Medicinal Plants
Zhale Zandavifard; Majid Azizi; Majid Darroudi; Azar Hosseini
Abstract
Introduction:Ganoderma lucidum is a high medicinal value mushroom have been widely used in the Far East countries especially in traditional Chinese medicine as promoting human health and treatment of many diseases. Nowadays, many published studies have established it contains a high source of nutraceutical ...
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Introduction:Ganoderma lucidum is a high medicinal value mushroom have been widely used in the Far East countries especially in traditional Chinese medicine as promoting human health and treatment of many diseases. Nowadays, many published studies have established it contains a high source of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical substances with potent and unique properties as immune suppressors, hypercholesterolemic agents, or coadjutant treatments in diseases such as cancer, hypertension, insomnia, anorexia, dizziness, and chronic hepatitis, among others. This species is rich in several bioactive compounds (over 400 compounds) mainly, including polysaccharides, triterpenoids, steroids, fatty acids, amino acids, nucleotides, proteins, and alkaloids. Herein, the fruiting bodies of G. lucidum were studied in terms of nutritional value and chemical composition analysis. and further assessment of antioxidant activity of extracts from the fruiting body. Materials and methods: In order to detection of nutrient elements, the samples were homogenized by microwave digestion (Milestone Ethos, Germany) with 1000 W maximum power and further characterized using Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Biochemical molecule contents were characterized using Acquity Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatograph (UPLC, Waters) coupled to a photodiode array detector (PDA, Waters) and an electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometer (ESI–QTOF/MS; Waters). In order to assess antioxidant activity, two kinds of extract including methanol 80 % (ME) and hot water (HWE) as solvent were prepared by ultrasonic method. Six different in vitro assays are used for the determination of antioxidant capacity including ABTS, DPPH, superoxide (SO), nitric oxide (NO) free radicals scavenging, iron-reducing power (FRAP), and iron chelating activity (ICA). The data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the means were separated by the Newman-Keuls Multiple Comparison test (GraphPad Prism 8, San Diego, CA, USA)). All data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation. P ≤ 0.05 values or less were considered to indicate a statistically significant difference. Furthermore, Half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) values for each assay were calculated from linear or logarithmic regression using Excel software.Results and Discussion: G.lucidum was characterized in terms of nutritional value and chemical composition. Generally, to study the nutraceutical value of G.lucidum, 14 elements were analyzed by ICP-OES. Amongst the macronutrient group, phosphorus and potassium (2910.8 and 1510.8 mg/kg dry matter) and in the micronutrient iron and zinc (8.5 and 7.74 mg/kg dry matter) have the highest amounts, respectively. In terms of biochemical compounds, totally 37 compounds were identified in which Ganoderic acid was observed as most abundant (15890.1 ± 232.1 μg per g dry matter) followed by Sinapic acid and Succinic acid (2011.4 ± 28.11 and 1505.33 ± 31.5 μg per g dry matter) were the predominant compounds. The results of antioxidant assays clearly revealed that, the methanolic extract proved to have higher antioxidant potential than one corresponding hot water extract for all assays. In ABTS radical scavenging activity assay, ME with the best antioxidant activity (IC50,48.46±2.42 µg/ml) had a higher activity which was significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) from HWE (163.51±4.51 µg/ml). For DPPH assay, radical scavenging capacity was dose-dependent and IC50 values of ME (111.93±1.39 µg/ml) and HWE (213.48±5.42µg/ml) was a significant difference (P ≤ 0.05). In FRAP assay, The highest level of iron-reduction was observed in the highest level of ME(IC50, 308.13±4.13 µg/ml). This extract had higher iron-chelating activity (IC50, 671.75±5.66 µg/ml) as well. These values in both assays were significantly more potent than HWE (P ≤0.01). In SO assay, ME extract (IC50, 488.8±7.38 µg/ml) and HWE (IC50, 645.92±5.48 µg/ml) showed no difference significantly. In addition, in the NO assay, both extracts released slight weak activity for neutralization of nitric oxide radicals, however, the highest activity level was related to ME (IC50, 1189.5±8.5 µg/ml) in comparison to HWE (IC50, 1343.2±10.6 µg/ml) that was significant (P ≤0.01). The results clearly indicate that different solvents used in this study significantly affected antioxidant capacities and total biochemical contents.Conclusions: G. lucidum, as a high medicinal value mushroom, proved is a very important source of nutrients and antioxidant compounds such as terpenoids, especially triterpenoids, and polysaccharides. The free radical scavenging properties, reducing power and iron-chelating inhibition of G. lucidum seemed to be correlated with phenolic compounds and triterpenoids mostly. Therefore, based on the nutritional and biochemical profile of G. lucidum, and also its antioxidant power, this mushroom possesses a high nutrient potential that reflects positively on its health benefits.
Medicinal Plants
Saeideh Mohtashami
Abstract
Introduction
Plant materials contain many bioactive compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, phenolic compounds, etc., which can be used to prepare health products, cosmetics, medicines, food additives, etc., and have great importance for improving human health and quality of life (Ahmadian ...
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Introduction
Plant materials contain many bioactive compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, phenolic compounds, etc., which can be used to prepare health products, cosmetics, medicines, food additives, etc., and have great importance for improving human health and quality of life (Ahmadian et al., 2023). In recent years, the extraction of bioactive compounds from plant materials has attracted much attention. Extracting these active compounds is a challenging task because they are usually present in small amounts in plants and special techniques and methods are required for their successful isolation (Qin et al., 2022). Bioactive substances are usually found inside or between plant cells. The main resistance factor to the diffusion of bioactive substances into the solvent during extraction is the plant cell wall (Zhao et al., 2014). In order to improve extraction efficiency, pretreatments are usually performed before the extraction operation to destroy cell wall structure, increase cell wall permeability, and promote release of active substances (Ijod et al., 2022). Cold plasma has shown a wide application prospect in food processing, pharmaceutical and health care, environmental protection, biomedicine, and many other fields due to its many advantages such as low temperature, high efficiency, low energy consumption, and environmental compatibility (Melotti et al., 2021). When cold plasma is applied to plant materials, it can destroy the cell wall structure and increase the surface hydrophilicity of the materials, thereby improving the extraction efficiency (Keshavarzi et al., 2020). Therefore, it can be widely used as a pre-extraction treatment. Nevertheless, there is no comprehensive study on DBD cold plasma pretreatment technology to enhance the extraction of bioactive compounds from plant materials, which is suitable for researchers to continue their research. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of cold plasma pretreatment on the extraction rate of active compounds from Origanum vulgare.
Materials and Methods
Oregano seeds were sown in the medicinal plant farm of Jahrom University in October 2023, and aerial parts of the plant was harvested in May 2024 at the flowering stage and dried in shade. After drying, the samples were subjected to DBD cold plasma pretreatment, with air as the carrier gas and different voltages and times. Then, essential oil extraction and extraction were performed on the pretreated samples, and some of the active substances such as essential oil content, total phenolic compounds, flavones and flavonols, total flavonoids, tannin contents, antioxidant activity, and total carbohydrates were measured. In this study, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with 3 replications. The first factor included time at three levels (0, 3, and 6 minutes) and the second factor included voltage at two levels (20 and 30 kV). For the pretreatment of the samples for essential oil extraction, 30 g of dried marjoram plant were hand-cut and crushed for each treatment, and then 30 ml of water was added to them, and then they were placed in a plasma device. After the treatments, the samples were extracted. Plasma pretreatment was applied to investigate its effect on the phytochemical compounds in the extract, as follows: the plant samples were powdered using an electric grinder, and then five g of the powdered sample was weighed for each treatment and 25 ml of 70% methanol solvent was added to them. After the powdered samples were completely mixed with the solvent, they were placed in a plasma device for plasma pretreatment. After the treatments, the samples were extracted.
Results and Discussion
The findings of this study showed that a voltage of 30 kV for 3 minutes was more effective in extracting the non-volatile active substances of oregano and led to an increase in all of their measured traits compared to the control treatment. Also, the lowest amount of active substances measured in this study was observed in the 30 kV treatment for 6 minutes. According to the results obtained from this study, it can be concluded that the duration of plasma pretreatment has a greater effect than the output voltage on the extraction of non-volatile active ingredients. So that in this study, using a voltage of 30 kV for 3 minutes led to an increase in the active substances of oregano, while using the same voltage for 6 minutes led to the opposite result. Although the effect of plasma pretreatment on the extraction of essential oil was not significant. However, the highest amount of essential oil was measured in the control treatment and the lowest amount was in the 30 kV voltage treatment for 3 minutes, indicating the destruction of essential oil glands and loss of essential oil at this voltage. At present, the mechanism of cold plasma treatment to improve the extraction efficiency of active substances is not fully understood, but it is generally believed that it can be attributed to two possible mechanisms: the decomposition of cell wall structure and increase of surface hydrophilicity. Disruption of plant cell wall structure can reduce diffusion resistance of active substances, thereby promoting their release. Meanwhile, increase of surface hydrophilicity of materials facilitates the dissolution and diffusion of hydrophilic active substances, thereby improving the extraction efficiency (Bao et al., 2020a; 2020b).
Conclusion
The findings of this study showed that a voltage of 30 kV for 3 minutes was more effective than other treatments in extracting non-volatile active ingredients of oregano and led to an increase in all measured traits compared to the control treatment. While the effect of plasma treatments on the extraction rate of essential oil was not significant.
Pomology
S. Keivanfar; D. Hashemabadi; B. Kaviani
Abstract
IntroductionOlive (Olea europea L.) fruit ripening is a slow and long process and has a great impact on fruit quality, including the amount of oil. Also, interrupting the harvest and extraction of olive oil causes unfavorable conditions in this fruit. Therefore, it is important to determine the best ...
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IntroductionOlive (Olea europea L.) fruit ripening is a slow and long process and has a great impact on fruit quality, including the amount of oil. Also, interrupting the harvest and extraction of olive oil causes unfavorable conditions in this fruit. Therefore, it is important to determine the best time to harvest the fruit. Olive oil has unsaturated fatty acids and has an antioxidant activity. The analysis of maturation stages is a prerequisite for fruit harvest time in each cultivar and quality of olive products. The time of harvest and maintenance after harvest is two important factors in the quality and quality of olive fruit oil. The exact determination of olive harvest time depends on the geographical area, cultivar and climate, agronomic and fruiting conditions. Study on different olive cultivars in different regions of Iran and the world revealed that fruit harvest time plays an effective role on the morphological, physiological and metabolic parameters of fruit. The approximate time of olive fruit harvest is in different geographical points, November and October. The purpose of this study was to investigate the right time of olive fruit harvesting 'Arbequina' and 'Yellow' cultivars for obtaining maximum quality of fruit and oil. Materials and MethodsA factorial experiment containing two factors; cultivar in two levels ('Yellow' and 'Arbequina') and harvest time in six levels (24th and 31th October, and 7th, 14th, 21th and 28th November) based on a completely randomized block design with two factors in 12 treatments, 3 replicates and 36 experimental units was done to determine the appropriate harvest time and its effect on oil quality. Physiologic parameters; percentage of oil, amount of phenolic compounds, degree of peroxidation, amount of oleic acid, force of separation of fruit from tail and acidity were evaluated. This research was conducted at the olive research station in Rudbar city in southern Guilan province using the removed olives from the Manjil ETKA station. The 6 trees from two cultivars; 'Arbakkin' and 'Yellow' (from each 3 tree) which were similar in terms of height, age, crown diameter, mean conditions and irrigation were evaluated. Trees were planted at 6 × 8 m intervals. After selecting trees, from each tree, 2 to 3 kg of olive was randomly harvested. In fruits with tail, the force needed to separate the tail of the fruit was measured by the force assessment device. Standard method numbers 4178 and 4179 standard institutes and industrial research of Iran were used to measure acidity and olive oil peroxide, respectively. Polyphenols were measured with spectrophotometer. To determine the percentage of oil, saccule was used. For measurement of oleic acid, gas chromatography (GC) was used. Data were analyzed using SAS software and their average comparison was done by Duncan. Results and Discussion Mean comparison of the interaction effect between cultivar and harvest time showed that the highest acidity of the fruit was obtained in 'Arbequina' cultivar, respectively harvested at two times 31th and 24th October. The highest fruit peroxide value and the highest percentage of oleic acid were calculated in 'Yellow' cultivar in 24th October. The highest value of polyphenol was obtained in 'Yellow' cultivar on 7th November. The highest percentage of fruit oil was obtained in 'Arbequina' cultivar on 31th October. The lowest force to separate the tail from the fruit was applied in 'Arbequina' cultivar on 31th October. The results showed that the best time to harvest 'Yellow' cultivar is 7th November and for 'Arbequina' cultivar is 14th November. The study on several olive cultivars in China showed that the most suitable fruit harvest time was in late October until mid-November. There was an adverse significant correlation between changes in total sugar content in fruit and leaf and oil accumulation in the fruit. The quality of fruit depends mainly to the type of cultivar, genetic characteristics, maturity and environmental conditions. Study on some olive cultivars showed that the ratio between sugars is different in various stages of fruit maturity and between different cultivars of olive fruit. Some studies have shown that the most suitable time of olive fruit harvest for canned preparation is early September and for extraction of oil, late September. Fruits should be harvested when they have the highest oil accumulation. The study on 'Koroneiki' and 'Mission' cultivars in Gorgan region showed that the amount of oil in the dry matter and the percentage of free fatty acids increased with increasing degree of maturity, while peroxide value was reduced. One of the causes of peroxide value reduction during maturity is reduction in lipoxygenase enzyme activity. This enzyme increases the peroxide value by effect on linolenic acid and linoleic acid. Based on these results, the best time to harvest for the above cultivars is early in December. ConclusionsHarvest time and proper storage after harvest are two important factors of olive oil quantity and quality. In both cultivars, a longer delay in harvesting compared to the mentioned-above dates increases the percentage of oil, but it has a negative effect on the reproductive stages of the next year, and perhaps one of the causes of olive aging is excessive delay in harvesting. It is important to pay attention to the above two items.
Medicinal Plants
S. Mohtashami; H. Gholami; A. Ghani; M. Kamalizadeh
Abstract
IntroductionOptimum nutrition of plants and reducing the effect of lack of important nutrients is one of the most effective factors on the production of all plants; so, it is one of the main pillars in improving the quantitative and qualitative attributes of the product. In order to achieve optimal yield ...
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IntroductionOptimum nutrition of plants and reducing the effect of lack of important nutrients is one of the most effective factors on the production of all plants; so, it is one of the main pillars in improving the quantitative and qualitative attributes of the product. In order to achieve optimal yield with proper nutrition of the plant, each element must be provided to the plant sufficiently, and there must also be a balance between the absorbable amounts of elements in the soil. Securigera securidaca is one of the medicinal plants belonging to the Fabaceae family. There are many records about the traditional use of this plant and its seeds. Its seeds have antiparasitic, anticonvulsant, antihypertensive, antiulcer, analgesic, antioxidant, antiviral, antitumor and hypoglycemic effects have been reviewed. Considering the climatic conditions of Iran and its high potential in the production of medicinal plants and its economic justification; it is very necessary to pay attention to the nutrition of medicinal plants due to their different growth conditions with other crops and its effect on their growth and effective substances. Materials and MethodsIn this research, in order to evaluate the response of the Hatchet vetch plant (Securigera securidaca) to different levels of phosphorus and zinc foliar application, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with two factors and three replications. The treatments include four levels of phosphorus (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg.h-1) and three levels of zinc foliar application during the flowering period (no foliar application as a control, foliar application: each two weeks once and once a week). Zinc foliar spraying was done with a concentration of 4 g per liter during before flowering to the formation of the pods (about one month), which was done twice and four times for the two-weekly and once-a-week treatments, respectively. This research was carried out in Mohammad Abad area of Jahrom city located in Fars province. The most important indicators of growth and yield were measured including: shoot number, length of main stem, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, pod length and seed yield. Also, the most important biochemical characteristics of seed extract (flavon and flavonol, total flavonoid, total phenolic compounds, tannin content and antioxidant activity), oil percentage and seed oil yield were also measured. Results and DiscussionBased on the results obtained from the variance analysis of the data, the effect of phosphorus and zinc on all measured traits was significant except for the number of seeds in pods and pod length. The results showed that the application of phosphorus alone was more effective than the combined application of phosphorus and zinc in increasing the number of stems, main stem length, seed yield, oil yield, the amount of flavonoids and antioxidant activity of Hatchet vetch plant seeds. The application of 50 kg of phosphorus increased the number of stems, the length of the main stem, the number of pods per plant, the yield of seeds, amount of phenolic compounds and oil yield of seed. While the use of 100 kg of phosphorus without the use of zinc was more effective in increasing the amount of flavonoid and antioxidant activity. However, the application of zinc was effective in increasing phenolic compounds, tannin content, oil percentage and seed yield. The interaction effect of the treatments showed that the highest seed yield (61.03 g.m-2) was related to 50 kg of phosphorus without zinc foliar spraying, while the lowest amount (32.01 g) was observed in 50 kg of phosphorus and zinc solution once a week treatment. The highest amount of total flavonoid (3.58 mg.g-1 dry weight) was found in the treatment of 100 kg of phosphorus without the application of zinc. While the lowest amount (1.11 and 1.24 mg) was observed in treatments without phosphorus (spraying zinc solution once every two weeks and once a week), respectively. In the treatments of 100 and 150 kg of phosphorus, increasing the frequency of zinc foliar spraying has reduced the amount of phenolic compounds in the seeds of this plant. Although this decrease is not significant statistically. Also, in the control, 50 and 150 kg of phosphorus treatments, increasing the frequency of zinc foliar spraying had no effect on the change of its antioxidant activity, while in the treatment of 100 kg of phosphorus fertilizer, increasing the frequency of zinc foliar spraying decreased the antioxidant activity of the seed extract of this plant. ConclusionsIn general, according to the conditions in this research, despite the differences that were seen in the measured traits in response to the amounts of phosphorus and zinc, the concentration of 50 kg of phosphorus and foliar spraying of zinc once every two weeks, in most of the traits were satisfactory compared to other treatments.
Growing vegetables
Z. Khalili; F. Nekounam; T. Barzegar; Z. Ghahremani; M. Farhangpour
Abstract
IntroductionTomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) belongs to the Solanaceae family, which is one of the most widely cultivated and economically important vegetables in the world, which is an excellent source of ascorbic acid and has high antioxidant capacity against oxidative damage caused by free radicals. ...
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IntroductionTomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) belongs to the Solanaceae family, which is one of the most widely cultivated and economically important vegetables in the world, which is an excellent source of ascorbic acid and has high antioxidant capacity against oxidative damage caused by free radicals. Ascorbic acid (AsA) is a water-soluble vitamin that plays a key physiological role in scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS), and enzyme cofactor. Ascorbic acid is antioxidant and anti-stress agent, and also acts as a signaling molecule in some plant physiological processes and defense mechanisms. Positive roles of such antioxidants in scavenging or chelating the free radicals and activating the natural resistance against different biotic and abiotic stresses have been reported in several fruit trees. Calcium has a vital role for normal growth and development of plants due to an important role in balancing membrane structures, increasing nutrient uptakes and activates of metabolic processes. Calcium plays a vital role in maintains cell wall stability, integrity and determining the fruit quality. To our knowledge, however, little information is available regarding the interaction effect of ascorbic acid and calcium chloride on tomato. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the foliar application of ascorbic acid and calcium chloride on quality and antioxidant capacity of tomato fruit. Materials and MethodsTo study the effect of foliar application of calcium chloride (Ca) and Ascorbic acid (AsA) on growth, yield and fruit quality of tomato, the field experiment was carried out from June to September 2021 at Research farm of faculty of Agriculture, at the University of Zanjan, Iran. Each treatment was carried out with three replicates. Different concentrations of Ca (0, 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 %) and AsA (0, 100, 200 and 300 mg.l-1) were sprayed three times (0, 15, 30 days after full bloom). Fruits were harvested at two harvests stage (orange and red color) and transferred to the laboratory on the same day. Flesh firmness was determined with penetrometer (model Mc Cormic FT 32), using an 8 mm penetrating tip. Results were expressed in kg cm-2. The pH values of solutions were monitored with pH meter. TSS was measured in the extract obtained from three fruit of each replicate with a digital refractometer Atago PR-101 (Atago Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) at 20◦C. Total ascorbic acid content was expressed as mg per 100 g of juice. Antioxidant activity was measured using the free radical scavenging activity (DPPH) and calculated according to the following formula: RSA%= 100(Ac-As)/Ac. Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS software package v. 20.0 for Windows, and means comparison were separated by Duncan’s multiple range tests at p< 0.05. Results and DiscussionThe results showed that fruit harvested at red color stage had higher vitamin C, total soluble solid (TSS), total phenol, flavonoids contents and antioxidant capacity compared to fruit harvested at orange color stage. Foliar application of AsA and Ca had significantly improved tomato fruit quality. The highest value of TSS (4.9 °B), vitamin C (46.1 mg.100 ml-1), total phenol and flavonoids contents and antioxidant capacity (36%) was achieved with application of 300 mg.l-1 AsA and 0.9% Ca in fruit harvested at red color harvest time. The lowest value of pH and highest TA was observed in red color fruit treated with 300 mg.l-1 AsA and all Ca levels. Ca had significant effect on fruit firmness, which the highest fruit firmness was obtained from 0.9% Ca. The fresh tomato is an important source of ascorbic acid for human consumption. AsA significantly increased the amount of vitamin C in the plum and sweet pepper fruits. Increasing vitamin C content in fruits after treatment with Ca could be related to inhibiting action of calcium on the activities of ascorbic acid oxidase that use ascorbate as a substrate. The results indicated that treatment of Ca produced fruits with higher firmness compared to control and other treatments. Firmness and resistance to softening can be increased by the addition of Ca, due to interaction of calcium with pectate acid in the cell wall to form calcium pectate and retarding polygalacturonase activity. Differences in the percentage of TSS content at the time of harvest indicated the AsA and Ca effects on carbohydrate accumulation in fruits, which had different potential on respiration rates and consequently storability of plants. The antioxidant activity has positive correlation with total phenolic content, flavonoids and content of ascorbic acid. ConclusionsThe results of our research indicated that per-harvest foliar application of AsA and Ca improved fruit quality attributes including vitamin C, fruit firmness, TSS and antioxidant activity. These results suggest that AsA and Ca treatments, especially AsA 300 mg.l-1 and Ca 0.9%, may be proposed to improve fruit quality.
Growing vegetables
P. Molaei; F. Nekounam; M. BabaAkbari Sari
Abstract
Introduction 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 ...
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Introduction 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. Material and Methods 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. ResultsThe 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. Conclusion 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.
Postharvest physiology
F. Ahmadi; M. M. Sharifani; A. Mousavi; N. Akhlaghi Amiri; M. Khoshhal Sarmast; Kh. Zaynali Nezhad
Abstract
IntroductionExternal 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 ...
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IntroductionExternal 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. Materials and MethodsThis 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. Results and DiscussionThe 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. ConclusionThe 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.
Hassan Mumivand; Abdolhossein Rezaei Nejad; Shirin Taghipour; Kobra Sepahvand; Behnam Moradi
Abstract
Introduction: Drying is one of the most important post-harvest techniques for medicinal plants. Pelargonium graveolens (known as geranium) is an important, high-value perennial, aromatic shrub that can reach a height up to 1.3 m and a lateral growth of 1 m. The essential oil of P. graveolens is extensively ...
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Introduction: Drying is one of the most important post-harvest techniques for medicinal plants. Pelargonium graveolens (known as geranium) is an important, high-value perennial, aromatic shrub that can reach a height up to 1.3 m and a lateral growth of 1 m. The essential oil of P. graveolens is extensively used in the perfumery and cosmetic industries. Medicinal plants produce antioxidant compounds, which defend cells against degenerative effects of reactive oxygen species produced during oxidative stress and metabolism. Antioxidants are molecules that scavenge free radicals and reduce/prevent their damages. Therefore, the identification of natural antioxidants as preservative agents plays a pivotal role for the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different drying methods (microwave-drying, oven drying and ambient-drying) on drying time and some phytochemical properties of P. graveolens.
Material and Methods: In order to evaluate the effect of different drying methods on drying time and some phytochemical properties of Pelargonium, an experiment was conducted at the faculty of agriculture of Lorestan University (Khorramabad, Iran) in 2017. The experiment was carried out based on completely randomized design with 12 treatments and three replications. The drying treatments were microwave-drying (300, 600 and 900 watts), oven-drying (45, 55 and 65 °C), ambient-drying (shade-drying at room, shade-drying in the field, sun-drying for five hours and then transfer to the room shade, sun-drying for 10 hours and then transfer to the room shade, and sun-drying) and fresh samples (as control). In all drying methods, the drying process continued until the moisture content of samples reached to 12% based on dry matter.
Results and Discussion: The results of analysis of variance showed the significant effect of drying methods on total phenol and flavonoids contents, antioxidant activity and essential oil content of the plants. The minimum and maximum of drying time (4.05 min and 6 days, respectively) was related to microwave-drying (900 watts) and shade-drying in the field, respectively. The highest total phenol (14.78 mg GA per 100 g dry matter) and flavonoid (12.83 mg quercetin per 100 g dry matter) contents were observed in plants dried at room shade and field shade, while the highest antioxidant capacity (IC50=1.02) was related to the fresh samples. The plants dried in the oven (45 °C) also had a notable phenol and flavonoid contents with high antioxidant activity. On the contrary, the samples dried in the microwave and sunshine showed the lowest amount of phenol and flavonoid contents and antioxidant activity. The highest essential oil content was obtained from oven-drying at 45 °C (0.2 %w/w based on dry mater), followed by shade-drying in the field (0.17 %w/w based on dry mater), and oven-drying at 55 °C (0.15 %w/w based on dry mater). While, the lowest essential oil content occurred with microwave-drying at 900 W (0.04 w/w based on dry mater). In this study, the amount of essential oil in the microwave-drying plants was significantly reduced by increasing the power of the microwave. The decrease in essential oil content with increasing oven temperature was also observed. The decrease in essential oil content with increasing oven temperature has also been reported in other species such as peppermint, dill, tarragon and sage and could be due to evaporation of the essential oil along with moisture losing during drying process. The results of Hamrouni Sellami et al. (2012) showed that drying in microwave at 800 w increased total phenol and flavonoid levels of sage (Salvia officinalis L.). Their results showed that as the microwave power increased from 600 to 800 watts, the total phenol content increased significantly. In research by Arslan et al., (2010), the lowest total phenol content was observed in the oven dried samples, whereas the highest total phenol content was obtained from the oven-microwave treatment and sun drying. The researchers explained that this increase was probably due to the release of phenolic compounds during drying and the reason for the decrease in phenolic compounds in the oven was attributed to the high temperature. Besbes et al., (2004) also reported that with increasing drying temperature, the amount of total phenolic compounds decreases, which may be due to the destructive effect of high temperatures on phenolic compounds. In general, it could be concluded that drying in high temperature of oven and high power of microwave reduces the amount of phenolic and flavonoid compounds, antioxidant activity and essential oil content of P. graveolens. While, shade-drying and oven-drying at 45 °C showed the least reduction in these traits compared to the fresh samples.
Conclusion: It can be concluded that shade-drying at room, shade-drying in the field and oven-drying at 45°C are more suitable for the P. graveolens .While drying treatments in the microwave and sunshine are not suitable for the species. In addition, the results showed that there was a significant relationship between total phenol content and antioxidant activity in both assays.
Roohallah Montaghemi Rad; Ebrahim Ahmadi; Hassan Sarikhani
Abstract
Introduction: The maintenance of the quality of fresh produce is still a major challenge for the consumers. The most important qualitative attributes contributing to the marketability of fresh fruit a reappearance, color, texture, flavor, nutritional value and microbial safety. Storage conditions of ...
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Introduction: The maintenance of the quality of fresh produce is still a major challenge for the consumers. The most important qualitative attributes contributing to the marketability of fresh fruit a reappearance, color, texture, flavor, nutritional value and microbial safety. Storage conditions of product after harvest and storage duration are important factors with specific effect on products qualitativeproperties such as acidity, soluble solids materials, phenolic compounds and density. The amount of soluble solids materials is an important qualitative factor that is directly related to fruit quality and ripening.The existence of phenolic compounds, phenol absorption and changes phenol in product has caused changes in color. Shape, size, arithmetic mean diameter, geometric mean diameter, mass, volume, density, and sphericity coefficient are some of the physical properties of products that are crucial to analyze the behavior of matter in the handling.Furthermore, adequate knowledge about the physical properties of the products is of high importance in machines design, transportation and processing of product.
Materials and Methods: In this study, two types of olives, which were bitter and sweeten with 1.5%NaOHbefore the storage, were collected and their physical properties (length, width, thickness, arithmetic and geometric mean diameter, sphericity coefficient, mass, volume, density and primary moisture) were evaluated. Then, tostudy the effect of storage duration,the sweetened olives were stored at two temperatures (25℃ and 4℃temperature of the refrigerator) for 3 months,and during this period, sampling was performed at 10-dayintervals and the amount of total acidity (TA was determined by diluting each 1 ml aliquot of strawberry juice in 10 ml distilled water and then titrated to pH 8.1 using 0.1 N NaOH), total soluble solids materials (TSS was determined by a handheld refractometer device and expressed as ° Brix), phenolic compounds and the density weremeasured. The study was carried out as factorial based oncompletely randomized designwith twoindependent factors of temperature and storage time.
Results and Discussion: Results obtained for physical properties showed that the means of length, width andthickness insweet olive were 9.72, 1.34 and 1.11%respectivelyhigherthan bitter type. Penetration and absorption of NaOH and processing methods of the product can be considered among the possible causes of this increase. Linear regression relations between physical properties for sweet and bitter olives showed that mass and volume of fruit areestimated accurately according to the main dimensions. The results of data variance analysis also showed thatdensity and soluble solids materialswere significantly affected by themain and interaction effects of the twofactors at 1% probability level. Moreover, the main effect of storage time on total acidity and phenolic compoundswassignificant at 5% and 1% levels, respectively. With increasing storage time, density of sweet olive increased and soluble solids materials and phenolic compounds decreased. Acidity changes of olive during storage fluctuated, and an increase was found in the values of density and soluble solids materials along with theincrease of storage temperature from 4℃ to 25℃.With respect to density, the third month of storage showedhigherincrease compared toother months, and maximum value was reported for sweet olive in temperature of 25℃ and 19thday. Increase ofstorage duration resulted in the reduction of moisture content,whichin turns leads to the reductionof product volume and increase of density. The reductionfound in acidity in the second and third months of storage resultedfrom maturation and ripening processes of the fruit. Organic acids are a source of energy,which are consumed in the time ofmetabolism increaseand fruit ripening.Decreasein phenolic compounds also occurs as the result ofphenol penetration from olive flesh into the water - salt solution.
Conclusion: Results of this study showed that length, width, thickness, mass and volume of sweet olive weregreaterthan bitter type, but,by contrast,sphericity coefficient was higher in bitter olive. Moreover, storage time, increase caused an increase in thedensity of sweet olive and decrease insoluble solids materials and phenolic compounds.There was fluctuation inacidity during different storage times. An increase was found in the values of density and soluble solids materials along with the increase in storage temperature from 4℃ to 25℃.
Yahya Selahvarzi; Ali Tehranifar
Abstract
Fruit spoilage of pomegranate is one of the most important problems in postharvest stages and its exports. This decay is mainly due to the influence and spread of saprophytic or parasitic fungi into the pomegranate fruits. In this purpose effects of essential oil from medicinal plants include; caraway ...
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Fruit spoilage of pomegranate is one of the most important problems in postharvest stages and its exports. This decay is mainly due to the influence and spread of saprophytic or parasitic fungi into the pomegranate fruits. In this purpose effects of essential oil from medicinal plants include; caraway (Carum carvi) and peppermint (Mentha piperetta), and packaging (whit or no polyethylene bags) were investigated on shelf life, quality, decay percentage, chilling index and biochemical traits. The pomegranate fruits were kept in 5±1ºC and 85-90 percent humidity. The results showed that the highest amount of chilling index and weight loss was in without polyethylene bag treatment by 3.45 and 17.03, respectively. On the other hand the most percent of fungal infection was observed in polyethylene alone treatment by 29.41%. Whereas, essential oils (1000 ppm) of caraway and peppermint was able to control postharvest fungal infection caused by LDPE packaging, completely. The usage of caraway essential oil on pomegranate fruits increased phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity, significantly.
Zahra Setayesh-Mehr; Ali Ganjeali
Abstract
In order to study the effect of different water potential on Anethum graveolens L. an experiment was conducted. This study was carried out based on completely randomized design with three replications. In this experiment, morpho-physiological characteristics were assessed under hydroponic. Stress was ...
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In order to study the effect of different water potential on Anethum graveolens L. an experiment was conducted. This study was carried out based on completely randomized design with three replications. In this experiment, morpho-physiological characteristics were assessed under hydroponic. Stress was established with PEG 6000, and drought potentials were: 0 (control), -1.5, -2, -2.5 and -3 bar. The results showed that effect of drought stress on morphological characteristics including: shoot length, root length, surface of leaves and leaves number was significant (p≤0.01). Mean comparison of treatments showed that with increasing drought stress, all parameters decreased. Effect of drought stress on amount of a, b and total chlorophyll, carotenoid, soluble proteins, phenolic compounds and K+, P and Ca+2 concentrations in shoot and root were significant (p≤0.01). Effect of drought stress on chlorophyll a/b ratio was significant (p≤0.05). Mean comparison of treatments showed that with increasing drought stress, amount of chlorophyll, carotenoid, soluble proteins, K+, P and Ca+2 and shoot/root K+ ratio decreased where as amount of phenolic compounds in shoot and root increased. Shoot to root length ratio and shoot/root K+ ratio were not influenced by drought stress (p≤0.05). From the results of this study, it can be deducted that dill medicinal plant respond to drought stress by increasing of phenolic compounds.
