Medicinal Plants
Mansoureh Fadaei; Vahid Akbarpour; Seyyed Javad Mousavizadeh; Kamran Ghasemi
Abstract
Introduction
Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) is a medicinal plant belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family and the order Cucurbitals. The seeds of this plant are a rich source of essential oils and proteins for the body. It is used in the production of various drugs such as Peponen, Pepostrin, Grunfig and treatment ...
Read More
Introduction
Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) is a medicinal plant belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family and the order Cucurbitals. The seeds of this plant are a rich source of essential oils and proteins for the body. It is used in the production of various drugs such as Peponen, Pepostrin, Grunfig and treatment of prostate swelling, urinary tract inflammation, atherosclerosis, gastrointestinal regulation, etc. Since the components of medicinal plants are low at natural condition, and could be increased by means of different environmental conditions, nutrition or application of elicitors; thus, it is necessary to work on mentioned parameters effects on quantitative and qualitative attributes of medicinal plants. Recent years, many researches have been done based on natural components for increment of yield and secondary metabolites of medicinal plants. Ascorbic acid is one of these materials which its effect on plant growth has been validated. In the management of agricultural inputs, especially in the cultivation of medicinal plants, the application of substances that have the least harmful side effects on human health and the environment is recommended. Meanwhile, sucrose and ascorbic acid are healthy substances to improve growth and increase crop yield. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the effect of these two substances on yield, yield components and phytochemical characteristics of pumpkins.
Materials and Methods
Pumpkin seeds were prepared from Pakan Bazr Esfahan by purity of 99%. Then, planted in a farm of 500 m2 at Behshar. After plant growth, spray treatments were conducted at three times as before flowering, onset of flowering and fruit set stages. This experiment was conducted in factorial with sucrose factor at four levels (0, 5, 10, 15 g.l-1) and ascorbic acid factor at four levels (0, 15, 30, 45 mM), based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The studied characteristics included number of leaves and fruits, plant yield, 1000-seed weight, total number of seeds, number of healthy seeds, percentage of healthy seeds, number of blank (deaf) seeds, percentage of blank seeds, total chlorophyll, antioxidant activity, phenol, flavonoids, protein and oil percentage. Statistical analysis of data was performed using SAS statistical software and comparison of mean was performed using the least significant difference (LSD) at the level of 5% probability. Figures were graphed with Excel software.
Results and Discussion
According to this study results, the effect of foliar application of sucrose and ascorbic acid and their interaction on most of the studied traits was significant. Application of 15 g.l-1 sucrose with 15 mM ascorbic acid increased the number of fruits to 1.68 per plant, which showed an increase compared to the control treatment. The highest total number of seeds with an average of 464 seeds per fruit was obtained by applying 5 g.l-1 sucrose with 45 mM ascorbic acid, which compared to the control (247.33) recorded an increase of 87.60%. The highest total chlorophyll content was measured with an average of 2.081 (mg.g-1 fresh weight) using 5 g.l-1 sucrose with 15 mM ascorbic acid, which showed an increase of 1.81% compared to the control treatment (2.044). Also, application of 15 g.l-1 sucrose along with 15 mM ascorbic acid increased protein by 40.03%, which showed an increase of 79.26% compared to the control (22.33). Other results indicate that increasing the amount of seed oil up to 44.50% is available with the application of 15 g.l-1 sucrose with 30 mM ascorbic acid and also with the application of 10 g.l-1 sucrose with 45 mM ascorbic acid; which had an increase of 16.61% compared to the control (38.16). The results of the present study showed that the application of combined ratios of sucrose and ascorbic acid has been effective in improving the quantitative and qualitative attributes of pumpkin, including protein content and percentage of pumpkin seed oil.
Conclusion
Since the treatment of sucrose 10 g.l-1 with 45 mM ascorbic acid significantly affected most of important attributes such as total antioxidant activity, total flavonoids, protein content and high oil content, therefore, this combination of treatment can be applied to increase the quality of pumpkin seeds. However, if only quantity is important, the treatment of sucrose 15 g.l-1 with 15 mM ascorbic acid, which caused the highest number of fruits per plant, the highest yield as well as the highest protein, can be recommended.
Growing vegetables
Zeinab Toosi; Seyyed Javad Mousavizadeh; Kambiz Mashayekhi; Mehdi Alizade
Abstract
Introduction Asparagus, scientifically named Asparagus officinalis. L is a perennial plant belonging to the Asparagaceae family. Asparagus is a large genus in this genus that has about 200 species. The most important species for agricultural purposes is A. officinalis. Somatic embryogenesis is the ...
Read More
Introduction Asparagus, scientifically named Asparagus officinalis. L is a perennial plant belonging to the Asparagaceae family. Asparagus is a large genus in this genus that has about 200 species. The most important species for agricultural purposes is A. officinalis. Somatic embryogenesis is the formation of an embryo from an-asexual cell in vitro that similar to a seed embryo, is able to develop into a complete seedling. Somatic embryogenesis is a complex molecular and biochemical process based on cellular potentiogenicity and a model in the study of plant growth. In this unique process of embryogenesis, the growth cells acquire the capacity for embryogenesis under conditions of cellular stress. Sucrose is the predominant sugar in plants for energy production and facilitates vital functions. Sucrose is converted to glucose and glucose. Sucrose is the most common source of carbohydrates used in plant tissue culture.Materials and Methods The present study was performed in the tissue culture laboratory of the horticulture department of Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources in 1399 and 1400. Native Iranian asparagus seeds with octaploid ploidy level were used in this experiment. B5 medium containing 2, 4-D with a concentration of 2 mg /l was used to induce the embryo. Concentrations of 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15% in liquid medium were used to evaluate the effect of sucrose. The pH of the culture media were adjusted to 5.7. After the induction phase, the samples entered the realization phase and the subculture were cultured in the previous environments but with the aim of emerging the embryos (realization phase) while the hormone was removed from them. After 4 weeks in the embryonic development stage, the number of globular and bipolar embryos was observed using a computer-connected stereoscope at 20 and 40 micron magnifications.Results and DiscussionThe results obtained from this study showed that there is a significant difference between different concentrations of sucrose in terms of embryogenesis formation at different stages of embryogenesis. According to the presented results, change in sucrose concentration caused a change in the formation of embryos and the highest number of spherical embryos was observed with a significant difference (p <0.001) in 9% sucrose concentration. According to the comparison results, the concentration of 9% sucrose showed the highest amount of bipolar embryo among other different concentrations. Statistical results of photosynthetic pigments and anthocyanins showed that there was a significant difference between different concentrations of sucrose. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the highest levels of chlorophyll a, b, total and carotenoids were observed at a concentration of 9% sucrose and the lowest amount of chlorophyll a at concentration of 12% and total chlorophyll and carotenoids at concentration of 3%. Also, the results obtained from regression analysis showed that the highest amount of photosynthetic pigments and starch was observed in 9% sucrose concentration. Finally, in this study, it was found that the best concentration affecting the vegetative embryogenesis of octaploid asparagus is 9% sucrose. Conclusion Carbohydrates are the main constituents of the plant and are most used in tissue culture medium, especially sucrose for growth and differentiation. It is noteworthy that high concentrations of sucrose are not only nutritional but also change the osmotic pressure in the culture medium. The relationship between glucose status and embryonic formation has been proven. In the meantime, the capacity of sucrose to support embryonic growth is greater, so that increasing sugars such as sucrose increase the potential for embryogenesis. According to the results of the present study, 9% sucrose in B5 culture medium showed an important role in chlorophyll production and caused photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism in this medium to increase, and as a result, the amount of sugar and its accumulation in culture explants. Increased in this medium and eventually caused the emergence of embryos with photosynthetic pigments in the resulting seedlings. Increasing the level of sucrose also prevents rapid germination and helps the development of the root system.
Kambiz Mashayekhi; Hossein Sadeghi; Vahid Akbarpour; Sadegh Atashi; Yousef Ghasemi; Seyyed Javad Mousavizadeh
Abstract
Carbohydrate flow between vegetative and reproductive parts of trees is one of the determining factors of yield and fruit quality. Therefore, it varies during different times of growth season. The aim of this study was to investigate the carbohydrate content variation during growth season between leaf ...
Read More
Carbohydrate flow between vegetative and reproductive parts of trees is one of the determining factors of yield and fruit quality. Therefore, it varies during different times of growth season. The aim of this study was to investigate the carbohydrate content variation during growth season between leaf and fruit of nectarine. So, eight nectarine trees cv. Red Gold selected randomly in the orchard and after labeling two of them combined and four replications achieved for laboratory tests. Results indicated that the highest fresh (9.3 g) and dry (3.3 g) weight of the leaves recorded at the last harvesting stage. Fresh to dry weight ratio showed a descending trend than can be indicated this fact that leaf biomass is low at primary harvesting stages and increased gradually. Chlorophyll a, b and ab reached to the highest content at the last harvesting stage. Total sugar content showed an ascending trend at second and third harvesting stages and decreased at final harvesting stage. Fruit chlorophyll content also decreased by maturation and fruit ripening; while, anthocyanin content showed an ascending trend. Fruit total sugar content decreased by third stage, two weeks after pit hardening, but increased at the final harvesting stage. Sucrose content variations show a higher value at primary stages of fruit growth in comparison with next stages and decreased by final stages. Total sugar increased at the fourth stage to third harvesting stage.
Kambiz Mashayekhi; Hossein Sadeghi; Vahid Akbarpour; Sadegh Atashi; Seyyed Javad Mousavizadeh; Malihe Abshaei; Zohre Nazari
Abstract
Citrus fruits contain numerous nutrients and secondary metabolites including sugars, vitamin C, flavonoids and phenols which have high antioxidant activity and nutritional value. Factors such as cultivar, type of stock and fruit position affect the amount of these compounds. Hence in this study the amount ...
Read More
Citrus fruits contain numerous nutrients and secondary metabolites including sugars, vitamin C, flavonoids and phenols which have high antioxidant activity and nutritional value. Factors such as cultivar, type of stock and fruit position affect the amount of these compounds. Hence in this study the amount of sucrose, glucose, total sugar, vitamin C, flavonoids and phenols in pulp, mesocarp and flavedo of Parson Brown and Mars oranges grafted on Citrange, Cleopatra and Rough Lemon stocks were measured. According to the results, maximum of vitamin C was in Parson Brown cultivar on the Citrange and Cleopatra grafting stocks. The highest total sugar was recorded in Parson Brown and Mars cultivars on the Rough Lemon stock (P
Seyyed Javad Mousavizadeh; Kambiz Mashayekhi
Abstract
Abstract
Somatic embryogenesis is a new approach to in vitro plant propagation. This technique is based on stem cell obtain and its differentiation to a complete plant. This is affected by components of media culture. So, the effects of MS, B5 and NL media on carrot petiole somatic embryogenesis investigated ...
Read More
Abstract
Somatic embryogenesis is a new approach to in vitro plant propagation. This technique is based on stem cell obtain and its differentiation to a complete plant. This is affected by components of media culture. So, the effects of MS, B5 and NL media on carrot petiole somatic embryogenesis investigated via histological experiment. To do this, carrot petioles (with 1 cm dimension) cultured in liquid phase of these media. Different concentrations of IAA and 2,4-D were used for induction of somatic embryogenesis. For histological study, after induction phase, sampling from cultured petioles was done and fixed in FAA solution. After dehydration, paraffin embedding, blocking, sectioning and staining, samples were used to examine the specimen for the documentation. Results indicated that there is significant differences among MS, B5 and NL media with respect to carrot somatic embryogenesis (P
Kambiz Mashayekhi; Seyyed Javad Mousavizadeh
Abstract
Abstract
The variation of leaf number and area on fruit weight, fruit number and plant yield in relation with environment temperature in three cucumber cultivars (Green Gold and Dharwad native of India and a new cultivars namely Super Dominus) in experimental field of Gorgan university were studied ...
Read More
Abstract
The variation of leaf number and area on fruit weight, fruit number and plant yield in relation with environment temperature in three cucumber cultivars (Green Gold and Dharwad native of India and a new cultivars namely Super Dominus) in experimental field of Gorgan university were studied in 2007. In this study, the first flowers after formation of 4.99, 17.74 and 28.5 leaves in Green Gold, Dharwad and Super Dominus appeared, respectively. This obtained results showed that after planting with increase of daily time, leaf number, leaf area and dry weight (g) increased as well. Then with progress of plant growth the amount of heat unit which is required for completing of a leaf, one cm2 leaf area and one gram dry weight decreased. This trend continued till the end of harvesting that was lowest. The results showed that essential heat for fruit set in Super Dominus, Dharwad and Green Gold were 470.5, 485 and 593.25 degree days, respectively. A negative correlation (-0.86) were observed between the number of fruits per plant and their weight. In this research between time of first harvest and fruit number negative correlation (-0.93) observed but the correlation (p
