Influence of KNO[3], CaCl[2] and MgSO[4] concentrations on growth and cichoric acid accumulation in hairy root culture of purple coneflower [echinacea purpurea L.]

Purple coneflower [Echinacea purpurea L.] is one of the most important medicinal plants. Hairy root culture of Echinace, represent a valuable alternative to field cultivation for the production of bioactive secondary metabolites. The present study investigates the effects of KNO[3], CaCl[2] and MgSO[4] concentrations on growth and the biosynthesis of cichoric acid in Echinacea purpurea hairy root culture. Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain R15834 was used for hairy root induction. The experiment was performed with 0.5 g of fresh hairy roots [about 2 cm long segments] per 100 ml Erlenmeyer flasks containing 30 ml of hormone-free liquid 1/2MS salts with B5 vitamins supplemented with different amounts of KNO[3] [3131, 3939, and 4747 mg/l], CaCl[2] [85, 170, and 340 mg/l] and MgSO[4] [370 [control], 600, and 1600 mg/l]. After 4 weeks, growth parameters and cichoric acid amounts were assessed. Results indicated that the highest fresh [99.69 g/l] and dry weight [6.91 g/l] of hairy roots was achieved using 3131 mg/l KNO[3]. Fresh and dry weights of hairy roots in various CaCl[2] and MgSO[4] concentrations were not significantly different from those of control. The highest amount of cichoric acid [30.55 mg/g DW] was produced by 1600 mg/l MgSO[4] treated hairy roots after 4 weeks. The present work demonstrated the effectiveness of modified 1/2MS salts supplemented with B5 vitamins medium for improving hairy root growth and in vitro production of cichoric acid

Propagation of Ginkgo biloba L. through tissue culture of various plant parts

Ginkgo biloba, often referred to as a living fossil, is the oldest living tree specie on earth and is well known for its resistance to adverse growing conditions as well as its ornamental beauty. Ginkgo has been used as a nutritional support for mental alertness, enhanced circulatory and blood vessel health. The beneficial effects are due to the presence of ginkgolides and bilobalide that represent together with the flavonoids the active constituents. Propagation of Ginkgo biloba to determine the best explants, medium, kind of hormone on regeneration through tissue culture of various plant parts. In this study factorial experiments were conducted to determine the best explants, medium, kind of hormone on regeneration, the percentage of callus and the weight of wet callus. The response of leaf, petioles and meristem explants on MS, B5, WPM mediums to six hormones were investigated. Every experiment has 3 replications. Every replication for each treatment had 6 samples containing 7 explants. After sterilizing explants, they exposed to the treatments in mediums of%7 Agar [5.7 pH] for 6 weeks. In these experiments only callus was produced therefore it seems that Ginkgo plant is recalcitrant. These results showed that shoot tip was the best explant and interaction of epical meristem and MS medium had the best effect on the production of callus. 1 mg/l NAA plus 0.5 mg BAP was the best hormonal combination. Petiole explant gave the least response

Classification of Iranian garlic [Allium sativum L.] ecotypes using RAPD marker

Garlic is a valuable medicinal plant with variability in desirable morphological and physiological characteristics. The analysis of genetic diversity plays an important role in breeding programs. The RAPD technique could be very effective in detecting genetic variation in garlic. The objective of the present work was to detect molecular polymorphism among Iranian garlic ecotypes by RAPD technique. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA [RAPD] marker utilized to assess the genetic diversity among twenty-two different ecotypes of the Iranian garlic. Genomic DNA was extracted from young leaves using Dellaporta method. RAPD amplification was performed using ten 10-mers arbitrary primers. Results indicated that five out of ten pair primers had no amplification. A total of 35 RAPD bands were produced, 31 of which [88.5%] were polymorphic. The similarity matrices and dendrogram were obtained using UPGMA algorithms. In conclusion the entire population was grouped into four clusters with 3, 9, 1 and 9 ecotypes. No significant relationship between genetic diversity detected by RAPD technique and geographical origins

Investigation of the hypoglycemic effect of tribulus terrestris extract on diabetic rats

Tribulus terrestris L. is a traditional herbal medicine used for treatment of hypertension, urinary tract inflammation, kidney and bladder stones. The present study was to evaluate the effect of different doses of Tribulus terrestris [T.T.] fruit extract on rat blood glucose at acute and chronic phases compered with glibenclamide as the standard hypoglycemic drug. 60 wistar male rats with 200-250 gr weight were selected and caged in same environmental condition. Diabetes was induced by 50mg/kg streptozocin intraperitoneal [ip] injection. After 15 days the rats with fasting blood sugar [FBS] above 200mg/dl were selected and divided into 10 groups of 6 rats each. The T.T. fruit extract in doses of 15, 30, 60, 150, 250, 500, 750, 1000 mg/kg for acute phase and 500, 750, 1000 mg/kg for chronic phase were selected for ip injected. FBG and 2 hour post prandial blood sugar [2hrPPBS] were determined every 20 days during 2 month of the study and fasting blood insulin were determined at the end of the study. The results of this study indicate that in 750 and l000mg/kg doses of T.T. fruit extract groups FBS and 2hrPPBS reduced significantly [p=0.000] compere to glibenclamide group. T.T. fruit extract at the doses of 750 and l000mg/kg has antihyperglycemic effect in diabetic rats

chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oil of Satureja intermedia C. A. Mey

The genus Satureja belongs to Lamiaceae family. 12 species exist in Iran of which 8 are endemic. Some of this genus had shown antibacterial effects. In this study chemical compounds and antibacterial activity of essential oil of Satureja intermedia was identified. Satureja intermedia has been collected from the elevation of Ardabil province in August 2006. Then air-dried aerial parts of the plant were submitted to hydrodistillation using a Clevenger apparatus to produce the essential oil and was analysed by GC/MASS. Investigation of antimicrobial activity was conducted by Disc-diffusion, MIC and MBC technique and different antibiotics compared with antimicrobial activity of this essential oil. In this study, 34 constituents were found representing 99.8% of the oil. The major components were thymol [25.6%], para-Cymene [21.44%], gamma-Terpinene [20%], Carvacrol [9.48%], alpha-Terpinene [7.94%] and Myrcene [3.58%]. The antibacterial test results showed that essential oil of this plant had a great potential antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Results presented here may suggest that the essential oil of Satureja intermedia possess antibacterial properties and is therefore a potential source of antibacterial ingredients for the food and pharmaceutical industry