl acetate (EA) and methanol (ME). Five novel compounds were isolated from HE, CL and EA using different chromatographic techniques and were identified by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, 2D-NMR and MS spectroscopic methods. Elucidated compounds with benzodioxole structure were characterized for the first time as 5-((propanoyl methyl)amino)-4,7-dimethoxybenzo[d][1,3]dioxole (1), 5-(3-ethyloxiran-2-yloxy)-4,7-dimethoxybenzo[d][1,3]dioxole (2), 4,7-dimethoxy-5-(propanonyl) benzo[d][1,3]dioxole (3), 4-ethoxybenzo[d][1,3]dioxol-6-carbaldehyde (4), and 4-(O-β-D-glucopyranosyl)-6-(3-propanyloxiran-2-yloxy)benzo[d][1,3]dioxole (5).

The suspension culture of Vigna radiata was selected for biotransformation of hydroquinone to its β-D-glucoside form (arbutin) as an important therapeutic and cosmetic compound.
The biotransformation efficiency of a Vigna radiata cell culture in addition to different concentrations of hydroquinone (6-20 mg/100 ml) was investigated after 24 hours in comparison to an Echinacea purpurea cell culture and attempts were made to increase the efficacy of the process by adding elicitors.
Arbutin was accumulated in cells and found in the media only in insignificant amounts. The arbutin content of the biomass extracts of V. radiata and E. purpurea was different, ranging from 0.78 to 1.89% and 2.00 to 3.55% of dry weight, respectively. V. radiata demonstrated a bioconversion efficiency of 55.82% after adding 8 mg/100 ml precursor, which was comparable with result of 69.53% for E. purpurea cells after adding 10 mg/100 ml hydroquinone (P>0.05). In both cultures, adding hydroquinone in two portions with a 24-hour interval increased the biotransformation efficiency. Different concentrations of methyl jasmonate (25, 50, and 100 µM) and chitosan (50 and 100 µg/ml) as elicitors increased the bio-efficiency percentage of the V. radiata culture in comparison with the flask containing only hydroquinone.
This is the first report of the biotransformation possibility of V. radiata cultures. It was observed the bioconversion capacity increased by adding hydroquinone in two portions, which was comparable to adding an elicitor.

Astrodaucus persicus, Apiaceae, is used as vegetable or food additive in some parts of Iran. The essential oils of different parts of Astrodaucus persicus from Kordestan province were analyzed for the first time and compared with other regions. In this study, antioxidant activities and total phenols determination of aerial parts essential oils and root fractions of A. persicus were investigated.
The essential oils were obtained by hydro-distillation from flowers/fruits, leaves/stems, ripe fruits and roots of plant and analyzed by GC-MS. Crude root extract was fractionated with hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol. Antioxidant activities by DPPH and FRAP methods and total phenols by Folin-ciocalteu assay were measured.
The abundant compounds of flowers/fruits blue essential oil were α-thujene, β-pinene and α-pinene. The predominant components of blue leaves/stems essential oil were α-thujene, α-pinene and α-fenchene. The major volatiles of ripe fruits blue essential oil were β-pinene, α-thujene and α-pinene. The chief compounds of root yellow essential oil were trans-caryophyllene, bicycogermacrene and germacrene-D. Total root extract and ethyl acetate fraction showed potent antioxidant activities and high amount of total phenols in comparison to other samples. Among volatile oils, the flowers/fruits essential oil showed potent reducing capacity.
The major compounds of aerial parts essential oils were hydrocarbon monoterpenes while the chief percentage of roots essential oil constituents were hydrocarbon sesquiterpenes. α-Eudesmol and β-eudesmol were identified as responsible for creation of blue color in aerial parts essential oils. A. persicus was known as a potent antioxidant among Apiaceae.

Rosa damascena, Tripleurospermum disciforme and Securigera securidaca were used as disinfectant agents and for treatment of some disease in folk medicine of Iran. The antimicrobial effects of different fractions of seeds extract of S. securidaca, petals extract of R. damascena and aerial parts extract of T. disciforme were examined against some gram positive, gram negative and fungi by cup plate diffusion method. The petroleum ether and chloroform fractions of S. securidaca showed antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, while its methanol fraction had no antibacterial effects. R. damascena petals extract demonstrated antibacterial activities against Bacillus cereus, S. aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. T. disciforme aerial parts extract exhibited antimicrobial effects only against S. aureus and S. epidermidis. None of the fractions had any antifungal activities. Therefore, present study confirmed utility of these plants as disinfectant agents. Six flavonoids were isolated from T. disciforme: Luteolin, Quercetin-7-O-glucoside, Kaempferol, Kaempferol-7-O-glucoside, Apigenin and Apigenin-7-O-glucoside. The flavonoids and the antimicrobial activity of T. disciforme are reported for the first time.

Pre-hospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is one of the most important components of health care systems. Community awareness about its services could improve the performance. This study is aimed at assessing the citizens’ awareness and satisfaction about Shiraz EMS. Through this cross-sectional study, 1680 residents of Shiraz citizens have been selected by cluster random sampling. Each person has been asked some questions about their knowledge and also satisfaction of EMS performance with a valid and reliable questionnaire through phone interview. The data were analyzed with SPSS using T- test, Anova and Regression with “0.05” level of significance. This study revealed that the knowledge of the residents who are living in lower socioeconomic part of the city is lower than the residents of the other areas. The mean awareness score of each area was significantly different comparing to the other areas, based on their socioeconomic status. In better socioeconomic status, the knowledge score was higher. There was also significant relationship between education and gender with knowledge about EMS performance. Meanwhile, the relationship with age was reverse. Although 48.6% had no idea about EMS, 527 (31.4%) were satisfied by its services. There was only 7.3% dissatisfaction. While the awareness about EMS’s duties could decrease irrelevant calls to EMS, education, especially for the residents of lower socioeconomic areas of the city is recommended. In addition, it is suggested that in feasibility studies or using other methods of evaluating EMS performance, socioeconomic status should be considered as independent variables.

Antimicrobial activity of the polar and nonpolar extracts of the roots and aerial parts of Peucedanum ruthenicum M. Bieb., Johreniopsis seseloides (C. A. Mey.) Pimenov and Cervaria cervariifolia (C. A. Mey.) Pimenov were examined against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The polar extracts of the roots and aerial parts displayed no activity against bacteria, while the nonoplar extracts of the roots which contains coumarins, presented activity against Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli.