[Cytotoxicity evaluation of taverniera spartea on human cancer cell lines]

For centuries, plants have been a major source for drug discovery. Some examples of anticancer agents developed from plants are the vinblastine, vincristine, taxol and camptothecin. Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers among women and prostate cancer remains a considerable health problem for men around the world. The purpose of this study was cytotoxicity evaluation of Taverniera spartea on human cancer cell lines. Methods: In the present study, we determined the cytotoxic effects of total methanol extracts and their fractions of Taverniera spartea on MCF-7 and BT-474 human breast cancer cells and also PC-3 and Du-145 prostate cancer cells. Cytotoxicity was evaluated by MTT assay and flow cytometry analysis. The chloroform fraction of Taverniera spartea showed the highest toxicity MTT assay. The IC50 value of this fraction was 70.69 mg/ml for MCF-7 breast cancer cell line after 48 h of exposure. Chloroform fraction showed necrotic effects on MCF-7, BT-474 and PC-3 in contrast apopthotic induction on Du-145 in flow cytometry analysis Taverniera spartea has cytotoxic effects. Further investigation is needed to determine chemical characterization of the active principles and the molecular mechanisms mediated anticancer activities of Taverniera spartea

Antifungal activity of dried extracts of anise [Pimpinella anisum L.] and star anise [Illicium verum Hook, f.] against dermatophyte and saprophyte fungi

Medicinal plants synthesize a vast array of secondary metabolites that are important for human life. For medicinal purpose, antimicrobial activity of substances derived from plant extracts has been recognized for many years. Pimpinella anisum L. [Apiaceae] and Illicium verum Hook. f. [Illiciaceae] plant species, have been used for treatment of infectious diseases in Iranian traditional medicine. In this study methanol extracts of Pimpinella anisum L. [Apiaceae] and Illicium verum Hook. f. [Illiciaceae], were tested for their potential antifungal activities. Methanolic extracts were dried by freeze drying method, Minimum Inhibitory Concentration [MIC] was determined according to agar dilution method and Minimum Fungicidal Concentration [MFC] was determined by incorporating various concentrations of extracts [2-256 mg/ml] in Sabouraud dextrose agar [SDA] in tubes against 4 dermatophyte and one saprophyte fungi. The extracts of anise seeds inhibited only dermatophyte species, while extracts of star anise fruits inhibited growth of all dermatophytes and saprophytes. MIC and MFC for each extracts were different and MFC was higher than MIC for all species. As a result of this experiment, these plants can be candidate for further studies due to their antifungal potencies

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

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

Study on chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of thymus Trautvetteri Klokov and Desj - Shost

The genus Thymus belongs to Lamiaceae family. This genus is comprised of about 350 species widespread in the world. 14 species exist in Iran of which four are endemic. In this study chemical compounds and antibactrial activity in essential oil of Thymus trautvetteri was identified. Thymus trautvetteri has been collected from the highlands of Ardabil province in June 2006. Then air-dried aerial parts of the plant were submitted to hydrodistillation using a Clevenger apparatus to produce the essential oil and the extract 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. Results: In this study, 49 constituents were found representing 99.76% of the oil. The major components were thymol [24.43%], borneol [11.36%], para-cymene [10.09%] and gamma-terpinene [7.78%], alpha-pinene [5.29%] and carvacrol [5.07%]. The antibacterial activity of essential oil of this plant was assayed against seven bacteria and Staphylococcus aureus resulted to be the most sensitive microorganism with a MIC value of 125 micro g/ml. This study showed that essential oil of this plant have strong inhibitory and bactricidal effects against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Identification of chemical compounds of this species showed that thymol represented the most abundant compounds as the other Thymus species. The antimicrobial activity of essential oil of Thymus trautvetteri can be attributed of thymol and other terpenoides compounds

[Review on yew tree [taxus spp.]]

Importance of yew tree [Taxus spp.] originates from the entering of Taxol [Paclitaxel] in the treatment of breast cancer since 1982. Taxus spp. is one of the Taxaceae family, distributed in North America, Europe, meditranean region, Asia and North forests of Iran. Efficacy of Taxol in the treament of some cancers and low concentration of this compound in tree, stimulated semi synthetic preparation of taxol from other more aboundant compounds such as baccation-III which is found with higher concentrations in all tree tissues. Despite entering some other routs for preparation of taxol e.g. cell culture, cultivation and studies on yew tree is in high importance, therefore review on this plant was made by authors

[Variaion of essential oil percentage and constituent at different growth stages of dill [Anethum graveolens L.]]

Anethum graveolens L. an annual, herbaceouse and aromatic plant is belong to Apiaceae family. All Parts of Dill plant are fragrant. Carvone, Phellandren and Limone compounds are major constituents of Dill essential oil. Previous studies shown that serious variations take place on quantity and quality of Dill essential oil. Therefore, in this research variation on essential oil Percentage and constituent at three stage of plant growth studied. Result shown that best growth stage or harvest time for obtaine highest essential oil and Carvon yield is early seed forming stage [green seeds] or before complet ripening stage [brown seeds]