Medicinal Plants
E. Nabizadeh; M. Haghshenas; Kh. Ahmadi
Abstract
IntroductionThe medicinal plant of Balangu Shirazi (Lalemantia royleana Benth) to the Lamiaceae or Labiateae family. This medicinal plant is native to the tropical regions of Asia, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. This plant is also found in various regions of the Middle East and Europe, especially Turkey, ...
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IntroductionThe medicinal plant of Balangu Shirazi (Lalemantia royleana Benth) to the Lamiaceae or Labiateae family. This medicinal plant is native to the tropical regions of Asia, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. This plant is also found in various regions of the Middle East and Europe, especially Turkey, Iran and in the Siberian regions of Russia, i.e. in Western Siberia. Due to the presence of high mucilage content, Lallemantia royleana seeds quickly absorb water through the hydration process and produce a sticky, cloudy and tasteless liquid that can be used as a new source of hydrocolloid in food formulations as well. Soil salinity is a growing problem in agricultural ecosystems that endangers the growth and productivity of plants. Salinity causes ionic toxicity, nutritional imbalance, pigment destruction and inhibition of photosynthesis, oxidative and osmotic stress, limited release of CO2 in leaves, changes in metabolic pathways, cell deformation, premature aging and finally cell death in it becomes a plant. Therefore, effective solutions to deal with soil salinity under agricultural management systems can include all kinds of salt-resistant species and biotechnological approaches such as the use of beneficial microorganisms that are able to improve plant tolerance to salt. Mycorrhizal fungi, one of the common soil microbes, can occupy the roots of most terrestrial plant species. Notably, mycorrhizal fungi can improve host plant tolerance to salinity stress by a series of physiological and biochemical mechanisms, including higher water use efficiency, photosynthetic capacity, maintaining ion homeostasis, osmotic protection, maintaining cell ultrastructure and enhancing antioxidant metabolism. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the role of three mycorrhizal fungi on seed yield, physiological characteristics and mineral elements (N, P and K) of the medicinal plant L. royleana under salt stress conditions. Materials and MethodsThis experiment was factorial based on a completely randomized design including the treatment of mycorrhizal fungi at three levels (R. irregularis, G. versiform, F. mosseae) with the number of spores 5 x 106 per milliliter of inoculum and salinity stress including four level (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 dS/m of sodium chloride salt) was done in three repetitions. This experiment was carried out in 2018 in a greenhouse at Islamic Azad University, Mahabad Branch, day and night temperatures were 25 and 22 degrees Celsius, respectively, with two relative humidity levels of 60 (during the day) and 40 (at night). The percentage and amount of carbon dioxide was about (mMol.mol-1) 500-600. Shirazi Balangu seeds were obtained from Pakan Seed Company of Isfahan with 99% purity and 80% potency. Distilled water was used for zero treatment (control) and pure sodium chloride salt (Merck, Germany) was used to prepare solutions with electrical conductivity of 2, 4, 6 and 8 dS/m. Balango seeds were sown in the middle of Mehr in pots with an opening diameter of 20 cm and a length of 18 cm containing soil, sand and manure (2:1:1) at a depth of 0.5-1 cm. Three fungi G. versiform, R. irregularis and F. mosseae were used for mycorrhiza inoculation, and there were at least 50 live spores in each gram of soil. The ratio of the inoculant used to the soil was one to nine (by volume) and in layers. In order to prevent any deficiency of nutrients, 10 ml of Hoagland nutrient solution with half the concentration of phosphorus was added to all the pots every week. The traits under study encompassed the seed yield of a single plant, seed oil percentage, antioxidant capacity, proline content, as well as the leakage of ionic substances and nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted on the data using SAS 9.1 statistical software. Mean comparisons among traits were performed utilizing Duncan's test at a significance level of 5%. Results and DiscussionThe results showed that the traits evaluated in the present study were affected by mycorrhizal fungus treatments, salinity stress and the mutual effect of fungi in salinity stress. Seedlings inoculated with mycorrhizal fungus R. irregularis had the highest seed yield, percentage of oil, proline, antioxidant power and mineral elements compared to the other two strains of mycorrhizal fungus. Salinity stress increased the percentage of oil, proline, and antioxidant power of L. royleana medicinal plant leaves, and increasing the salinity stress from 0 to 8 dS/m decreased grain yield and mineral elements. According to the comparison results of the average effect of fungus interaction in salt stress, the highest amount of seed yield and mineral elements in plant inoculation with R. irregularis fungus was observed in the absence of salt stress, as well as the highest amount of traits of oil percentage, proline and antioxidant power. It was obtained in a tension of 8 dS/m. According to the results of the present research, the use of R. irregularis mushroom strain had the most positive effect on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of L. royleana medicinal plant compared to the absence of mushroom inoculation. ConclusionIn general, the results of this study showed that mycorrhizal inoculation had a positive and significant effect on seed yield, antioxidant capacity, oil percentage, proline content and the concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium elements in L. royleana plant. Also, the results indicated that the use of mycorrhiza in the cultivation of L. royleana can partially prevent the occurrence of element deficiency in saline soils and reduce the high consumption of chemical fertilizers. This assertion has been corroborated by research conducted by other scholars focusing on medicinal plants. Employing mycorrhizal symbiosis in saline soils has been shown to enhance plant resistance to salinity. Therefore, by employing a suitable mycorrhizal strain with salinity resistance, it becomes feasible to mitigate the departure of saline soils from the production cycle, thereby averting consumption-related issues. Furthermore, the excessive use of chemical fertilizers has led to numerous problems, highlighting the need for alternative approaches.
Medicinal Plants
E. Nabizadeh; M. Haghshenas; Narges Dolatmand; K. Ahmadi
Abstract
Introduction
Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is one of the medicinal plants of the Asteraceae family that contains natural compounds, especially stevioside and ribaodioside A, which are estimated to be 150 to 400 times sweeter than sucrose. Plants are exposed to various environmental stresses during growth ...
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Introduction
Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is one of the medicinal plants of the Asteraceae family that contains natural compounds, especially stevioside and ribaodioside A, which are estimated to be 150 to 400 times sweeter than sucrose. Plants are exposed to various environmental stresses during growth and development under natural and agricultural conditions. Among these, drought is one the most severe environmental stresses affecting plant productivity. About 80–95% of the fresh biomass of the plant body is comprised of water, which plays a vital role in various physiological processes including many aspects of plant growth, development, and metabolism. Stevia is susceptible to various environmental stresses but the major effects are contributed by drought. Today, the fungal species Stevia rebaudiana is used as a biofertilizer and increases the production of secondary metabolites of economically valuable plants and also increases the growth and seed production of many plants. This fungal endophyte produces a significant amount of acid phosphatase for mobility in a wide range of insoluble or complex forms of phosphate, enabling the host plant to have adequate access to inactive phosphorus reserves in the soil. However, medicinal plants that are cultivated have often been reported to have lower abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the rhizosphere, which significantly reduces plant survival. Considering the coexistence role of mycorrhizal fungi in modulating the effects of drought stress, the aim of this study was to investigate the morphological, physiological and biochemical traits of stevia in response to the effects of mycorrhizal inoculation and drought stress.
Materials and Methods
This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of P. indica endophytic fungus under water stress conditions on vegetative characteristics, physiological parameters and micronutrients of stevia. A factorial experiment was employed based a completely randomized design with four replications in the research greenhouse of Islamic Azad University, Mahabad Branch in 2017. The first factor was drought stress at four levels (25, 45, 60 and 80% of field capacity) and the second factor was inoculation of seedlings with fungus at two levels (no inoculation and inoculation with P. indica). Water stress was applied based on a combination of plant appearance symptoms (no wilting to severe wilting) and soil moisture. Investigated traits included root colonization, dry weight, leaf number, plant height, stem diameter, chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll, carotenoids, proline, soluble sugars, antioxidant power and micronutrients including copper, iron, zinc and manganese. To analyze the data variance, SAS 9.1 statistical software was used to analyze the variance of the data.
Results and Discussion
The results showed that the evaluated traits in the present study were affected by the main treatments of fungus and drought stress. Seedlings inoculated with P. indica endophytic fungi had the highest percentage of root colonization, growth parameters, photosynthetic pigment content, soluble compounds and micronutrients compared to no inoculation. Drought stress increased soluble sugars, proline content and antioxidant power of stevia leaves and decreased the other traits by increasing the stress level from 25 to 80%. The highest rate of root colonization (26.90%), stem diameter (3.21 mm) and carotenoid content (1.71 μg/ml) was observed in the treatment of plant inoculation with fungi and 25% drought stress. While the highest antioxidant power was found in the treatment of plant inoculation with fungi and 80% drought stress. According to the results of the present study, use of P. indica fungus had the most positive effect on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of stevia medicinal plant compared to no fungus inoculation.
Conclusion
This study showed the positive effect of P. indica endophyte inoculation on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of root colonization, dry weight, number of leaves, plant height, stem diameter, chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll, carotenoids, proline, soluble sugars, antioxidant power and The micronutrients of calcium, iron, zinc and manganese showed stevia, and drought stress reduced the studied traits except for proline content, soluble sugars and antioxidant power. Inoculation of stevia seedlings with P. indica endophytic fungi at drought stress levels had the highest rate of root colonization, stem diameter, carotenoid content and antioxidant power compared to non-fungal inoculation. Therefore, due to the effect of biological compounds of natural origin and the production of plants with healthier active secondary compounds, the use of P. indica endophytic fungi can be recommended.
Medicinal Plants
Kh. Ahmadi; H. Omidi; M. Amini; E. Soltani
Abstract
Introduction
Kelussia odoratissima Mozaff is a native species of Iran which is a rare and endangered species. It grows as a wild in cold and mountainous bioclimatic and is used in traditional medicine to treat various diseases such as cardiovascular disease, gastric ulcer, respiratory and intestinal ...
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Introduction
Kelussia odoratissima Mozaff is a native species of Iran which is a rare and endangered species. It grows as a wild in cold and mountainous bioclimatic and is used in traditional medicine to treat various diseases such as cardiovascular disease, gastric ulcer, respiratory and intestinal inflammation. The change of status from dormancy to germination can be eliminated by using some treatments in accordance with the natural conditions of the mother base habitat. However, some physiological needs of dormant seeds can be met by scratching (mechanical and chemical), washing in running water, dry storage, cold and humid conditions, light, smoke, and plant growth regulators. The aim of this study was to investigate different strategies including pretreatment, leaching and constant germination temperature on seed germination characteristics and Kelussia seedling growth.
Materials and Methods
The experiment was conducted in Petri dishes at Seed Technology Laboratory of Agricultural Sciences Faculty of Shahed University. K. odoratissima Mozaff seeds were collected from their natural habitat in Fereydounshahr, Isfahan province in 2019.
This study was performed in the Crop Physiology and Seed Technology Laboratories of Shahed University, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, from 23.09.2019 to 22.11.2019. The cultivation was in Petridish at constant germination temperatures after priming and leaching. The experiment was performed as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with three replications. Each replication included 36 Petridish and 20 Kelussia seeds were planted in each petri dish. Experimental factors include constant germination temperatures (1, 5, 10 and 15°C), duration of rinsing with running water at 15°C (24, 48 and 72 h) and hormone pretreatment with gibberellin (0, 250 and 500 ppm). Before applying the hormonal pretreatment and temperature, the seeds were washed in running water in such a way that seeds were placed in a strainer that was not immersed and water flowed on the seeds for the specified periods of time for this treatment. In this case, germination inhibitors were washed from the seed surface. According to the test period and laboratory conditions, the laboratory temperature could be controlled at 15 °C with a thermometer and cooling devices. Then, for hormonal pretreatment, the seeds were placed in containers containing gibberellin solution with concentrations of 0, 250 and 500 ppm and refrigerated at 4°C for 72 h. After washing the seeds, 20 seeds were placed in Petridish with a diameter of 10 cm and a height of 2 cm on Whatman filter paper No. 1 and at temperatures of 1, 5, 10 and 15°C with 16 h of light and 8 h of darkness passed. Due to the fact that germination in seeds grown at this temperature at 15°C was zero in all treatment compositions, it was excluded from statistical analysis. To analyze the data variance, the SAS 9.1 statistical software was used. The comparison of means of traits was performed using the Duncan test at 5% probability level.
Results and Discussion
Germination traits, growth indices and physiological parameters of seedling photosynthetic pigments under the influence of leaching, temperature, gibberellin and the interactions of leaching in temperature, leaching in gibberellin, temperature in gibberellin and the combination of leaching treatment × temperature × gibberellin showed significant differences. The results showed that the optimum germination temperature was 1°C and about 54% of seeds were able to germinate at this temperature without using any pretreatment. However, pretreatment of seeds at a temperature of 1°C with gibberellin at 250 ppm and washing for 72 h increased the germination rate to 65%. It has also been shown that treatment with gibberellin at 250 ppm seedling length and gibberellin at 500 ppm improves seedling fresh and dry weight in three leaching treatments at 10°C. Chlorophyll and carotenoid content of seedlings was observed in the combination of 24 hours leaching treatment, temperature of 5°C and gibberellin priming of 500 ppm. Due to the wide variety of species of Apiaceae and also the variety of type and depth of sleep, various treatments to break dormancy and stimulate seed germination of plants of this genus have been proposed, the most important of which are wet and gibberellin. It should be noted that the germination ecology and appropriate treatments to break dormancy in different plant species, plants of the same family, same species and different ecotypes of the same species can be completely different.
Conclusion
According to the results of this study, seed treatment with 72 hours of cold water washing, 1°C and gibberellin pretreatment with a concentration of 250 ppm was able to show the highest germination percentage to achieve High germination is recommended. In addition, at 5°C under gibberellin pretreatment and leaching showed a relatively high germination percentage. Accordingly, gibberellin hormonal pretreatment at low temperatures was effective in achieving more germination under priming conditions. Is. On the other hand, a concentration of 500 ppm gibberellin increased seedling weight and photosynthetic pigments. In general, a temperature of 1°C followed by a temperature of 5°C was effective in increasing the germination of celery seeds and was able to record better results. Also, the suitable seedling growth temperature for mountain celery is 10°C and the application of Gibberellin hormonal pretreatment improved the growth characteristics of Kelussia seedlings.
H. Omidi; F. Pirjalili; Kh. Ahmadi
Abstract
Introduction: Water deficit is one of the major abiotic stresses, which adversely affects crop growth and yield. Plants use two different strategies, including drought avoidance and drought tolerance to grow under drought stress. Drought avoidance species are able to have a normal growth, which is due ...
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Introduction: Water deficit is one of the major abiotic stresses, which adversely affects crop growth and yield. Plants use two different strategies, including drought avoidance and drought tolerance to grow under drought stress. Drought avoidance species are able to have a normal growth, which is due to: 1) efficient and fast metabolism, 2) high uptake of water and nutrients, and 3) little production of secondary metabolites under deficient water conditions. While drought tolerance species maintain their regular growth, under drought stress, by: 1) adjustment of osmotic potential, 2) changes in cell wall properties, and 3) production of antioxidants and secondary metabolites, these species under prolong drought, and irrespective of plant type, plant produces higher rate of secondary metabolites, as a non-enzymatic mechanism. Such products are able to maintain plant activities, under oxidative stress, and in the presence of high rate of reactive oxygen species. Medicinal plants, including Balangu (Lallemantia royleana Benth.), are cultivated across different parts of the world including Iran for food and biodiesel purposes. Investigating the effects of drought stress on the production of secondary compounds by medicinal plants is an important issue. According to the previous studies drought stress increases the production of secondary compounds affecting the quality of medicinal plants. This must be considered when developing tolerant medicinal plants under stress, especially if the quality of medicinal plants is of higher importance than their quantity. The tolerance of medicinal plants is different under stress. Due to the importance of drought and its effects on the growth and the quality of medicinal plants, in this research the effects of stress intensity and plant species on the growth and physiology (including the medicinal contents) of Balangu plants were investigated. To our knowledge, there are not much data on such effects. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of drought stress on: 1) Balangu growth and yield, and 2) Balangu physiology including the activities of morphological traits, yield components and oil yield and the production of antioxidant enzyme affecting plant medicinal content. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted to investigate grain yield, yield components, and superoxide dismutase enzyme in three populations of Balangu (Lallemantia royleana Benth.) under drought stress. This study was conducted as a split plot experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replications at the experimental field of Shahed University during 2013-2014 growing season. The main factor consisted of four levels of drought stress (soil moisture content of -0.5, -3.5, -6.5 and -9 atm) and three Balangu Shirazi populations (Mashhad, Kerman and Taleghan) as sub-factors were considered. The main factor included drought stress levels at four levels (soil moisture content of -0.5, -3.5, -6.5 and -9 atm) and three Balangu Shirazi populations (Mashhad, Kerman and Taleghan) were considered as sub-plots. Measured traits were included root length, plant height, fresh and dry weight per plant, grain yield, grain yield components, mucilage percent and yield. In order to study the morphological traits, seven plants of each plot were selected with consideration of marginal impacts. About four square meters of each plot was harvested at maturity for determination of yield and its components.. The analysis of variance was does through SAS 9.12 statistical program and the means were compared by Duncan's multiple range test in 5% level. Results and Discussion: A set of yield and biochemical properties of three different species of Balangu which were affected by drought levels were determined. According to the analysis of variance the yield and biochemical properties of Balangu were significantly affected by drought, and there were significant differences between three species. The results showed that drought stress had a significant effect on growth components, yield components, grain yield, and oil yield and superoxide dismutase enzyme. With decrease of soil water content, plant height traits (24.73 cm), the number of branches (5.44), fresh (17.36 g) and dry (3.80 g) weight of plant, 1000-grain weight (1.51 g), harvest index (6.41 %), grain yield (157 kg.ha-1) and oil yield (37.77 kg.ha-1) decreased. Root length and superoxide dismutase content increased by 24.02 and 66.63% under severe stress compared to no stress condition, respectively. The highest grain and oil yield was obtained in Mashhad population under drought stress. In relatively severe stress conditions, the grain and oil yield of Taleghan population increased with the mean of 315.75 and 86.5 kg.ha-1, respectively. Under drought stress levels, the lowest reduction was observed in some growth characteristics and grain yield of Kerman population. Conclusion: Overall, the results of this study demonstrated that drought stress at flowering stage increased root length and superoxide dismutase enzyme of the studied populations. Furthermore morphological traits, grain yield components, harvest index, relative water content, grain yield and seed oil of Balangu populations were decreased. The highest seed and oil yield gained under moderate stress which belongs to Taleghan population and Mashhad population revealed the highest seed and oil yield under mild stress. Therefore, given the high stresses, introducing high-yielding populations under relatively severe stresses can lead to water use efficiency and irrigation management. Finally, the production of Taleghan population under relatively severe conditions such as arid and semi-arid cropping systems is recommended.
