Assessment of Carcinogenic and Non-carcinogenic Risk of Exposure to Metals via Consumption of Coffee, Tea, and Herbal Tea in Iranians.

In the current study, we assessed health risk posed to Iranian consumers through exposure to metals via oral consumption of coffee, tea, and herbal tea of various trademarks collected from Iran market. Level of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Ni, and Pb in 243 samples was quantified by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The metal levels in coffee samples from different trademarks of a specific country had statistically similar levels of metals; however, metal levels differed significantly among brand names form different countries. Metal levels in tea samples differed significantly between domestic and imported products, while different trademarks of similar countries did not show significant variations in this respect. Metal level in herbal tea samples did not show significant variations among different trademarks. Nevertheless, it should be highlighted that mean concentrations of metals statistically differed among different herbal tea samples. Deterministic hazard quotients (HQs) were <1.0 for all non-carcinogenic metals and total hazard index (HI) values indicated no risk; however, probabilistic assessment calculated HI values >1. In both deterministic and probabilistic scenarios, carcinogenic metals As and Ni had an estimated incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) of medium level while that of Pb indicated no cancer risk. Sensitivity analysis showed that the concentration of metals had the most significant effect on non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks.

Structural Diversity of Complex Phloroglucinol Derivatives from Eucalyptus Species.

Several species of the genus Eucalyptus are used in many traditional medicine systems for the treatment of respiratory tract infections, colds, flu, sore throats, and bronchitis. The genus Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) is a well-known natural source of bioactive phloroglucinols. These polyphenolic compounds bear an aromatic phenyl ring with three hydroxy groups (1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene) which have been exhibiting a variety of biological activities such as antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities. This review summarizes the literature published from 1997 until the end of 2021 and addresses the structure diversity of phloroglucinols isolated from Eucalyptus species and their biological activities. Phloroglucinol-terpene adducts are the main class of compounds that have been reported in this genus.

Evaluation of Growth, Yield, and Biochemical Attributes of Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia L.) Cultivars under Karaj Conditions in Iran.

Vegetative and reproductive characteristics, fruit yield, and biochemical compounds of six bitter melon cultivars (Iranshahr, Mestisa, No. 486, Local Japanese, Isfahan, and Ilocano) were evaluated under Karaj conditions in Iran. The phytochemical properties of the cultivars were evaluated using both shade-dried and freeze-dried samples at three fruit developmental stages (unripe, semi-ripe, and ripe). There were significant differences in the vegetative and reproductive characteristics among cultivars, where cv. No. 486 was superior to most vegetative attributes. The fruit yield of cultivars varied from 2.98-5.22 kg/plant. The number of days to male and female flower appearance ranged from 19.00-25.33 and from 25-33 days, respectively. The leaf charantin content was in the range of 4.83-11.08 µg/g. Fruit charantin content varied with developmental stage, drying method, and cultivar. The highest charantin content (13.84 ± 3.55 µg/g) was observed at the semi-ripe fruit stage, and it was much higher in the freeze-dried samples than the shade-dried samples. Cultivar No. 486 had the highest (15.43 ± 2.4 µg/g) charantin content, whereas the lowest charantin content (8.51 ± 1.15 µg/g) was recorded in cultivar cv. Local Japanese. The highest total phenol content (25.17 ± 2.27 mg GAE/g) was recorded in freeze-dried samples of ripe fruits of cv. No. 486, whereas the lowest phenol content was detected in the shade-dried samples of semi-ripe fruits of Isfahan. cv. Flavonoid content was higher with the shade-drying method, irrespective of cultivar. In conclusion, considering the fruit yield and active biological compounds in the studied cultivars, cv. No. 486 should be grown commercially because of its higher yield and production of other secondary metabolites.

Association of Genetic Structure and Diversity in Iranian Wild Germplasms of Mentha longifolia L. Based on Phenotypical, Biochemical, and Molecular Markers.

Mentha longifolia L. is well-known to be one of the most pervasive wild-growing species of the Lamiaceae family, which has extensive beneficial properties in the fields of pharmacology and biological products. In the present study, the correlation between Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers and morpho-chemical parameters of twenty different M. longifolia accessions (MLACs) were assessed. The geographic information system (GIS) has been employed to interpret the original habitat of the accessions in Iran. ISSR analysis indicated a remarkable difference in the studied accessions, segregated them into three main groups, constructed by an unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic (UPGMA) and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA). A total of 89 bands were generated by 12 ISSR primers, among which 82 (91.97 %) of them were polymorphic. The cluster analysis based on agro-morphological data scattered MLACs into two main groups. The essential oils (EOs) were analyzed through GC/FID/MS, and four chemotypes were characterized according to the major constituents. Pulegone ranged from 0.17 to 69.50 % was the main oil constituent with the highest content. Also, HPLC-PDA was employed to identify and to quantify the phenolic compounds in the MeOH extracts of MLACs. Heatmap cluster based on phenolic compounds produced three main categories of accessions. The components identified in the extracts were rosmarinic acid, rutin, vanillic acid, ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, and p-coumaric acid, which among them rosmarinic acid (RA) varied from 39.16 to 261.55 mg/100 g (DW) as a predominant constituent. Subsequently, multiple regression analyses between ISSR fragments and morpho-chemical data illustrated considerable relationships in the plant materials. The high variation and correlation observed in metabolic and phenotypic traits of MLACs establish an adequate source to conduct reserves conservation programs.

Application of Super Absorbent Polymer and Plant Mucilage Improved Essential Oil Quantity and Quality of Ocimum basilicum var. Keshkeni Luvelou.

One of the major factors limiting the production of medicinal plants in arid and semi-arid areas is water deficit or drought stress. One-third of the land in the world is arid and semi-arid and is inhabited by nearly 4 × 108 people. Ocimum basilicum (sweet basil) is a valuable medicinal plant that is sensitive to water deficit, and water shortage negatively affects sweet basil yield and quality. Water availability in the root zone of basil could ameliorate the negative effects of water shortage. To the best of our knowledge, although the effects of hydrophilic polymers (HPs) have been studied in different agricultural crops, the effects of HP application in medicinal plants have not been previously investigated. This investigation was conducted to explore the effects on water use efficiency when using Stockosorb® (STS) and psyllium seed mucilage (PSM) as hydrophilic polymers (HPs) and the effects of these HPs on essential oil quality, quantity, and yield. The research was set up in a factorial experiment on the basis of completely randomized block design with three replications. We used two HPs, STS (industrial) and PSM (herbal), with two methods of application (mixed with soil, mixed with soil + root) at four concentrations (0%, 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3% (w/w)). Results showed that the STS and PSM significantly increased the dry herb yield (both shoot and root) in comparison to the control, and the improving effect was higher when these HPs were mixed with soil + root. The highest dry herb yield (6.74 and 3.68 g/plant for shoot and root, respectively) was detected in the PSM at 0.1% mixed with soil + root. There was not any significant difference in dry herb yield among PSM (0.1%), PSM (0.2%), and STS (0.2%) when mixed with soil + root. Soil application of PSM and soil + root application of STS at a concentration of 0.3% increased the Essential Oil (EO) content almost three-fold in comparison to the control (0.5% and 0.52% to 0.18% v/w, respectively). The maximum essential oil yield was recorded in plants treated with STS (0.2% in) or PSM (0.1%) by soil + root application (0.21 and 0.19 mL/plant, respectively). PSM at concentrations of 0.1% and 0.2% (mixed with soil + root) showed the highest water use efficiency (1.91 and 1.82 g dry weight (DW)/L H2O, respectively). STS mixed with soil also significantly improved water use efficiency (WUE) in comparison to the control. The application of these HPs improved the quality of sweet basil essential oil by increasing the linalool and decreasing the eugenol, epi-α-cadinol, and trans-α-bergamotene content.

Analysis of the essential oil composition of three cultivated Nepeta species from Iran.

Essential oils (EOs) of three Iranian cultivated Nepeta species were investigated. The oils were obtained by hydrodistillation of air-dried plant materials at full flowering stage and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). In total, 89 compounds were detected. In over 2 years, a number of constituents were identified in the EO of Nepeta binaloudensis first and second years (26 and 37, respectively), Nepeta cataria (25 and 32, respectively), and Nepeta assurgens (45 and 50, respectively). In the oils of N. binaloudensis, 4a-α,7-α,7a-α-nepetalactone (NL) 59.7% and 1,8-cineole (19.6%) during the first and second years, respectively, were the main constituents. The main components of N. cataria were 4a-α,7-α,7a-ß-NL (72.8%) and 4a-α,7-ß,7a-α-NL (73.9%) during the first and second years, respectively, and 4a-α,7-α,7a-α-NL (55.5%) and 1,8-cineole (24.1%) during the first and second years, respectively, were the main constituents of N. assurgens. The results showed that NLs isomers and 1,8-cineole were the main components of the oils of three cultivated Nepeta species.

Salinity effects on physiological and phytochemical characteristics and gene expression of two Glycyrrhiza glabra L. populations.

Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) is a medicinal plant with valuable specialised metabolites such as triterpene sweetener glycyrrhizin. Salinity stress is the main environmental stress limiting plant growth and development. The effects of six levels of NaCl (0, 100, 200, 400, 600, and 800 mM) on growth, osmolyte content, oxidative stress markers, antioxidant enzyme activities, K+/Na+ ratio, glycyrrhizin content, and gene expression of glycyrrhizin biosynthesis (bAS, CYP88D6, and CYP72A154) were investigated in licorice rhizomes of two populations. The results showed that the salt stress progressively reduced the growth parameters and increased the proline concentrations in the rhizomes. K+/Na+ ratio showed a significant decrease under salinity as compared to the controls. Salt stress resulted in oxidative stress on the rhizomes, as indicated by increased lipid peroxidation and hydrogen peroxide concentrations and elevated the activities of antioxidant enzymes (i.e., ascorbate peroxidase and superoxide dismutase). The glycyrrhizin content increased only under 100 and 200 mM NaCl treatments. The same trend was observed in the expression of bAS, CYP88D6, and CYP72A154 genes in Fars population. Fars population was found to have more glycyrrhizin content than Khorasan population. But, growth, glycyrrhizin content, and biosynthesis genes of glycyrrhizin showed more reduction in Khorasan population as compared to those of Fars population. The results indicate that the application of 100 mM NaCl up-regulated the expression of key genes involved in the biosynthesis of triterpenoid saponins and directly enhanced the production of glycyrrhizin. Accordingly, G. glabra can be introduced as a halophyte plant.

Screening of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids in bulbs and tissue cultures of Narcissus papyraceus and four varieties of N. tazetta.

Narcissus spp. are an economically important crop for medicines in relation with the alkaloids production, mainly galanthamine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. In this article an extensively study of the phytochemistry of both bulbs of different species and varieties of Narcissus grown in Iran and in vitro culture of these plants was investigated. In particular, the Amaryllidaceae alkaloid profile and the galanthamine and lycorine contents in wild bulbs of Narcissus papyraceus (G5) and four varieties of Narcissus tazetta (N. tazetta var. Shahla (G4), N. tazetta var. Shastpar (G1), N. tazetta var. Meskin (G2), N. tazetta var. Panjehgorbei (G3)), growing in Iran are reported. The alkaloid profiles were investigated by GC-MS and LC-MS and the quantitative analysis was performed using GC-MS. In total, thirty alkaloids were identified among them nine alkaloids were observed with the both methods of analysis. The variety Meskin of N. tazetta (G2), showed the highest diversity of alkaloids and the highest content in galanthamine. On this last species (G2) and on N. tazetta var. Shahla (G4), the effects of auxins 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid (Picloram) and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) at concentrations of 25 and 50 µM were studied on the induction of callus and its capacity to induce organogenesis and alkaloid diversity. All auxins, at the concentrations of 25 and 50 µM, produced calli. Bulblets and roots were formed on calli grown only in the presence of 25 or 50 µM NAA. GC-MS analyses showed the presence of galanthamine and lycorine in calli, roots and bulblets, with all auxins whatever the concentration used while demethylmaritidine and tazettine were found in differentiated tissue cultures cultivated on the medium containing NAA (25 or 50 µM) or in calli initiated with Picloram (50 µM). Precursor 4'-O-methylnorbelladine (MN) of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids feeding was found to significantly improve the accumulation of both galanthamine (82 µg/g DW) and lycorine (1800 µg/g DW) in bulblets of N. tazetta var. Meskin (G2).

Identification of safranal as the main allelochemical from saffron (Crocus sativus).

Dried parts of 75 medicinal plant species collected from different regions in Iran were assayed by the Dish Pack Method for volatile allelopathic activity, using Lactuca sativa (lettuce) as the test plant. The highest (60%) inhibition was observed for saffron (stigma of Crocus sativus), followed by Dracocephalum kotschyi, Solanum nigrum and Artemisia aucheri. Safranal was identified as the main chemical by Headspace Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (HS- GC-MS) analyses of saffron. Moreover, the EC50 of safranal was evaluated as 1.2 µg/L (ppb). This is the first report on allelopathic activity of safranal as a bioactive compound identified from saffron.

Modeling the growth of Staphylococcus aureus as affected by black zira (Bunium persicum) essential oil, temperature, pH and inoculum levels.

Black zira (Bunium persicum) is a medicinal plant and spice, naturally grows in Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate the combined effects of different concentrations of Bunium persicum essential oil (EO; including 0, 0.08, 0.16 and 0.24%), three incubation temperatures (15, 25 and 35˚C), three levels of pH (5, 6 and 7 adjusted by hydrochloric acid), and three inoculum size (10(2), 10(3) and 10(4) CFU mL(-1)) on the growth of Staphylococcus aureus in the brain heart infusion broth. Black zira EO was extracted and its component was identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses. The experiment was carried out in triplicate. Growth was monitored by visible turbidity during a 30-day period. To evaluate effects of explanatory variable on time to detection (TTD) of bacterial growth, parametric survival models based on Log-normal distribution was used. All explanatory variables had significant association with time to detection (p < 0.05). The final model accurately predicted the growth initiation and inhibition of S. aureus.

Yield performance of Lingzhi or Reishi medicinal mushroom, Ganoderma lucidum (W.Curt.:Fr.) P. Karst. (higher Basidiomycetes), using different waste materials as substrates.

In this research the effect of sawdust, malt extract, and wheat bran on yield, biological efficiency (BE), and mycelia growth of Ganoderma lucidum was investigated. Three kinds of sawdust (beech, poplar, and hornbeam) as basal medium were mixed with two levels of wheat bran (5% and 10% w/w) and malt extract (2.5% and 5% w/w) as medium supplement for production of G. lucidum in factorial experiments on the basis of completely randomized design with three replications. The results showed that various kinds of sawdust affect fruiting body yield, BE, and mycelia growth rate significantly. The highest fruiting body yield and BE (102.58 g/kg and 12.89%, respectively) were found using hornbeam sawdust. The beech sawdust promotes the mycelia growth rate more than other sawdust. Analysis of variance showed that there is a significant interaction between the sawdust type and wheat bran, sawdust type and malt extract, and wheat bran and malt extract as far as yield and BE of G. lucidum was concerned. A final comparison of the different formulae indicated that the best combinations for high yield (142.44 g/kg) and BE (18.68%) were obtained in a combination of poplar sawdust with 5% malt extract and 10% wheat bran. The highest mycelia growth rate (10.6 mm/day) was obtained in a combination of beech sawdust with 2.5% malt extract and 10% wheat bran.

Composition at different development stages of the essential oil of four Achillea species grown in Iran.

Four Achillea species, A. millefolium, A. nobilis, A. eriophora and A. biebersteinii, were grown in small field plots in Iran and harvested at four developmental stages: vegetative, at the appearance of the first flower heads, at full flowering, and at late flowering. The composition of the main volatile compounds in dichloromethane extracts and the essential oil obtained by microdistillation was established by GC/MS and GC. 1,8-Cineole (27-41%) was the main compound in the oils from A. millefolium and A. biebersteinii. These two species reached the highest amount of volatile compounds at the full blooming stage. alpha-Thujone was the main compound in A. nobilis oil (25-64%). Fully blooming plants of this species also had a high proportion of artemisia ketone (up to 40%) in the oil. The main oil compounds of A. eriophora were camphor (about 35%) and 1,8-cineol (about 30%). This species produces only a small number of flower heads and the composition of the essential oil did not change during development.