Medicinal Plants
Fatemeh Khosravi; Mohammad Ali Bahmanyar; Vahid Akbarpour
Abstract
Introduction
Humic acid as an organic matter, made during chemical processes in the soil leads to improved root growth and aerial part of the plant. It increases the penetration of elements in the plant and improves water permeability. Zinc is involved in the maintenance of root cell membranes, ...
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Introduction
Humic acid as an organic matter, made during chemical processes in the soil leads to improved root growth and aerial part of the plant. It increases the penetration of elements in the plant and improves water permeability. Zinc is involved in the maintenance of root cell membranes, the activation of antioxidant enzymes, and the production of RNA and DNA. This study aimed to investigate the effect of applying humic acid and zinc sulfate on some morphological and phytochemical traits of Salvia officinalis L.
Materials and Methods
In this regard, this experiment was conducted as a factorial based in a completely randomized design with two factors (concentrations of 0, 1.5, 3 and 4.5 g/l humic acids and concentrations of 0, 3, 6 and 9 g/l zinc sulfate) in five replications in 2021. The studied traits included plant height, stem diameter, fresh weight, and dry weight, number of sub-branches, chlorophyll, carotenoids, phenols, flavonoids and essential oils. Seedlings of the same size and age as sage were grown under equal. The properties of the soil used in the laboratory were examined. Treatments were sprayed with humic acid 6% and zinc sulfate 34% in five steps, every two weeks.
Results and Discussion
Result showed that application of humic acid and zinc sulfate had no significant effect on plant height and only their simultaneous use had a significant effect on this trait and the highest plant height was observed for treatment of 1.5 g/l humic acid and 9 g/l zinc sulfate (66.50 cm). In stem diameter analysis, the use of humic acid (p≤0.01) and the application of zinc sulfate (p≤0.05) and the interaction of these two treatments(p≤0.05) affected the stem diameter. According to the results, the highest stem diameter was 8.69 mm, which occurred in the treatment of 4.5 g/l humic acid and 3 g/l zinc sulfate. Application of humic acid significantly (p ≤ 0.01) affected the fresh weight of the plant. Application of zinc sulfate also had a significant effect (p ≤ 0.05) on fresh weight. The effect of simultaneous use of humic acid and zinc sulfate on the fresh weight of this plant was significant at the level of 1% probability and the highest fresh weight was 87.26 g.plant-1, which achieved at a concentration of 4.5 g/l humic acid and 6 g/l zinc sulfate. Compared to the control plant, it has increased by 12.56 grams. The effect of humic acid on dry weight was significant at the level of 5% probability, while the effect of zinc sulfate application on this trait was not significant. The combined use of humic acid and zinc sulfate was significant at the 1% probability level. The maximum dry weight reached 29.73 grams per plant, achieved with a concentration of 4.5 grams per liter of humic acids and 3 grams per liter of zinc sulfate. Both humic acid and zinc sulfate exhibited a significant effect (at the one percent level) on the number of branches. Furthermore, the combined application of humic acid and zinc sulfate proved to be highly effective (p<0.01). The greatest number of sub-branches was observed at the 1.5 grams per liter level of humic acid. Humic acid had a substantial impact on chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoids (p≤ 0.01). Similarly, the application of zinc sulfate showed significant effects on chlorophyll a, b, and carotenoids (p≤ 0.01), as well as on total chlorophyll (p≤ 0.05). In the end, the simultaneous application of humic acid and zinc sulfate significantly influenced chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoids (p<0.01). The most significant effects on photosynthetic pigments (carotenoids, chlorophyll a, and total chlorophyll) were observed with concentrations of 4.5 grams/liter of humic acid and 6 grams/liter of zinc sulfate. The highest chlorophyll b content was obtained with the treatment of 3 grams/liter of humic acid and 6 grams/liter of zinc sulfate. The effect of humic acid and zinc sulfate application as well as their simultaneous use on the amount of phenols and flavonoids was significant at the level of 1% probability. The highest amount of phenol was 0.372 (mg gallic acid per gram of fresh tissue) which was obtained at a concentration of zero zinc sulfate and 3 g/l humic acid. The highest flavonoid content was 0.527 (mg quercin per gram of fresh tissue) which was observed in the treatment of 4.5 g/l humic acids. The use of humic acid had significant effect on the amount of essential oil. The percentage of essential oil reached the highest levels at the concentrations of 1.5 and 3 g/l humic acids.
Conclusion
Based on the results, the use of humic acid alone and in combination with zinc sulfate, had the greatest effect on most of the studied traits.
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 ...
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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.
Medicinal Plants
Roghayeh Raei; Vahid Akbarpour; Mohammad Ali Bahmanyar
Abstract
Introduction Fertilizer management is one of the main factors in achieving sustainable agriculture. Therefore, the integrated agricultural system recommends the use of organic matter along with the optimal use of chemical fertilizers. This method is a balanced way to improve the physical and ...
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Introduction Fertilizer management is one of the main factors in achieving sustainable agriculture. Therefore, the integrated agricultural system recommends the use of organic matter along with the optimal use of chemical fertilizers. This method is a balanced way to improve the physical and chemical properties of the soil, which leads to improved growth and increased plant yield. Organic fertilizers, especially livestock manures, have higher levels of organic matter than chemical fertilizers, and can be considered as sources of nutrients, especially nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. One of these organic fertilizers is poultry manure, which in addition to having macro and micro elements (manganese, iron, copper, and boron) is one of the cheapest fertilizers compared to other fertilizers used. It is also richer in terms of nitrogen than other animal fertilizers. Soil fertility is the factor that change the amount of active substances and essential oils. Micronutrients such as zinc, although needed in small amounts by plants, play an important role in plant growth and development. The application of zinc sulfate fertilizer improved the quantitative and qualitative attributes of basil, peppermint, sage, and rosemary. Researchers stated that the application of a combination of chemical fertilizers and poultry manure has increased the yield of garlic essential oil. Therefore, in recent years, integrated plant nutrition management has been discussed. Integrated plant nutrition management is based on the simultaneous application of organic, chemical, and biological fertilizers. Because organic fertilizers alone can’t provide the needs of high-yielding plants. Combined application of organic, chemical, and biological fertilizers can improve the physical and chemical conditions of the soil and increase organic carbon and nutrients. Savory is an aromatic medicinal plant from the mint family. This plant has a lot of essential oils and is very important in the food, pharmaceutical, and health industries. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of poultry manure and zinc sulfate in the cultivation of savory.Materials and Methods The present experiment was performed as a factorial in a completely randomized design with 3 replications. The factors consisted of poultry manure with four levels (0, 3, 6, and 9 t.ha-1) and the second factor zinc sulfate with four levels (0, 50, 100 and 150 mg.kg-1 soil).Results and Discussion According to the obtained results, the effect of poultry manure, zinc sulfate, and their interaction on most of the studied traits was significant. The highest height was observed in the treatment of poultry manure of 9 t.ha-1 + zinc sulfate in 100 mg. kg-1 soil, which showed an increase of 79.26% compared to the control, and the lowest height belonged to the control treatment. The total chlorophyll in the chicken manure treatment of 6 t.ha-1 + zinc sulfate in 150 mg. kg-1 had a significant increase compared to the control. The highest amount of leaf nitrogen was obtained in the treatment of poultry manure of 9 t.ha-1 + 50 mg.kg-1 with an increase of 82.03% compared to the control. Zinc element was observed with a 222.75% increase in poultry manure treatment of 9 t.ha-1 + 150 mg.kg-1. Poultry manure treatment of 6 tons per hectare + 150 mg.kg-1 with 261.53% increase compared to the control contained the highest percentage of essential oil.Conclusion The results of the study showed that the use of combined ratios of poultry organic fertilizer and zinc sulfate has been effective in improving vegetative attributes, available plant elements, and essential oil content.
Medicinal Plants
Vahid Akbarpour; Mostafa Motaharinezhad; Mohammad Ali Bahmanyar
Abstract
Introduction
Nowadays, spraying method is used in plant nutrition to optimize the use of chemical fertilizers and reduce environmental hazards. With the foliar solution, the elements are quickly transferred to the plant and delivered to the branch, leaf, or fruit. Surveys show that increase performance ...
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Introduction
Nowadays, spraying method is used in plant nutrition to optimize the use of chemical fertilizers and reduce environmental hazards. With the foliar solution, the elements are quickly transferred to the plant and delivered to the branch, leaf, or fruit. Surveys show that increase performance per unit area is one of the most important things that has attracted the attention of many researchers. The first requirement for high performance is high dry matter production per unit area. Some experiments have shown that increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the air can increase yield, accelerate flowering and accumulate carbohydrates in plants. One of the solutions to increase carbon dioxide concentrations in plants is to use compounds such as ethanol and methanol. Therefore feeding plants with alcohols such as ethanol and methanol as carbon sources is one of the appropriate methods to increase their quantitative and qualitative properties.
Materials and Methods
Due to the importance of peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) in the production of valuable secondary metabolites, and also the effect of ethanol and methanol on some morphological and physiological parameters of this plant, a pot experiment was conducted in factorial based on completely randomized design with three replications in the research greenhouse of Shahed University in 2018. Foliar treatments included different concentrations of 0, 15, 30 and 45% ethanol, methanol and combine them that was done in three stages. The studied traits were plant height, number of leaves per plant, biological yield, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, carotenoid, flavonoid, essential oil percentage, essential oil yield and protein percentage. Data analysis was performed using SAS statistical software (version 9.2) and mean treatments were compared by LSD test. Also charts were drawn by excel software.
Results and Discussion
The results showed that the simple effects of ethanol and methanol on plant height, biological yield, flavonoid content, essential oil percentage, essential oil yield and protein percentage were significant but their interactions were not significant. Ethanol 45% had the most effect on percentage and yield of essential oil and protein percentage. But the use of 15% ethanol treatment had the highest value in other traits (plant height, total phenol and flavonoids), which was at a statistical level with 45% methanol treatment. Also interaction between ethanol and methanol on leaf number per plant, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and carotenoid was significant at 1% probability level. The highest number of leaves per plant and chlorophyll a (29.55 µg/g fresh leaf weight) was observed in the combination of 15% ethanol and 15% methanol, while the highest amount of chlorophyll b (20.86 µg/g fresh leaf weight) and total chlorophyll (49.85 µg/g fresh leaf weight) was related to the combined application of 15% ethanol and 45% methanol.
Conclusion
Foliar spraying is one of the methods of fertilization and supply of nutrients to plants that due to high absorption rate nutrients can be made available to plants in the shortest time. The results of this study showed that all the studied traits were significantly affected by one or more of the ethanol and methanol treatments. Therefore, the foliar application of ethanol and methanol as carbon sources has an important role in improving the qualitative and quantitative parameters of peppermint.
Medicinal Plants
Soheila Charbandi; Faezeh Zaefarian; Vahid Akbarpour; Mohammad Kaveh
Abstract
Introduction: The tendency to produce aromatic and medicinal plants and the demand for natural products is increasing especially in the world. Ecological agriculture (Agroecology) of medicinal plants guarantees their quality and reduces the possibility of negative effects on their quality and yield. ...
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Introduction: The tendency to produce aromatic and medicinal plants and the demand for natural products is increasing especially in the world. Ecological agriculture (Agroecology) of medicinal plants guarantees their quality and reduces the possibility of negative effects on their quality and yield. Evaluation of different plant nutrition systems is one of the most important principles in the production planning of medicinal plants in order to achieve high yield and quality of effective ingredients. Proper fertilizer management is one of the most important factors in agricultural production. Identification of fertilizers which are compatible with nature and are suitable for plant growth could have favorable effects on quantitative and qualitative indices of the plant. Organic fertilizers are genuine and risk-free products that could be suitable for agricultural sustainability. Soil organic matter improves fertility and water retention, provides proper ventilation, long-term storage of plant nutrients and microorganisms, so replacing chemical fertilizers with fertilizers such as vermicompost and biofertilizer can reduce the above-mentioned effects. Biofertilizers are one of the operations that is nowadays in accordance with the principles of sustainable agriculture for soil fertility. Biofertilizers include the compost of one or more types of useful soil organisms or as metabolic by-products of these organisms that are used to provide the plant with the nutrients it needs in an agroecosystem.Materials and Methods: In order to investigate the effect of biochar, organic and biological fertilizers on the quantity and quality of Ocimum bacilicum L., a factorial experiment was done in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Experimental treatments included two levels of biochar (0 and 20 ton ha-1) and five levels of fertilizers (vermicompost (10 ton ha-1), Mycorrhiza, Azotobacter, Pseudomonas and no fertilizer application). Prior to planting sweet basil seed, biofertilizers and vermicompost were mixed with soil to the depth of 15 cm. Mycorrhizal fungi were mixed with seed. Azotobacter and Pseudomonas bacteria were also incubated with seeds (seed inoculated). It should be added that in this study no chemicals were used to control weeds and pests.Results and Discussion: According to the results, the highest plant height and number of main branches were obtained in biochar application with vermicompost (49.37 cm and 7, respectively), which was significantly better than other treatments. The interaction effect of biochar and fertilizer had a significant effect on fresh and dry weight of leaf and stem. Mean comparison of treatments showed that the highest leaf and stem fresh weight were obtained in biochar + Pseudomonas application (792 and 876 g m-2, respectively), which had no significant difference with biochar + vermicompost; and also, the maximum leaf dry weight and stem dry weight were obtained in biochar with Pseudomonas application (166 and 175 g m-2, respectively). The interaction between biochar and fertilizer on phenol, flavonoids and antioxidant activity of basil showed a significant differences between treatments.Conclusion: In general, the results showed that the use of biochar and biological and organic fertilizers could be effective in both the quality and quantity of sweet bail, where, the use of the bacterium Azobacter and Pseudomonas with biochar had the greatest effect on the quality and quantity of sweet bail. Finally, it could be concluded that the combined use of biochar with biological fertilizers had significant impacts on the quantitative and qualitative traits of sweet bail in ecological or low input agricultural.
Khodayar Hemmati; Bakhtiyar Ardavanpour; Mina Ghazaeian; Vahid Akbarpour
Abstract
Introduction: Essential oils make up a large part of aromatic substances in plants. Generally, essential oils are considered as remnants of main processes of plants metabolism, especially in stressful conditions. Summer savory (Satureja hortensis L.) is one of the most important plants in Lamiaceae family, ...
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Introduction: Essential oils make up a large part of aromatic substances in plants. Generally, essential oils are considered as remnants of main processes of plants metabolism, especially in stressful conditions. Summer savory (Satureja hortensis L.) is one of the most important plants in Lamiaceae family, which it’s more than 30 species grown in the East Mediterranean. It is one of the oldest plants that have been used as vegetables and medicinal and aromatic plants. Dried summer savory has been introduced as one of the most pleasant spices that are planting in large areas of farmland in many countries. Generally, the aerial parts of it, that is usually harvested at flowering stage, has therapeutic effects such as facilitating digestion, stomach tonic, diuretic, astringent, carminative, anti-diarrhea and anti-worm. Summer savory essential oil is used in food (conserves and beverages) and pharmaceutical industries. Various studies on S. hortensis essential oil has been showed that it contains high amounts of phenolic compounds such as Carvacrol, γ-Terpinene, Thymol, p-Cymene, β-Caryophyllene, Linalool and other terpenoids.
Organic fertilizers have been known to improve the biodiversity and may prove a large depository for excess carbon dioxide. These fertilizers increase the number of soil organisms by providing organic matter and micronutrients for organisms such as fungal mycorrhizae, (which aid plants in absorbing nutrients), and can drastically reduce external inputs of pesticides, energy and fertilizer, at the cost of decreased yield. Nevertheless they are as effective as chemical fertilizers over longer periods of use.
The aim of this project was to study the effects of different organic matters on vegetative and reproductive growth and percentage and components of essential oil in three Satureja ecotypes in Gorgan, Golestan, Iran climate.
Materials and Methods: This study was designed as a factorial experiment based on Randomized Complete Block design with four replications and done in research farm of Agriculture and Natural Resource, University of Gorgan in 2010. Treatments were cattle manure, municipal solid waste, leaves compost, the mixture of them and control. Three ecotypes of summer savory studied in this experiment were Kordestan, Shiraz and Yazd.
The plants were harvested at full flowering stage, when they have the highest essential oil and were dried in oven at 45 °C. The essential oils of dried samples were isolated by hydro distillation for 3 h, using a Clevenger-type apparatus.
Statistical analysis was performed by SAS software and the mean comparison were measures by using Duncan tests at 5% level of probability.
Results and Discussion: The analysis of variance showed that media had significant effect on yield components in summer savory. There were no significant differences between ecotypes and media*ecotype effect on some parameters of yield components. The cattle manure showed positive effects on bush height in this experiment. Hendawy et al (2010) showed that the application of cattle manure and sheep manure had reached significantly the 5% level of plant height and essential oils percentages. They concluded that sheep manure have macro and micro nutrients which provide thyme plants with their requirements from these elements. Essential oil percentage also, tended to increase with application of organic fertilizers either cattle manure, sheep manure or compost. Khalil (2002) showed the effect of two kind of organic fertilizers on Rosmarinus officinalis and Jasminum spp growth parameters and yield components. In this experiment organic manure treatments showed increasing in plant fresh and dry weight. This could be related to positive effect of organic manure on soil texture and fertility. Ahmadian et al. (2006) showed that the animal manure significantly enhanced the number of umbers per plant, the number of seed per plant, the biological and seed yield in Cuminum cyminum. Animal manure significantly enhanced cumin aldehyde and r-cymene and decreased b-pinene, g-terpinene and a-pinene in cumin oil.
Due to the results, treatments had no significant effects on essential oil percentages, but were effective on essential oil components. Hussein et al. (2006) showed that compost levels combined with different distances had a pronounced effect on the various essential oil constituents in Dracocephalum moldavica. In this experiment, Although Shiraz ecotype showed the maximum essential oil percentage (1.2 percent) but there was no significant differences between ecotypes. Among essential oil components, the maximum percentages of Carvacrol achieved in mixture media and Yazd ecotype. Control treatment showed the highest amount of γ- terpinen and paracymene in compare to other media. Shiraz and Kordestan showed also, the highest percentages of γ- terpinen and paracymene, respectively. Plants in mixture media had maximum levels of Carvacrol (74.69 percent). Between ecotypes, Yazd had maximum Carvacrol percentages. Between media, Control treatment was maximum contents of γ –terpinen (5.48) and paracymene (1.76) and other treatments had reduction effects on essential oil components. Between ecotypes, the highest γ-terpinen percentage (5/79) was in Shiraz ecotype and the highest p-cymene percentage (1/69) was in kordistan ecotype.
Conclusion: Therefore, by considering the fertilization of savory plants with different organic manure fertilizers in the form of compost that are economic in each region is recommended.
Farnaz Moghadami; Khodayar Hemmati; Vahid Akbarpour
Abstract
Introduction: Citrus is in the first rank in the world with respect to production among fruits. They are grown commercially in more than 50 countries around the world. Several factors such as rootstock, nutrition and irrigation regimes, cultivation design and etc. may affect the promotion of quality ...
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Introduction: Citrus is in the first rank in the world with respect to production among fruits. They are grown commercially in more than 50 countries around the world. Several factors such as rootstock, nutrition and irrigation regimes, cultivation design and etc. may affect the promotion of quality and quantity of fruits. Lemon fruits are among the most valuable functional diets shown to lower oxidative-related disease risks, particularly cardiovascular disease. A well-documented characteristic of these fruits is the accumulation of high amounts of glycoside flavonones, named hesperidin in the fruits. Several recent studies have demonstrated that the cytoprotective action of citrus fruits is enhanced by the presence of antioxidants including vitamin C, phenolics, carotenoids and flavonoids. Hesperidin and its metabolites significantly have been found to lower the total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations in plasma. Hesperidin acts as a chemopreventive agent against colon carcinogenesis induced by azoxymethane. Lemons are one of the citrus species having many medicinal effects owing to their secondary metabolites. Flavonoids are a part of aromatic polyphenols having different biological actions such as antioxidant activity, anti-cancer, anti-sensation and etc. Hesperidin is one of the abundant secondary metabolites belonging to flavonoids in citrus, which is effective in treating many diseases.
Materials and Methods: In order to investigate the effect of lemon fruits (Citrus lemon cv. Cluster, C. lemon cv. Lisbon and C. lemon cv. Eureka) tissue type and harvesting time on the flavonoids hesperidin content, this experiment was carried out. Thus, this research was conducted in a factorial arrangement on the basis of completely randomized design with three factors: tissue type (Flavedo, Albedo and Flesh), harvesting time (45, 75, 105 and 135 days after full bloom) and three lemon cultivars (Cluster, Lisbon and Eureka) with three replications. Studied trees in Kotra Research Station were planted for research aims and were 20-year grafted on sour orange rootstocks. For selection of trees, the same height, crown, and other morphological attributes were considered. As the fruit quality may be differ in different parts of crown, fruits were harvested from different geographical orientations of crown. Samples were gathered after full bloom at the 30-day intervals. The measured parameters were included fruit weight, diameter, peel thickness, dry matter and hesperidin flavonoid in extraction of various fruit tissues. Extraction was conducted by methanol and hesperidin content recorded by High Performance Liquid Choromatography (HPLC). Chemicals and reagents used in this study were high quality grade and acquired from Sigma-Aldrich
Results and Discussion: Results showed that the fruit harvesting time significantly affected on fruit diameter, peel thickness, dry matter and also hesperidin content of tissue extraction. Fruit diameter variation was related to the fruit weight. The highest fruit weight attained in cultivars Lisbon and Eureka (88.39 g and 84.72 g, respectively) at the fourth harvesting time (135 days after full bloom) and the minimum, in sour lemon cv. Cluster (4.16 g) at the first harvesting time (45 days after full bloom). The maximum of fruit diameter was recorded in cultivar Lisbon (54.81 mm) at the fourth harvesting time and the minimum diameter in cultivar Eureka (20.75 mm) at the first harvesting time. Fruit peel thickness at the first harvesting stage increased and then decreased. Cluster sour lemon cultivar possessed the highest peel thickness (7.16 mm) and the Eureka cultivar had the minimum (4.66 mm). Percentage of dry matter increased at the first harvesting stage and then decreased. The maximum percentage of dry matter was recorded in cluster sour lemon cultivar (22.83%) and minimum in Lisbon lemon cultivar (11.36%). The highest amount of hesperidin was observed in Lisbon cultivar (1606.93 ppm). These amounts decreased afterward until fruit harvesting time. The highest hesperidin content was produced in albedo tissue. Lisbon lemon in the hesperidin was better than the other two cultivars. It is concluded that the most suitable time of mature fruits harvesting is 45 days after full bloom. At this time the fruit diameter of lemon cv. Eureka, Lisbon and Cluster were 20.7, 22.8 and 25.8 mm; respectively. Hesperidin flavonoid was produced in albedo tissue in all cultivars. Therefor; fruit albedo tissue can be regarded as the best tissue for extracting hesperidin. Hesperidin was severely affected by harvesting time, tissue and cultivar. Hesperidin was achieved in the most amounts at the first harvesting stage in Lisbon lemon compared to all studied cultivars. As the fresh consumption of Eureka, Lisbon and specially Cluster lemon is few, thus preparing programs to extract flavonoid and use this cultivar in food industries is suggested.
Farzaneh Nourbakhsh; Vida Chalavi; Vahid Akbarpour
Abstract
Introduction: Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) is a perennial, ever green and fragrant plant belongs to Lamiaceae family. Vegetative parts of this plant have essential oil and compounds with anti oxidant and antibacterial properties which are used extensively in pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic ...
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Introduction: Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) is a perennial, ever green and fragrant plant belongs to Lamiaceae family. Vegetative parts of this plant have essential oil and compounds with anti oxidant and antibacterial properties which are used extensively in pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries. The use of biofertilizers such as vermicompost and Nitroxin could have beneficial effect on production of rosemary by increasing the production of plant growth hormones and the availability of macro and micro nutrients in growing media.
Materials and Methods: The effect of vermicompost and Nitroxin biofertilizers was investigated on growth, yield, the amounts of photosynthetic pigments, flavonoid, essential oil percentage and yield of rosemary. The experiment was based on a randomized complete block design with two factors, including vermicompost (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40% w/w) and Nitroxin (inoculated and non-inoculated with Nitroxin) with four replications. This research was done at Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Sari, Iran, in 2012-2013. Uniform one-year old rooted rosemary cuttings were selected for this experiment. Before planting, rooted cuttings were treated in diluted Nitroxin solution in water (1:10) for 10 minutes. After planting, rosemary plants were fertilized twice by Nitroxin for every 45 days according to the producing company recommendation. During growth period, irrigation was done according to plants requirement. At the end of experiment, parameters such as plant height, shoot fresh and dry weight, root dry weight, chlorophyll a, total chlorophyll, leaf flavonoid and essential oil yield were measured. Data was analyzed using standard analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the general linear models procedure of SAS, (version 9.1; SAS Institute, Cary, N.C.). Differences among means were tested by least significant difference (LSD) (p ≤ 0.05).
Results and Discussion: Obtained results showed that the application of different levels of vermicompost and Nitroxin inoculation and their interactions had significant effect on some rosemary morphological and physiological properties such as plant height, shoot fresh and dry weight, root dry weight, chlorophyll a, total chlorophyll, leaf flavonoid and essential oil yield. The interaction of vermicompost and Nitroxin were highly significant for shoot weight. The highest fresh weight (71.55 g) for each plant were obtained from 40% vermicompost with Nitroxin inoculated treatment. The lowest fresh weight (45.62 g and 44.4g) belonged to 10% vermicompost and control treatments, respectively. Shoot dry weight yield was also affected by vermicompost with Nitroxin interaction and was highly significant. The highest dry weight (31.37 g) was obtained from 40% vermicompost with Nitroxin inoculated treatment while the lowest dry weight (18.68 g and 18.79 g) was observed in control and Nitroxin treatment, respectively. The amount of chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll were affected by vermicompost with Nitroxin interaction too. The highest amount of chlorophyll a (25.89 mg/g) was observed in 30% vermicompost treatment. The highest amount of chlorophyll b (2.13 and 1.81 mg/g) belonged to 20% and 30% vermicompost treatments, respectively and , the highest amount of total chlorophyll (27.7 mg/g) was measured in 20% vermicompost in combination with Nitroxin inoculated treatment. The highest amount of leaf flavonoid (6.25 mg/g) was determined in 10% vermicompost with Nitroxin inoculated treatment. The highest essential oil yield (0.263 and 0.272 g per plant) was obtained from 20% and 30% vermicomposts treatments, respectively. According to the presented results, amendment of growing media with vermicompost and Nitroxin inoculation significantly increased quantity and quality properties of rosemary.
Conclusions: The presented results showed that the use of vermicompost, and Nitroxin separately or in combination have positive effect on growth yield, pigments formation and essential oil yield of rosemary. The increased fresh and dry yield of rosemary in this study could be the result of optimum condition of growth media provided by vermicompost. The use of vermicompost increases water holding capacity and better ventilation environment for plant roots. In addition, the presence of vermicompost in growing media provides greater nutrient availability for plants and therefore increases plant fresh and dry yield. This greater nutrient availability could be due to increased microbial population and their activities in vermicompost- amended growth media.
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 ...
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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 ...
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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
