Pediculicidal Activity of Foeniculum vulgare Essential Oil in Treatment of Pediculus capitis as a Public Health Problem.

Background: Pediculosis, caused by Pediculus spp is an important public health problem in urban and rural areas around the world. Natural compounds such as plant essential oils (EOs) have been suggested as a potential alternative for insect pest control recently. The purpose of this study was to investigate the toxicity of Foeniculum vulgare essential oil against the head louse, Pediculus capitis under laboratory conditions. Methods: Fennel essential oil components were analyzed using GC-mass apparatus. Immersion and contact filter paper bioassays were used to evaluate fennel essential oil toxicity at the two-fold concentrations of 2.5, 5, 10, 20, and 40% against nit and nymph/adult stages of the head louse. Results: Trans-anethole, α-Thujone, and limonene, which consisted of 76.08%, 10.37%, and 5.34% were the most components of fennel oil respectively. The LC50 values for the adult /nymphs were 11.5, 6.4, 3.9, 3.1 and 2.5% and LC99 values were 29.5, 15.2, 12.8, 10.8, and 7.4% at 10, 20, 30, 45 and 60 minutes after exposure respectively. The lethal times (LT50) for adults/nymphs were 5.2, 8.1, 9.5, 20.5, and 45.8 minutes and LT99 were 138.6, 91.3, 23.8, 21.7, and 13.9 minutes in the concentrations of 2.5, 5, 10, 20 and 40%, respectively. LC50 and LC99 values were 2.32% and 7.36% after 5 days for the eggs. Conclusion: Fennel essential oil at the concentration of 15% after 20min is suggested to develop as an appropriate formulation to evaluate in clinical trials.

Phytochemical Variation within Aerial Parts of Ferula cupularis Populations, an Endangered Medicinal Plant from Iran.

Ferula cupularis (Boiss.) Spalik et S. R. Downie is an endangered endemic Iranian medicinal plant with occurrence restricted to Fars and Kohkilooyeh Boyerahmad provinces, Iran. F. cupularis is cited for strong antibacterial activity, usages in foodstuffs preservation, and has long been used by local peoples for ulcer treatment. In this research, the aerial parts of F. cupularis wild populations were collected from three natural habitats: Eqlid-Kaftar (FC1), Kakan (FC2), and Sepidan-Komohr (FC3), to assess phytochemical diversity and antioxidant activity. The quantity of essential oil (EO) ranged remarkably from 0.42 to 0.72 % v/w among the populations. Results obtained from the EO analysis by GC-FID and GC/MS detected up to 56 compounds. α-Pinene (21.65-31.53 %), sabinene (4.74-11.39 %), phellandrene (1.78-5.1 %), δ-3-carene (1.85-7.18 %), limonene (4.12-7.45 %), (Z)-ß-ocimene (9.08-17.64 %), and elemicin (0.23-5.74 %) were the major compounds of EOs varied significantly among the populations. Moreover, total phenol content (250.54 to 387.45 mg gallic acid/100 g dry weight (DW)) and flavonoids (34.38 to 41.12 mg quercetin/100 g DW) of methanolic extracts varied substantially among the populations. Antioxidant activities of F. cupularis EOs and extracts were assessed by DPPH (2,2,1-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging method. EOs exhibited EC50 values ranging from 8.88 to 9.67 µg mL-1 and the EC50 values for the extract ranged from 941.36 to 1335.96 µg mL-1 within the populations. Results demonstrated significantly different levels of antioxidant capacities among the studied populations. Monitoring the data, the population collected from Eqlid-Kaftar (FC1) was selected as the most potent population concerning the highest EO content and antioxidant activity level. The obtained data provided new insights for an initial source of breeding plans and ultimately massive production for food and pharmaceutical industries.

Ducrosia spp., Rare Plants with Promising Phytochemical and Pharmacological Characteristics: An Updated Review.

The rare genus Ducrosia (Apiaceae family) consists of six species, which are mainly native to Asia, specifically to Iran and Iraq. The aerial parts of D. anethifolia, as the most common species, have been traditionally consumed to relieve headache, backache and colic pain, and have also been used as an anxiolytic, an antidepressant, and for treating insomnia. The antispasmodic and carminative effects of D. assadii, and the analgesic activity of D. flabellifolia, along with the insecticidal activities and use as a remedy of skin infections of D. ismaelis, have been previously documented. Among the 49 non-volatile secondary metabolites identified from D. anethifolia and D. ismaelis, 17 linear furanocoumarins and 8 flavonoids have been characterized. The essential oil compositions of four species, including D. anethifolia, D. assadii, D. flabellifolia and D. ismaelis, have been analyzed, whereby aldehyde hydrocarbons, including decanal (10.1‒74.0%) and dodecanal (7.2‒33.41%), and α-pinene (4.0‒70.3%), were identified as the main aroma constituents. From the species of the genus, the bioactivities of D. anethifolia, as well as D. ismaelis, D. assadii and D. flabellifolia, have been previously investigated. Except one clinical trial, all the pharmacological data are derived from preclinical tests, predominantly focusing on antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities in vitro, and neuroprotective, antidiabetic and analgesic effects in vivo. Considering the vast ethnobotanical uses of the plants in Iranian folk medicine, the phytochemical and pharmacological analysis of un-investigated species might be promising. Furthermore, due to extensive consumption of the Ducrosia genus, more scientific data are needed to support the safety and efficacy of these plants.

Comprehensive chemotaxonomic analysis of saffron crocus tepal and stamen samples, as raw materials with potential antidepressant activity.

Saffron crocus (Crocus sativus L.) has been widely grown in Iran. Its stigma is considered as the most valuable spice for which several pharmacological activities have been reported in preclinical and clinical studies, the antidepressant effect being the most thoroughly studied and confirmed. This plant part contains several characteristic secondary metabolites, including the carotenoids crocetin and crocin, and the monoterpenoid glucoside picrocrocin, and safranal. Since only the stigma is utilized industrially, huge amount of saffron crocus by-product remains unused. Recently, the number of papers dealing with the chemical and pharmacological analysis of saffron is increasing; however, there are no systematic studies on the chemical variability of the major by-products. In the present study, we harvested saffron crocus flowers from 40 different locations of Iran. The tepals and stamens were separated and subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis by HPLC-DAD. The presence and amount of seven marker compounds, including crocin, crocetin, picrocrocin, safranal, kaempferol-3-O-sophoroside, kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, and quercetin-3-O-sophoroside were determined. The analytical method was validated for filter compatibility, stability, suitability, accuracy, precision, intermediate precision, and repeatability. Tepal and stamen samples contained three flavonol glycosides. The main constituent of the tepals was kaempferol-3-O-sophoroside (62.19-99.48 mg/g). In the stamen, the amount of flavonoids was lower than in the tepal. The amount of kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, as the most abundant compound, ranged between 1.72-7.44 mg/g. Crocin, crocetin, picrocrocin, and safranal were not detected in any of the analysed samples. Our results point out that saffron crocus by-products, particularly tepals might be considered as rich sources of flavonol glucosides. The data presented here can be useful in setting quality standards for plant parts of C. sativus that are currently considered as by-products of saffron production.

Chemo-Diversity and Antiradical Potential of Twelve Matricaria chamomilla L. Populations from Iran: Proof of Ecological Effects.

Matricaria chamomilla L. is a popular medicinal herb that is used for healing various diseases and is widely distributed worldwide in temperate climate zones, and even in the subtropical climate of Southern and Western Iran. This study was aimed at comparing the volatile oil constituents, along with antiradical potential and HPLC analysis of methanolic extracts from twelve plant samples growing in Iran. The present research was carried out for the first time on these populations. Among seventeen identified volatile chemicals evaluated by GC/MS and GC/FID, representing 92.73-97.71% of the total oils, α-bisabolone oxide A (45.64-65.41%) was the major constituent, except in case of "Sarableh" as a new chemotype, where (E)- and (Z)-γ-bisabolene (42.76 and 40.08%, respectively) were the predominant components. Oxygenated sesquiterpenes (53.31-74.52%) were the most abundant compounds in the samples excluding "Sarableh" with 91.3% sesquiterpene hydrocarbons. "Sarableh" also exerted the most potent antioxidant capacity with EC50 = 7.76 ± 0.3 µg/mL and 6.51 ± 0.63 mmol TE (Trolox® equivalents)/g. In addition, populations "Lali" and "Bagh Malek" contained the highest amounts of apigenin and luteolin with 1.19 ± 0.01 mg/g and 2.20 ± 0.0 mg/g of plant material, respectively. Our findings depict a clear correlation between phytochemical profiles and antiradical potential of M. chamomilla and geographical factors.