The first report of iron-rich population of adapted medicinal spinach (Blitum virgatum L.) compared with cultivated spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.).

Folk medicine such as herbal and natural products have been used for centuries in every culture throughout the world. The Chenopodiaceae family with more than 1500 species is dispersed worldwide. The Iranian wild spinach (Blitum virgatum L.) is an important traditional medicinal plant used for antiviral diseases such as pneumonia and other respiratory track infections. This plant is a mountainous herb and is growing upper than 3000 m. We performed a mass selection plant breeding program on wild populations of this Iranian wild spinach during 2013-2020. Based on experimental and field characteristics this plant was identified as B. virgatum, |abbaricum|, and related characteristics were prepared with reference to the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). Mass selection program resulted from an adapted population named as medicinal spinach (MSP) population. To compare the mineral content of the mass-selected population with cultivated spinach (Spinacia oleracea L. |Varamin 88|), both plants were planted in pots and fields under similar conditions. In five leaves stage, plant samples were taken from both leaf and crown sections and used for experimental analysis. Atomic absorption spectroscopy was used to determine the mineral content including iron (Fe), zinc (Z), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu). Our results showed the selected medicinal spinach population (MSP) with about 509 ppm iron was an important iron-rich population with about 3.5-4 times more than the amount of iron in cultivated spinach in the same conditions. Because iron is an important essential element for blood production, respiration process, energy metabolisms, synthesis of collagen, and some neurotransmitters are needed for proper immune function, so the supply of absorbable adequate iron is very important. The reasons such as the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affects the amount of exchangeable oxygen in the lungs and historical local evidences of the use of this plant (MSP) for pneumonia, could open new horizons for focusing on studies related to the use of ancestral human experiences in addition to scientifically modern research.

A comparative study on the essential oil composition and antibacterial activities of different organs of wild growing Paeonia daurica subsp. tomentosa from Iran.

Paeonia daurica subsp. tomentosa (Lomakin) D.Y.Hong is an herbaceous perennial and flowering plant from the Paeoniaceae family. In this research, the roots, stems, leaves and fruits of P. daurica subsp. tomentosa were investigated for a comparative identification of essential oil composition. The essential oils constituents were identified by GC/MS and then compared. The study leads to the identification of 31, 57, 66, and 57 components in the essential oils obtained from the roots, stems, leaves and fruits, respectively. These chemicals make up more than 99% of the essential oil. Some of the identified compounds (α-Pinene, 4-ethyloctane, 5-methylnonane, benzaldehyde, myrtanal, 4,7-dimethyl benzofuran, n-decane, cuminaldehyde, cis-p-mentha-6,8-diene-2-ol, salicylaldehyde, tetradecane, tetradecanal, and n-tricosane) occurred in all parts of the plant. The existence of compounds such as cembrene (1.1%), 13-epi-manool (1.5%), 2-hydroxy methyl benzoate (10.1%), and tridecanal (0.7%), however, were confirmed exclusively in the fruit, stem, root, and leaf, respectively. The antibacterial activities (MIC) of the oils obtained from the four studied Paeonia parts against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was studied. Staphylococcus aureus was the most sensitive microorganism to the oil obtained from the fruits of P. daurica subsp. tomentosa with the value of 0.04 ± 0.005 mg mL-1.

Chemotaxonomic significance of the essential oils of 18 Ferula species (Apiaceae) from Iran.

To evaluate the chemotaxonomic significance of the essential oils of 23 populations of 18 Iranian Ferula species, the chemical composition of the oils was investigated by GC/FID and GC/MS. Altogether, 84 constituents, representing 81.3-99.7% of the total composition of the oils, have been identified. The composition of six species of the genus, i.e., F. oopoda, F. foetida, F. behboudiana, F. diversivittata, F. galbaniflua, and F. hezarlalehzarica, has been reported for the first time. The main constituents identified were α-terpinyl acetate (73.3%), 2,3,4-trimethylthiophene (2; 49.0%), sabinene (75.3%), verbenone (5; 69.4%), ß-pinene (59.0-66.3%), and (Z)-ß-ocimene (41.7%). Cluster analysis (CA) of the percentage content of the essential oil components of the Ferula species resulted in the characterization of four groups, i.e., taxa containing either i) monoterpene hydrocarbons, ii) oxygenated monoterpenes, iii) organosulfur compounds, or iv) monoterpene, sesquiterpene, and aliphatic hydrocarbons as the principal classes of compounds. Based on the results obtained, the chemical independence of F. hirtella from F. szowitsiana and of F. galbaniflua from F. gummosa at the specific level was concluded and their positions as distinct species were confirmed. The chemotaxonomic relationships among the representatives of the genus Ferula have been discussed in detail.

Micromorphology of glandular hairs, biological activity and composition of the essential oil of Tanacetum fisherae (Asteraceae-Anthemideae) from Iran.

The essential oil was obtained from the aerial flowering parts of Tanacetum fisherae, a new record from Iran, by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Eleven components representing 99.9% of the total oil were identified. 1,8-Cineole (79.9%) was characterized as the principal compound. The essential oil and its main component were tested against nine microbial strains. The result of the bioassays revealed that the oil possess potent antimicrobial property. This may be associated due to the presence of 1,8-cineole in the oil which tested individually and its high activity was observed. Micromorphological studies of hairs by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) exhibited the presence of abundant sessile capitate glandular and medifixed T-shaped eglandular trichomes on the leaves, flowers and achene, giving useful diagnostic characters for identification of this medicinal plant.