جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه "phenolic compounds" در نشریات گروه "باغبانی"

Producing compost, mulch, or organic fertilizers are suitable methods for utilizing pruning residues, which are effective in reducing environmental problems caused by the accumulation of pruning residues. Wood is a part of pruning residues that, due to decomposition and release of biochemical compounds, have allelopathic effects. Since limited reports have been published regarding the allelopathic effects of wood from trees and ornamental shrubs, in the current experiment, the biochemical compounds and allelopathic effects of wood from eight species of ornamental trees and shrubs were investigated. Pruned wood of Bougainvillea, Albizia lebbeck, Cordia myxa, Conocarpus, Dodonaea viscosa, Nerium oleander, Leucaena leucocephala, and Callistemon citrinus was soaked in water for 24 and 48 hours to prepare water elutes. The analysis of biochemical compounds showed significant differences in the phenolic compounds, tannin index (A280), flavonoids, non-structural soluble carbohydrates, total suspended solids, and electrical conductivity in the water elutes of wood samples, but the pH of the water elutes did not show significant differences. The duration of soaking wood in water (24 or 48 hours) affected the electrical conductivity and biochemical compounds in the water elutes. The Leucaena leucocephala extract had the highest tannin index (67.10 A280/ml) and soluble carbohydrates (81.1 mg/g), while the highest total phenol content was in Leucaena leucocephala and Conocarpus (1.107 and 55.114 mg/g, respectively). The highest electrical conductivity was in the Cordia myxa extract (87.2 ds/m), and the highest total suspended solids were in the Callistemon citrinus extract (0.61%). The highest level of flavonoids was found in Bougainvillea, Nerium oleander, Leucaena leucocephala, and Cordia myxa. The allelopathic effects of the water elute prepared from wood samples resulted in a reduction in germination percentage and germination index of cucumber seeds, as well as a decrease in the root and shoot length of cucumber seedlings, indicating the presence of allelopathic effects of biochemical compounds present in the wood of trees and ornamental shrubs. These results can be useful in selecting these species for designing landscape plantings to their allelopathic effects of residues on neighboring grasses and ornamental plants, or in managing pruning residues and producing compost or mulch from the wood of ornamental trees and shrubs.

 Over time, water deficit and environmental pollution by traditional agriculture that forces the producer to contribute to competitive and sustainable agriculture. Leafy vegetables are beneficial to human health, therefore, to adapt an eco-friendly approach in some vegetables, the partial substitution (25–50%) of mineral NPK by biofertilizers in lettuce improves the yield and agronomic features and produces healthy plants for human nutrition as well. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) from Asteraceae family is considered as one of the most popular salad vegetables as a cool season crop. PGPB (Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria) are rhizosphere bacteria that improve plant growth through a broad range of processes, i.e., phosphate solubilization, biological nitrogen fixation, siderophore manufacturing, phytohormone manufacturing, antifungal activity, systemic resistance induction and plant-microbe symbiosis promotion. The promoting of growth and yield of horticultural crops such as cucumber, potato, tomato and spinach by plant growth promoting bacteria inoculation at nutrient solutions under soilless systems have also been reported.

 In order to study the effect of growth-promoting bacteria on the yield, iron concentration and phenolic compounds of lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv. New Red Fire) under floating systems, the experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design with three replications in the Research greenhouse of University of Zanjan, during 2020. Experiment treatments consisted of five levels of PGPB (Pseudomonas vancouverensis, Pseudomonas koreensis, Pantoea agglomerans, Pseudomonas putida, and one level of combined bacteria (Pantoea agglomerans+ Pseudomonas koreensis + Pseudomonas putida+ Pseudomonas vancouverensis)) and control plant (without bacteria treated). Application of bacteria was done in two stages, one step before cultivation as seed inoculation and the next step as root inoculation. Lettuce plants grown in hydroculture condition with Hoagland nutrient solution. Growth conditions were environmentally controlled at a relative humidity of 60/70 % day/night and temperature was maintained between 20 and 17 °C. At 40 days after transplanting date, the lettuce head were harvested. The freshly harvested lettuce head were immediately weighed separately of each plant for fresh weight determination. Leaf samples were dried at 72 °C for 48 h in a drying oven and kept for further investigations. Also, leaf number per plant, chlorophyll and carotenoids contents, Fe concentration, total phenol, total flavonoids and anthocyanin contents were measured.

The obtained results in the current study indicated that the application of PGPB on lettuce caused significant increase in growth, photosynthetic pigments and iron concentration. The maximum growth rate and photosynthetic pigments content was observed in combined four bacteria treatment, so that, an increase of 388.2% chlorophyll a, 439.8% chlorophyll b, 398.3% total chlorophyll, 246.3% carotenoids contents, 42.6% plant fresh weight and 22.2% number of leaves was obtained compared to control plants. Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria (PGPB) can enhance growth and development of plants. PGPB have direct and indirect influences on plant growth process. The immediate promotion of growth involves either supplying the plant with a compound produced by the bacteria, i.e., phytohormones, or promoting certain nutrient uptake from the setting. Whereas, the indirect plant growth promotion happens when PGPB decreases or prevents the deleterious impacts of one or more phytopathogenic species. Plants inoculated with PGPB showed higher leaf iron concentration compared to control plant. Thus inoculation with combined four bacteria induced a 26.2 % increase of lettuce leaves iron concentration. The obtained results in the current study revealed that the inoculation with PGPB significant decreased the total phenol, flavonoid and anthocyanin contents. The maximum content of phenol (483 µg g-1FW), flavonoid (188.1 µg g-1FW) and anthocyanin (27.5 µmol g-1FW) were observed in control plants compared to treated plants.

 According to the results of this research, the use of PGPB in the hydroculture system, on the one hand, led to a significant increase in iron absorption, the synthesis of photosynthetic pigments, and subsequently promote growth and increases lettuce yield. On the other hand, due to facilitating the growth conditions and increasing the absorption of nutrients for the host plants as a result of inoculation with PGPB, led to a decreases of phenolic compounds including total phenol, total flavonoid and anthocyanin contents.

External and internal quality of citrus such as color, shape and taste increase economic benefit. The vigour of each rootstock causes qualitative and quantitative change and the effective factor on commercial maturity, which is important for gardeners and producers. Considering the characteristics of the fruit in grafted trees, the present research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effects of trifoliate orange, Citrange and Citrumelo rootstocks on some morphological, phytochemical and molecular traits of ‘Thomson Navel’ orange fruit.

This research was carried out in 2018 at Ghaemshahr Horticultural Research Station, Mazandaran. It was conducted in the form of randomized complete block design (RCBD) of uniform and 10-year-old ‘Thomson Navel’ orange grafted on ‘trifoliate orange’, ‘Citrange’ and ‘Citrumelo’ rootstocks with four replications. The samples were collected at the end of October and were transferred to the research laboratory of Horticulture Department, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources for further research. Measurements were made on the morphological traits, quality characteristics of the fruit, the phenolic compounds of the peel and the pulp of the fruit and relative expression of fruit pulp sucrose phosphate synthase1 gene. Data variance analysis was done using SAS software (version 9.0). Mean comparisons were done with Duncan's multiple range test

The results of analysis of variance showed that the rootstock effect on traits of length-to-diameter ratio, weight and density of ‘Thomson Navel’orange was significant at the five percent probability level (p<0.05) and the fruit length and diameter traits were significant at the one percent probability level (p<0.01). The results of mean comparison showed that the characteristics of length, diameter, length-to-diameter ratio, weight and density of ‘Thomson Navel’ orange at commercial maturity on the trifoliate orange rootstock were more than the two other rootstocks. Due to the early harvest, the density of the fruit was recorded lower than one, so that the highest amount (0.5 g per cm3) was observed in the rootstock of trifoliate orange however it was not significantly different from Citrange rootstock. Based on the results of analysis of variance, it showed that the effect of rootstock on total soluble solids was significant at the level of five percent. Also, the rootstock had a significant effect on titratable acidity, taste index, vitamin C, acidity, EC and total sugar at the level of one percent. However, the amount of vitamin C was higher in the Citrumelo rootstock. The highest amount of acidity and EC belonged to trifoliate orange rootstock and the lowest amount belonged to Citrange rootstock. The highest amount of total sugar was observed in the dwarfing trifoliate orange rootstock, while its lowest amount was recorded in the vigorous Citrumelo rootstock. The highest amount of total soluble solids was observed at the rootstock of the trifoliate orange. The amount of titratable acid in the Citrange rootstock was higher than the other two rootstocks. The taste index was higher in the trifoliate orange rootstock than the other rootstocks. According to the results of analysis of variance, the rootstock effect on the index of total phenol of fruit peel and pulp and total flavonoid of fruit peel was significant at the five percent probability level (p<0.05) and only on the antioxidant activity of the fruit peel at the statistical level of one percent (p<0.01). Also, there was no significant difference in total flavonoid traits and antioxidant capacity of fruit pulp. The highest amount of total phenolic, total flavonoid and percentage of antioxidant activity was found in the trifoliate orange rootstock. Also, between the fruit organs, phenolic compounds were recorded more in the fruit peel compare to the fruit pulp. The peel of orange is more exposed to ultraviolet rays and changes in environmental conditions, Therefore more secondary metabolites accumulate in that part of the plant. The highest relative expression of fruit pulp sucrose phosphate synthase1 gene was obtained in the Citrange rootstock.

The vigor of different citrus rootstocks caused the dwarf trees to have a higher accumulation rate of phytochemical indices than the vigorous trees. The trifoliate orange rootstock is suitable for fresh consumption due to the early commercial maturity of the fruit. Fruit peel rich in phenolic compounds is used for medicinal purposes. The technical knowledge from this research will be useful for citrus producers in East Mazandaran.

 Adventitious root cultures of medicinal plants represent a bountiful reservoir of valuable secondary metabolites.  The esteemed medicinal plant Echinacea</em> purpurea</em> (L.) Monech is highly sought after for its phytochemical properties, with a traditional use of its roots in herbal medicines and dietary supplements as an immune system stimulant for treating inflammatory, viral, and respiratory diseases. However, the heterogeneous synthesis of bioactive compounds in natural environments and the limitations of conventional plant production methods necessitate exploring alternative approaches for obtaining active plant substances and organs. Among various in</em> vitro</em> cultivation techniques, the cultivation of differentiated tissues, specifically roots, consistently demonstrates the ability to yield higher quantities of metabolites than undifferentiated tissues such as callus and suspension cells. 

 The primary aim of this study was to accurately determine the ideal combination of plant explants and plant growth regulators that would facilitate the successful establishment of adventitious root suspension cultures. Three distinct plant explants, namely leaf, petiole, and root, were carefully evaluated in this study. These explants were subjected to varying concentrations (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 mg.L-1) of two types of plant growth regulators: indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). After six weeks, the number of adventitious roots developed by the explants under different concentrations of plant growth regulators was measured. The impact of different sucrose concentrations (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 grams per liter) in the culture medium was investigated over a four-week cultivation period. Various dynamic characteristics of root growth, including fresh weight, dry weight, volume of the remaining medium, electrical conductivity, and pH, were closely examined. Furthermore, phytochemical properties such as total phenol, total flavonoid, and antioxidant activity were assessed. To administer the sucrose treatments, 0.35 grams of adventitious roots were placed inside 250 ml Erlenmeyer flasks containing 50 ml of half MS culture medium, 1 mg.L-1IBA, and varying concentrations of sucrose, maintaining a pH of 5.8. Measurements were taken from three flasks of each treatment weekly. The experiments followed a Completely Randomized Factorial Design, with statistical analysis conducted using SPSS software.

 Leaf explants exhibited superior root formation to root and petiole explants. The average number of adventitious roots in leaf explants reached 3.37, while petiole and root explants produced only 0.23 and no adventitious roots, respectively. The most effective root formation occurred in MS medium with 1 mg.L-1 IBA, resulting in an average of 4 roots per explant. Hormone concentrations of 0 and 2 mg.L-1 did not induce root formation. In the fourth week of cultivation, the highest fresh weight recorded was 29.8 grams per liter, marking a remarkable 3.4-fold increase from the initial inoculation weight. The culture medium's electrical conductivity and pH decreased as the cultivation progressed. Cultivation weeks did not significantly impact total flavonoid production and related antioxidant activity in adventitious roots. However, the cultivation period significantly affected the total phenol content at 57.56 mg of gallic acid per gram of dry weight. Altogether, lower sucrose concentrations proved more efficient for biomass production, bioactive compound content, and antioxidant activity. The highest biomass accumulation and total phenol content occurred at 3% sucrose. In comparison, in the fourth week of cultivation, the highest total flavonoid content and the highest free radical inhibition percentage were observed at 2% and 1% sucrose, respectively. Notably, a negative correlation was observed between the electrical conductivity of the remaining culture medium and root biomass in lower sucrose concentrations as the culture duration increased.

In light of the immense potential harbored by adventitious root suspension cultures of E. purpurea</em> as an alternative source for the production of secondary metabolites, particularly caffeic acid derivatives, the discoveries made in this research have the potential to advance the field of mass production for active root organs, thereby facilitating the synthesis of these precious compounds through the implementation of appropriate laboratory bioreactor systems.

 Nepeta, with 300 species, is one of the largest genera in the Lamiaceae family. Seventy-five species of this genus are distributed in Iran, many of which are endemic. Due to the medicinal importance and traditional uses of its various species, much research has been conducted to identify their secondary metabolites. Nepetalactone, cineole, and phenolic compounds have been reported as their main compounds, and most have medicinal, antimicrobial, and industrial properties. The amount of these compounds varies in different parts of the plant and different species and populations. Nepeta bornmulleriHausskn. ex Bornm. is endemic to Iran and is a type specimen from Kerman province. Although secondary metabolites have been studied in many species of this genus, more research is needed on N. bornmulleri. Therefore, the morphology, quantity, and quality of antioxidant compounds and essential oils were investigated in the plant's two vegetative and generative parts.

 Vegetative (stem and leaf) and generative (flower and fruit) parts of N. bornmulleri were collected in May 2023 from Rayen city (Kerman province) at an altitude of 2450 meters. The used generative parts were 80% flowers and 20% unripe fruits. The size of the plant, its vegetative form, and the structure of the inflorescence and flower were examined and photographed with the naked eye or stereomicroscope so that researchers could identify them quickly. Biochemical compounds, including phenolic compounds and essential oil, were studied in vegetative and generative parts. Total phenolic compounds, including total phenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins from fresh samples, were studied by spectrophotometric method. The phenolic compounds and anthocyanins profile were investigated using dried samples with HPLC. The analysis of essential oil was done using dry samples with gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC/MS). Essential oil extraction was done by distillation with water using Clevenger. The experiment was conducted in a completely random design, including two types of vegetative (stem and leaf) and generative (flower and fruit) organs with three replications.

 Morphological studies of N. bornmulleri showed that in the studied area, the height of the species is about 10-25 cm with hairy basal (rosette) leaves, apical and dense head-like inflorescence, purple-blue synpetal corolla with bilobate apex, synsepal calyx. The Androecium comprises four purple stamens of equal length (didynamous stamens) and an upper pistil with tetra-achene schizocarp fruit surrounded by persistent sepals. The total content of phenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins in flowering branches (generative) was significantly higher than in leaves and stems (vegetative parts). The profile of phenolic and anthocyanin compounds by HPLC showed that ten phenolic compounds and three anthocyanin compounds were identified in the generative part, and six phenolic compounds and two anthocyanin compounds were identified in the vegetative part. The most phenolic compound observed in both vegetative and generative parts was luteolin, while malvidin-glucoside was recorded as the most anthocyanin compound. The amount of malvidin-glucoside in the generative part was twice that of the vegetative part. The percentage of essential oil in vegetative and generative parts was observed at 0.2 and 0.1, respectively. In the essential oils of vegetative and reproductive parts, respectively, 10 (69.41%) and 16 (89.29%) identified compounds and 9 (14.59%) and 4 (6.21%) unidentified compounds were reported, which in total 84% and 95.5% constituted the essential oil.The main components of the essential oil of the vegetative part include spatholenol (31.2%), 1,8-cineole (14.5%), hexadecanoic acid (10.6%), myrtenol (9.7%), caryophyllene oxide (6.4%). ) and trans-pinocarveol (4.4%). In the generative part, 1,8-cineole (31.7%), spatholenol (16.2%), myrtenol (14.14%), dihydro nepetalactone (6.92%), trans-pinocarveol (6.7%), pinocarovone (5.2%) and caryophyllene oxide (4.5%) were the main components of the essential oil.

 Based on the results, the quantity and quality of phenolic compounds, anthocyanin, and essential oil in the generative part were higher than in the vegetative part of the studied species. So, it is suggested that the generative parts of the plant be used to obtain antioxidant compounds. The amount of nepetalactone, which is significant in most species of Nepeta, was relatively low in this species, while spatholenol and 1, 8-cineole were the main compounds. Considering the numerous medicinal and industrial applications of the two dominant species combinations on the one hand and the exclusivity and limited distribution of the species on the other hand, it is essential to preserve its different populations.

Plants have many defense systems to overcome stresses, especially heavy metals. Some heavy metals are part of pigments and enzyme compounds and are also essential elements. In concentrations higher than plants' physiological needs, they are toxic for plants, but some heavy metals such as cadmium and lead are even unnecessary. At low concentrations, they harm plants, and for this reason, heavy metals are considered stressors. Based on this, it is imperative to investigate these metals' effects on plant oxidizing enzymes' activities. In this research, in order to investigate the reaction of oxidizing enzymes and non-oxidizing factors against the stress caused by cadmium (Cd), the required artichoke after being prepared from the mountains of Kurdistan in the presence of phosphate buffer, pH 7 and PMSF 0.02 solution as Protease inhibitor was homogenized and after centrifugation at 3000 g and 15000 g, the upper clear solution was used as a crude extract and for subsequent measurements. In the performed tests, the effect of different concentrations of cadmium chloride (CdCl2) were measured on the content of proline (Pro), phenolic compounds (Ph.C) and the activity of antioxidant enzymes such as phenyl-alanine-ammonialyse (PAL), catalase CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) of artichoke root. This project was carried out in the form of a completely randomized design in three replications in vials containing three milliliters of artichoke root extract with seven treatments, in which the first group was treated as a control in the presence of distilled water only. The second group was exposed to 0.25 mM CdCl2, the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh groups were exposed to 0.5, 1, 2, 5, and 10 mM CdCl2, respectively, for 10 minutes. The samples were treated at room temperature of 20 to 25 degrees and 10 minutes of natural light. Then, the activity level of each antioxidant enzyme and the level of Pro and Ph.C was measured separately. In this research, at first, the distribution diagram of the data (enzyme or protein activity against different levels of Cd) was drawn, and then various linear and non-linear regression equations were used to fit the data. In the next step, according to the best type of equation and analysis of the response type of GPX, SOD, APX, protein, Pro and Ph.C was used from nonlinear regression analysis (power, hyperbolic, asymptotic exponential and asymptotic growth models) and to express the response of enzyme activity of PPO, CAT and PAL to different levels of Cd were used from the beta model.
All models indicated Cd's stimulating effect on the studied enzymes. The research results showed that the activity of all SOD, APX, CAT, PPO, GPX, and PAL enzymes as well as the content of Pro and Ph. C increased significantly after Cd treatment. Using five non-linear regression models, the highest activity of APX enzyme at a concentration of 4.6 mM (asymptotic exponential model), GPX enzyme at a concentration of 12.3 mM (asymptotic exponential and asymptotic growth models), SOD enzyme at 14.3 mM (asymptotic growth model) was interpolated. In addition, the most production of Pro and Ph. C was obtained at concentrations of 13.6 and 14.3 mM Cd using the asymptotic and asymptotic growth models, respectively. The highest activity of the PPO enzyme was at 8 mM, CAT at 4.8 mM, and the maximum activity of PAL was at 1.4 mM. The results showed that Cd, due to the induction of oxidative stress and the increase in free radical production, leads to an increase in the content of proline, phenolic compounds, and the activity of antioxidant enzymes in artichoke roots. Further changes in the activity of these enzymes during growth indicate the presence of enzymatic regulatory mechanisms in artichoke roots against heavy metals such as cadmium. Enzymatic antioxidant defense systems, Pro and Ph. C play a crucial role in the response of artichoke roots to heavy metal cadmium stress.
In general, results showed that Cd, due to the induction of oxidative stress and the increase in free radical production, leads to an increase in the content of proline, phenolic compounds, and the activity of antioxidant enzymes in artichoke roots. Further changes in the activity of these enzymes during growth indicate the presence of enzymatic regulatory mechanisms in artichoke roots against heavy metals such as cadmium. Enzymatic antioxidant defense systems and Pro and Ph. C are crucial in the response to heavy metal cadmium stress of artichoke roots.

Antioxidants are diverse groups of biological compounds, including phenolic compounds, flavonoids, alkaloids, and terpenoids, which act as free radical scavenging. Fruits are the natural antioxidant resources that constitute principal dietary components. Therefore, identifying the type and amount of antioxidant compounds in different fruits and the factors affecting them is crucial to achieving a diet rich in antioxidants. The quality and quantity of antioxidant compounds in fruits are influenced by various factors such as climate, species and cultivars, fruit developmental stage, processing methods, and storage conditions. In horticulture, fruits are divided into three categories based on climatic origin, including temperate fruits (rich in anthocyanins and phenolic acids) such as apples, grapes, and berries, subtropical fruits (rich in flavonoids and phenolic acids) such as pomegranate and olives, and tropical fruits (rich in flavonoids and carotenoids) such as bananas and mangoes. Also, there is a significant variation in the quantity and quality of antioxidant compounds in a specimen of fruits, which can be the basis for selecting parents by breeders to achieve antioxidant-rich cultivars. The amount of phenolic compounds in fruits is related to the degree of fruit maturity or ripening, and usually, with increasing age, the amount of phenolic compounds increases. From a processing point of view, recently, the use of wine and olive industry waste products has been considered as a potential source of dietary or food preserving antioxidants. In this review, various antioxidant compounds in different fruits have been considered, and the factors affecting their quality and quantity are discussed.

In the present experiment, sour orange and pomegranate wood as well as the main petiole and palm leaflets were soaked in water for 24 and 48 hours and some biochemical indices and biochemical compounds were measured and the allopathic effects was evaluated. The results showed a significant difference in electrical conductivity (EC), pH, soluble solids as well as some biochemical compounds including total phenols, flavonoids and tannin index between plant sample extracts in both successive washing stages. In all three plant samples, the amount of biochemical compounds in the second stage was significantly reduced compared to the first stage. Evaluation of allopathic effects of the extract prepared from the samples using lettuce seed germination test (as a model plant) showed that seed germination percentage, germination index, root length and shoot length in lettuce under the influence of the extract prepared from washing the sample Orange, pomegranate and date leaves had a significant decrease compared to the control (distilled water) treatment. These results indicate the importance of biochemical compounds in wood of fruit trees and measuring the changes of these compounds in cases such as the preparation of wood mulch, compost and leaf litter and other products that are prepared from wood waste of fruit trees.

To investigate the effect of ten species of mycorrhizal fungi belonging to seven different genera (Racocetra, Rhizophagus, Claroideoglomus, Funneliformis, Diversispora, Acaulospora and Gigaspora) on some growth and biochemical traits of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-groecum), a pot experiment based on a completely randomized design was conducted in the research greenhouse of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. The changes of biomass, number and length of pods, weight of 1000 seeds, photosynthetic pigments, phenolic compounds, soluble carbohydrates, total protein, and antioxidant capacity in fenugreek plants in response to mycorrhizal inoculation were studied. The results of variance analysis of the data showed that the effect of mycorrhizal fungi on all studied traits was significant at the probability level of 1%. Based on the findings, the response of fenugreek plant to inoculation with different species of mycorrhizal fungi was variable. Inoculation with suitable species of mycorrhizal fungi through improving the growth condition and biochemical traits of treated plants increased the fenugreek growth based on plant fresh and dry weights. In the present study, mycorrhizal species, especially R. castanea, A. langula, R. intraradicese, and G. margarita enhanced the amount of chlorophyll and the activities of antioxidant enzymes of inoculated fenugreek plant compared to the control, which was accompanied by increasing the plant growth in terms of fresh and dry weights in these treatments. According to the obtained results, inoculation of fenugreek plant with C. claroideum, R. castanea, A. langula, G. margarita, R. fasciculatus, and F. caledonium fungi can be suggested as a suitable alternative for chemical fertilizers to increase the yield of this plant.

Tomato is the second most important vegetable in the world after potato, which is rich in minerals and vitamins and has a special place among vegetables, agricultural and commercial economy, although one of the postharvest problems of this product is its high wastes. In 2021, an experiment was conducted to study the quality and storage life of ‘Sena’ cultivar of tomato by application of chitosan, vanillin and acetic acid treatments in the postharvest laboratory of department of horticultural sciences and engineering in Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan. The statistical design of the experiment was a factorial in the form of a completely randomized design. The first factor included the control (distilled water), chitosan 1% (Chit), acetic acid 1% (AA), vanillin 1% (Van), and a combined treatment (AA1%+Van1%+ Chit1%), while the second factor comprised the storage time during 3 storage periods (7, 14 and 21 days) at a temperature of 4±1°C and relative humidity of 85±5%. The results of the experiment showed that acetic acid prevented ionic leakage, microbial contamination, weight loss and maintained firmness. Vanillin treatment kept the fruit firmness during storage up to two times and prevented weight loss (3%) and ion leakage (14%), compared to the control. The lowest content of malondialdehyde, pectin methyl esterase activity, and microbial activity were observed in vanillin. In general, among the investigated treatments, vanillin, due to its antioxidant properties, performed more impressively in the preservation of tomato products than other treatments, and in the last period of storage samples treated with vanillin had the highest score. The vanillin treatment best preserved the evaluated characteristics of tomato fruit and is recommended for the tomato storage process. The treatment of acetic acid as a chitosan solvent was evaluated separately and this application led to the prevention of ionic leakage, microbial contamination, weight loss and maintaining firmness. With regard to results obtained from this research, chitosan and combined treatment had destructive effects on tomatoes, therefore the use of chitosan with low molecular weight is not recommended for the storage of tomato products.

In order to evaluate the response of quince cv. Isfahan seedlings to sodium bicarbonate stress in the presence of mycorrhizal, a factorial experiment was conducted based on a completely randomized design in the presence of four levels of soil sodium bicarbonate (0, 5, 10, and 15 mM) and four levels of mycorrhizal (Rhizophagus intraradices, Funneliformis mosseae, the combination of two species and no inoculation (control)) with three replications. The results showed a significant decrease in root colonization, seedling height, leaf number, shoot dry weight, relative leaf chlorophyll content, and total leaf antioxidant capacity with increasing sodium bicarbonate concentration in the nutrient solution. In contrast, seedlings inoculated with mycorrhizal, especially R. intraradices, increased these indices compared to the control treatment. Although a significant decrease in the roots and leaves iron concentration of quince seedlings was observed with increasing the concentration of sodium bicarbonate, the use of R. intraradices significantly improved the iron content, especially at concentrations of 5 and 10 mM sodium bicarbonate. A significant increase in the concentration of phenolic compounds and the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase enzyme activity was observed in concentrations of 5 and 10 mM sodium bicarbonate by mycorrhizal treatments. In general, it can be suggested that mycorrhizal, especially R. intraradices, probably facilitates the iron uptake and increases iron content in roots and leaves of quince seedlings in the presence of different concentrations of sodium bicarbonate by affecting the synthesis of phenolic compounds.

Olive (Olea europaea L.) is a valuable medicinal tree in addition to being used as a food. Olive leaf, as an organ containing active ingredients, is of great value in various industries. Use of olive leaves extract as a natural antioxidant is one of the most common applications of this plant. Oleuropein is the most important phenolic compound in olive species that plays an important role in health. Oleuropein and quercetin are used as effective compounds in anti-cancer, anti-virus, and anti-inflammatory drugs. To investigate the effects of vermicompost (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 tons per hectare) application on morphological traits, leaf yield, and oleuropein, quercetin, macro and micro elements of the olive leaf extract under field conditions, an experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications (nine shrubs in each replicate) at the Alborz Research Station, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands in two years. Three-year-old shrubs were planted at a distance of 5 m on the row and 5 m between the rows at a depth of 50 cm. Vermicompost affected fresh and dry leaf yield per hectare and quercetin and oleuropein amounts of the leaves significantly (at the level of 1% probability) in both years. The highest dry leaf yield per hectare was obtained in the 4 tons of vermicompost treatment (55.573 kg in the first year and 63.047 kg in the second one). The amount of quercetin increased from 18.48 and 18.7 µg.mg-1 dry matter in the control treatment (in the first and second years, respectively) to 34.67 and 37.7 µg.mg-1 dry matter in the 4 tons vermicompost per hectare treatment (in the first and second years, respectively). Also, the use of 2 tons of vermicompost per hectare increased the leaf oleuropein in both years. Different vermicompost treatments increased the uptake of most macro and micro elements including phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc, and copper in both years. The results showed that the appropriate amounts of vermicompostcould be used to produce a plant with high quercetin and oleuropein.

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

Gray mold is one of the most important pathogens of cherry fruit. In the present study, the ability of bioinhibition of Botrytis cinerea by antagonist bacteria and the effects of adding marjoram essential oil  on the growth of pathogenic fungi was evaluated. According to the results, with increasing in the concentration of essential oil, the growth rate of fungi decreased. In vivo, cherry fruits were infected with a suspension of 105 hg/ml of pathogenic fungus, then separately treated with a suspension of 108 cells/ml of selected strains of antagonist bacteria and marjoram essential oil at 5 levels. The qualitative parameters were examined at three times of zero, 15 and 30 days. The results showed that the treatment of Bacillus bacterium and marjoram essential oil at a concentration of 750 μl/l were the most effective treatment to increase the level of antioxidant activity and phenylalanine-ammonialyase enzyme activity. Total phenol content and anthocyanin content at the concentration of 1000 μl/l  were the highest after 30 days. The highest amount of polyphenol oxidase enzyme was recorded after 15 days at the concentration of 750 μl/l. According to the results of this study, the mechanism of B. subtilis and marjoram essential oil in the control of gray mold of cherries is probably due to the induction of resistance in cherry fruit and increased antioxidant activity.

This study investigated the effects of six postharvest treatments including: 1) wrapping with shrink film, 2) wax coating, 3) paper packing, 4) wax coating plus film-wrapping, 5) wax coating plus paper packing, 6) uncovered, on the physicochemical quality attributes of pomegranate, cvs. ‘Eshkafto’ and ‘Rabbab’. Treated fruits stored at 3.5 °C and about 85 % relative humidity for up to 12 weeks. Mean weight loss of pomegranate cvs. ‘Eshkafto’ and ‘Rabbab’ was lower in film-wrapped (1.19%), wax coated plus paper packed (1.94%), wax coated (3.67%) and paper-packed fruits (4.27%) compared with uncovered fruits (9.61%), respectively. However, the efficiency of wax coating plus film-wrapping in reducing weight loss (1.01%) was not superior to film-wrapping alone (1.19%). Total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of film-wrapped and also wax coated plus film-wrapped fruits of cv. ‘Eshkafto’ significantly were higher than that, control fruit, but with cv. ‘Rabbab’ only total anthocyanin of these treatments were higher than control fruit. Film wrapping plus wax coating also was highly effective in reducing electrolyte leakage in the husk of fruits and might be enhanced low temperature tolerance in pomegranates. Cultivar ‘Eshkafto’ had the highest contents of total phenolic, total anthocyanin, total soluble solids, titratable acid, ethanol and antioxidant activity.

Medlar (Mespilus germanica L.) is grown wildly in the East Azerbaijan province (Arasbaran). To evaluate the effect of different concentrations of sodium nitroprusside (SNP)(0, 3, 5 and 8 µM /L) on quantitative and qualitative parameters of medlar fruits during cold storage (1±1°C and 85-95% relative humidity) at five storage times (0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 days), a study was conducted in a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with three  replications. According to the results, the highest and lowest percentage of fruit weight loss were obtained at control (2.24 %) and 5 μM/L SNP (1.36 %) during storage, respectively. Fruit color parameters such as L*, hue, chroma and firmness of fruit were maintained at 5 μM/L SNP compared to control. The SNP at 3 µM/L was able to maintain total phenol, total flavonoid, total tannin at high levels and prevent increased polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity during storage compared to the control. Also, total antioxidant capacity based on DPPH method and activity of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase (CAT) and guaiacol peroxidase (GPX) at 8 µM/L SNP were higher than control. Therefore, SNP seems to increase the postharvest quality of medlar fruit via maintaining the membrane integrity, maintaining phenolic compounds, and reducing the activity of PPO enzyme. In general, it can be concluded that the SNP at 3 µM/L could prevent the excessive reduction of fruit compounds during the storage period.

To investigate the antioxidant properties of Oxalis corniculata L. leaves powder and compare the effects of its addition with vitamin C on the performance and meat quality of broilers under heat stress conditions, an experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with four treatments, five replications, and 10 birds per replication. The experimental treatments included the corn-soybean diet as a basal diet (control), basal diet + 250 mg kg-1 vitamin C, basal diet + 0.5% O. corniculata leaves powder, and basal diet + 1% O. corniculata leaves powder. To apply heat stress, the chickens from 25 to 42 days of their age were exposed to 34 ± 2 °C for eight hours a day. The performance traits including feed intake, weight gain, and feed conversion ratio were recorded at the end of the experiment. Also, at the end of the experiment, two birds per replicates were randomly selected and slaughtered to measure the meat quality traits. The total phenolic compounds content in the methanolic extract of O. corniculata was 11.73 mg of gallic acid / g of dry matter. The free radical scavenging activity (DPPH assay) percentage and the amount of vitamin C of this plant were obtained 46.63% and 88 mg/g of dry matter, respectively. The consumption of 1% leaves powder of the plant increased the feed intake and weight of broilers compared to the control (p < <0.05). The lowest feed conversion ratio was observed in the group of 1% leaves powder of the plant and vitamin C (p < <0.05). The highest water holding capacity and meat moisture was observed in the broilers fed with O. corniculata leaves powder compared to the control (p < <0.05). All the treatments reduced the cooking loss and dripping loss of meat compared to the control (p < <0.05). According to the results of this experiment, the basal diet + 250 mg kg-1 vitamin C and basal diet + 1% O. corniculata leaves powder treatments could improve the growth performance and some meat quality parameters of broilers under heat stress conditions.