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Several therapeutic effects have been reported for Peganum harmala and Piper longum. These plants contain flavonoids that probably can affect reproductive endocrine system and reduce fertility. In this study, the impacts of hydroalcoholic extracts of Peganum harmala and Piper longum on pituitary-gonadal axis were investigated. Male mice were divided into one control group and three experimental groups. The first experimental group received the extract of Peganum harmala (200 mg/lit), while the second experimental group received the extract of Piper longum (200 mg/lit) and the third experimental group received the combination of both extracts (200 mg/lit) for 30 days. After the treatment, spermatogonia, spermatocytes and spermatids were counted and serum levels of testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) were measured. Data were analyzed by SPSS software. Levels of testosterone, FSH and LH showed a significant decrease in the first and third experimental groups in comparison with the control group. Moreover, the number of spermatogonia, spermatocyte and spermatid decreased in these groups. The results of the present study demonstrated that hydroalcoholic extract of Peganum harmala and Piper longum can decrease the pituitary gonadal axis function and spermatogenesis in male NMRI mice.
 

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Phenazine 1-corboxylic acid (PCA) is an antibiotic, which inhibits the growth of a vast number of micro-organisms. PCA has has been applied in fields such as pharmaceutical, agricultural, marine and chemical industries. In this study, the antibiotic properties of PCA (produced by pseudomonas aeruginosa MUT.3, which is kept at the Microbial Collection of Malek Ashtar University of Technology) was studied. The impacts of temperature and light conditions on the activity of PCA was investigated within a 230-day period. To investigate the rate of PCA destruction in the experiment, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was utilized. Moreover, the antibacterial activity of PCA under various conditions was studied by minimum inhibitory (MIC) and minimum biocidal concentration (MBC) methods against E. coli DH5α. The results showed that PCA could be active up to 210 days in darkness (at 25^oC). Meanwhile, the antibacterial activity of PCA was reduced to 100 and 50 days by increasing the temperature to 35 and 45^oC, respectively. In addition, PCA could be active up to 120 and 10 days in visible and ultraviolet light condition, respectively. The MIC and MBC data were consistent with the HPLC results. Detailed data on the activity and stability of phenazine 1-corboxylic acid under various environmental conditions, as presented in this study, could be helpful in industries and healthcare services.
 
 

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The present study aimed to investigate the effect of some bio-elicitors and silver nitrate on the content of secondary metabolites in calli derived from leaf explants of silybum marianum. In this research, the best callus was achieved on MS medium containing KIN, thus this medium was chosen for further experiment. In the second experiment, leaf explants were cultured in a selected hormone-regulated medium. After 8 weeks of callus growth, bio elicitors including yeast Yarrowia lipolytica, fungus Aspergillus niger, and bacterium Pseudomonas putida in combination with silver nitrate as a non-living elicitor were added to the leaf-derived calli. Ten days after treatment, the phenolic compound content, antioxidant capacity, silymarin content, and PAL enzyme activity in the calli were measured. The results indicate that the simultaneous application of Yarrowia yeast and silver nitrate led to an improvement in the content of phenolic derivatives, silymarin, and PAL enzyme activity, and this was significant compared to other elicitors both with silver nitrate and without it. The researchers of this experiment suggest that the combined use of bio-elicitors especially Yarrowia lipolytica yeast, and silver nitrateinduces higher synthesis of medicinal metabolites in calli derived from leaf explants.