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Dittrichia graveolens (Asteraceae) is an aromatic and annual plant. The aim of this study is the evaluation of total phenolic, flavonoid and flavonol content, the antioxidant activities and other important medicinal secondary metabolites of this plant. According to the results, the total amount of phenols and flavonoid in different plant organs of D. graveolens were different in a way that the content of total phenols and flavonoid in the flowers and leaves were significantly more than the stems and roots. The content of flavonol in the flowers, leaves and stems were not significantly different, and the lowest content was observed in the roots. In addition, the linear and significant correlation coefficient was found between the antioxidant activity and the phenolic compounds in the extracts of different organs of the plant. The main components in different extracts were Bornyl acetate and α-Cadinol in flower extract, Borneol, Bornyl acetate, Thymol and Calarene in leaf extract and PMAMOMPE, Safrole, Carvacryl acetate, Vulgarone B and Bornyl acetate in root extract. On the whole, the current results compared with the results of other researchers indicates the remarkable impact of plant habitat on the quality and quantity of pharmaceutical compounds in different organs of the plant

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Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium L.) from the Lamiaceae family is a medicinal plant which has great antioxidant properties. Environmental stresses such as drought can result in changes in the activity of antioxidant enzymes and the content of some biochemical factors in plants. In this investigation, the effects of drought stress on the activity of supe-roxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, peroxidase, malondialdehyde and soluble sugars content in pennyroyal shoots and roots were evaluated. To create the water deficit, 24-day seedlings of pennyroyal were placed in 1/2 strength Hoagland solution, containing PEG 6000 (0 and 5% (w/v)) for 24 hours. The results showed that drought stress incr-eased catalase activity and lipid peroxidation and decreased superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activity of the shoots. On the other hand, the activity of catalase and peroxidase increased in the roots. Ascorbate peroxidase activity showed no significant difference in the shoots and the roots. Moreover, drought stress significantly increased the amount of so-luble sugars of glucose, galactose, xylose and rhamnosus in the shoots. Therefore, the increased activity in antioxidant enzymes as well as the amount of soluble sugars under drought stress might be a sign of tolerance of M. pulegium under low levels of drought.

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To investigate the Artemisia vegetation in Isfahan Province, two rangelands of Khorous Galu in the southwest and Ashan in the west of Isfahan were selected. These rangelands are mountainous with semiarid climate. In Khorous galu, 68 species belonging to 50 genera and 24 families were identified. Life forms included hemicryptophytes (39%), therophytes (27.5%), chamaephytes (19%), geophytes (13%) and phanerophytes (2%). Chrotypes existent in Khorous Galu were composed of 56 Irano-Turanian species, 3 Euro-Siberian-Irano-Turanian species, 4 Euro-Siberian-Irano-Turanian-Mediterranean species, 2 Irano-Turanian-Mediterranean species, 1 Irano-Turanian-Saharo-Sindian species and 1 cosmopolitan species. In Ashan area, 88 species belonging to 67 genera and 29 families were identified. Hemicryptophytes (39%), therophytes (28%), geophytes (17%), chamaephytes (15%) and phanerophytes (1%) were the life form composition of the region flora. 73 Irano-Turanian species, 7 Euro-Siberian-Irano-Turanian species, 4 Irano-Turanian-Mediterranean species, 1 Irano-Turanian-Mediterranean-Euro-Siberian species and 1 cosmopolitan species were identified. 2 species were recorded from Isfahan Province for the first time. With regard to the similarity of flora in both regions, that is due to effective similar environmental factors, a uniform management plan for A. aucheri rangelands in Isfahan Province could be selected.

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Feeding frequency and stocking density are important factors affecting growth and maturation of cultured fishes. The aims of this investigation were to determine the effects of stocking density (10, 20, 30 and 40 fish per aquarium) and feeding frequency (2, 3 and 4 times per day) on growth parameters and hematocrit of the Rutilus rutilus caspicus. The experiment was continued for 45 days in two replicates. The results of this study showed that growth parameters, including weigh gain (WG), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and specific growth rate (SGR) were affected significantly by stocking density (P<0.05), but not significantly affected by feeding frequency (P>0.05). The highest WG and SGR were recorded with the lowest stocking density (10 fish / aquarium). The least FCR was obtained in density of 10 fish/aquarium, FCR value was significantly higher with high stocking density (P<0.05). Also, interactions between stocking density and feeding frequency were no significant on growth parameters (P>0.05). Density and feeding frequency hand no significant effect of hematocrit concentration (P>0.05). On the other hand, interactions between stocking density and feeding frequency significantly affected hematocrit levels (P<0.05). The lowest level of hematocrit was observed in density of 10 fish/aquarium at two times / day feeding frequency. The results of this study indicated that density is significantly affected the growth, but increasing of feeding frequency there is not effect on growth in the Rutilus rutilus caspicus.
 

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The Palang Galoun protected region, comprising 34935 hectares, is located 75 km northwest of Najaf Abad, and 102 km northwest of Isfahan city. The aim of this research was to assess the floristic spectrum, life form varieties, chorological analysis, determination of protected status and identification of medicinal, threatened species criteria and poisonous plants of this natural heritage. Plant samples were collected during different vegetative seasons at several stages. Life forms of samples were determined and chorological analysis was performed. On the basis of the obtained results, a total of 166 species belonging to 126 genera and 39 families were identified. Six families, 23 genera and 26 species belonged to monocotyledons, whereas 33 families, 103 genera and 140 species belonged to dicotyledons. In terms of chorological analysis, 58% of plant species were distributed in the Irano-Turanian region. It is noteworthy that 44 endemic species, 97 medicinal species, 48 pasture species and 23 poisonous species were present in the studied area. Life forms were found to comprise 54% hemicryptophytes, 24% therophytes, 10% geophytes, 7% chamaephytes and 5% phanerophytes. Based on IUCN red list categories and criteria, there were 22 species in the lower risk category and seven species categorized as vulnerable case.
 

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Nowadays, the use of a wide range of medicinal herbs such as saffron and its aromatic compounds is increasingly being regarded as natural sources of antioxidant properties. In addition to saffron stigma, saffron petal is a rich herbal source of antioxidant compounds. The present study was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications to study some of the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants of two species of wild saffron in Guilan Province compared with agronomic saffron (C. sativus). The results of this study showed that total phenol, flavonoids and anthocyanins in agronomic saffron were significantly higher than those in the other two species. The amount of flavonel in C. speciosus and the level of antioxidant activity (DPPH) in C. caspius were significantly higher than other species. The level of PPO activity in C. sativus and C. speciosus was significantly higher than that in C. caspius. However, there was no significant difference in the level of POD activity among the three studied species. Therefore, according to the results of this study, petals of different species of saffron are good sources of non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidants and can be used as an available natural antioxidant in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
 

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The increase of the entry of industrial effluents containing various types of heavy metals into water and soil leads to the ever-increasing spread of environmental problems. Therefore, it is necessary to find less expensive solutions to reduce the pollution. In this regard, in order to compare the effect of the removal of heavy elements on some of the morphological and physiological characteristics of C. alternifolius, Ch. zizanioides and Aloe vera plants, an experiment was conducted in the form of a randomized complete block design with three replications for 14 months at the University of Guilan. The results showed that under the treatment of industrial wastewater, the metal accumulation indices (MAI) of zinc, chromium, lead, copper, manganese, nickel, magnesium were higher in Ch. zizanioides and Aloe vera than those in C. alternifolius. In all three studied plants, the indices of root length, shoot length, total biomass and tolerance index (TI) had a significant decrease compared with those in the control plants, and Ch. zizanioides and A. vera plants had the lowest percentage of decrease. In addition, other investigated components including absorption index (UI), total soluble sugar, total phenol content, total flavonoid, total anthocyanin, total tannin, and DPPH free radical inhibition percentage increased in all three plants under industrial wastewater treatment. The highest percentage of increase in all investigated components, except DPPH free radical inhibition percentage, was observed in Ch. zizanioides. In general, it can be said that in terms of MAI and morphological and physiological characteristics, Ch. zizanioides and A. vera were more successful than the C. alternifolius. Therefore, it is recommended to plant the studied plants in the order of priority (Ch. zizanioides ˃ A. vera ˃ C. alternifolius) in soils contaminated with industrial effluents, in order to remediate the soil.


 

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Using the allelopathic property of some plant species is one of the proposed methods to reduce the use of chemical poisons. Anthriscus nemorosa is an aromatic plant belonging to the Apiaceae that grows naturally in the western and northern parts of in this study. Considering that so far the biochemical and allelopathic properties of this plant have not been investigated in Iran, in this study, the roots of this plant were collected from Khalkhal county and after drying in the shade, the essential oil was extracted by hydro-distillation. The essential oil was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. 52 compounds were identified from the essential oil, representing 80.21% of the total oil. The main constituents were Myristicin (16.92%), Heptane (12.98%), Elemicin (12.54%), Gamma-Terpinene (12.50%), Decane (3.08%), Beta-Eudesmol (2.95%) and Beta-phellandrene (2.52%) and these compounds were remarkably different with that of A. nemorosa native to Serbia. To investigate the allelopathic effects of this plant, an experimental design was factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with four replications. The results of examining the effects of n-hexane, dichloromethane and methanolic extracts (with concentrations of 0, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1 and 1 mg/ml) of the root of this plant on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var.capitata) showed that all three extracts had an inhibitory effect on the germination percentage (%), shootlet growth and rootlet growth of lettuce. However, the hexane extract in all treated concentrations had a more inhibitory effect on the germination and shootlet growth of lettuce seed.