Data on effluent toxicity and physicochemical parameters of municipal wastewater treatment plant using Daphnia Magna.

Toxicity of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent (MWWTPE) was evaluated using bioassay with Daphnia Magna (D. Magna). Acute toxicity tests were performed on effluent samples of Urmia municipal wastewater treatment plant (Biolac system) according to the USEPA methods and 24, 48, 72, and 96 hr lethal concentration 50% (LC50) were calculated by application of Probit analysis. Also interrelationship between main effluent physicochemical parameters of wastewater (BOD5, COD, and TSS) and 24hr-LC50, were studied. Results showed that the effluent was safe to be discharged to the surface water in regard to physicochemical parameters and acute toxicity unit (TUa), according to the standards of Iranian Department of Environment (DOE). Relationship between effluent COD and 24hr-LC50 show that, increase in effluent COD resulted in increase in wastewater toxicity and there was not relationship between BOD5, TSS and toxicity of effluent.

Data on seed priming and seedling growth of Barli 21 tobacco varieties under polyethylene glycol and salinity stress conditions.

Data on the effect of seed priming on Barli 21 tobacco (Nicotiana tobacum L.) cultivars, an experiment was carried out in 2014 at the Tobacco Research center of Urmia, Iran under saline and Polyethylene glycol conditions. This experiment was arranged as factorial, based on RCB design with three replications. Treatments were polyethylene glycol (- 0.5%, - 1%, - 1.5% and - 2% (PEG) and hydropriming, and salinity levels (1, 2, 3 and 4 dS m-1 KNO3) in periods 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 days. Means of Emergence time, emergence rate coefficient, Emergence rate index, Emergence rate, and Emergence percentage decreased with increasing salinity. Emergence time and emergence rate coefficient increased with hydropriming in priming 5 and 10 days. Emergence rate index, Emergence rate, and Emergence percentage increased with 1.5% Polyethylene glycol. Seed priming with Polyethylene glycol was more beneficial in improving Emergence percentage, compared with KNO3 priming.

Effect of nano silver and silver nitrate on seed yield of (Ocimum basilicum L.).

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of nano silver and silver nitrate on yield of seed in basil plant. The study was carried out in a randomized block design with three replications. RESULTS: Four levels of either silver nitrate (0, 100, 200 and 300 ppm) or nano silver (0, 20, 40, and 60 ppm) were sprayed on basil plant at seed growth stage. The results showed that there was no significant difference between 100 ppm of silver nitrate and 60 ppm concentration of nano silver on the shoot silver concentration. However, increasing the concentration of silver nitrate from 100 to 300 ppm caused a decrease in seed yield. In contrast, a raise in the concentration of nano silver from 20 to 60 ppm has led to an improvement in the seed yield. Additionally, the lowest amount of seed yield was found with control plants. CONCLUSIONS: Finally, with increasing level of silver nitrate, the polyphenol compound content was raised but the enhancing level of nano silver resulting in the reduction of these components. In conclusion, nano silver can be used instead of other compounds of silver.

Effectiveness of phytoremediation technologies to clean up of metalloids using three plant species in Iran.

Phytoremediation is a potential, innovative, and cost-effective technology for non-destructive remediation of heavy-metal contaminated soils. A field trial was conducted to evaluate the phytoremediation efficiencies of three plants and the effects of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) or ammonium addition [(NH4)2SO4 and NH4NO3] for assisting removal of heavy metals (Pb, Hg, and Cd) from contaminated soil. The tested plants include Amaranthus retroflexus, Sorghum bicolor, and Lolium perrene. Results showed that maximum concentration of Pb, Hg, and Cd were detected in shoots of A. retroflexus, S. bicolor, and L. perrene at high concentrations in pH=6.2. The application of EDTA as a chelating agent to soil was the most efficient to enhance the phytoavailability of Pb, Hg and Cd. The concentrations of Pb, Hg, and Cd in the shoots of A. retroflexus treated with EDTA were 57 mg/kg, 14.1 mg/kg, and 30 mg/kg, respectively. Results indicated that among the three plants, A. retroflexus had great potential in phytoremediation of contaminated soils.

Application of different fertilizers on morphological traits of dill (Anethum graveolens L.).

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of nitroxin biofertilizer and chemical fertilizer on the growth, yield, and essential oil composition of dill. The experiment was conducted under field condition in randomized complete block design with three replications and two factors. RESULTS: The first factor was the concentrations of nitroxin biofertilizer (0%, 50%, and 100%) of the recommended amount (1 l of biological fertilizer for 30 kg of seed). The second factor was the following chemical fertilizer treatments: no fertilizer (control) and 50 and 100 kg ha(-1) urea along with 300 kg ha(-1) ammonium phosphate. Different characteristics such as plant height, number of umbel per plant, number of umbellet per umbel, number of grain per umbellet, 1,000 seed weight, grain yield, biological yield, and oil percentage were recorded. According to the results, the highest height, biological yield, and grain yield components (except harvest index) were obtained on biological fertilizer. The results showed the highest essential oil content detected in biological fertilizer and chemical fertilizer. Identification of essential oil composition showed that the content of carvone increased with the application of biofertilizers and chemical fertilizers. The results indicated that the application of biofertilizers enhanced yield and other plant criteria in this plant. CONCLUSIONS: Generally, it seems that the use of biofertilizers or combinations of biofertilizer and chemical fertilizer could improve dill performance in addition to reduction of environmental pollution.

Antibacterial activities and antioxidant capacity of Aloe vera.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to identify, quantify, and compare the phytochemical contents, antioxidant capacities, and antibacterial activities of Aloe vera lyophilized leaf gel (LGE) and 95% ethanol leaf gel extracts (ELGE) using GC-MS and spectrophotometric methods. RESULTS: Analytically, 95% ethanol is less effective than ethyl acetate/diethyl ether or hexane (in the case of fatty acids) extractions in separating phytochemicals for characterization purposes. However, although fewer compounds are extracted in the ELGE, they are approximately 345 times more concentrated as compared to the LGE, hence justifying ELGE use in biological efficacy studies in vivo. Individual phytochemicals identified included various phenolic acids/polyphenols, phytosterols, fatty acids, indoles, alkanes, pyrimidines, alkaloids, organic acids, aldehydes, dicarboxylic acids, ketones, and alcohols. Due to the presence of the antioxidant polyphenols, indoles, and alkaloids, the A. vera leaf gel shows antioxidant capacity as confirmed by ORAC and FRAP analyses. Both analytical methods used show the non-flavonoid polyphenols to contribute to the majority of the total polyphenol content. Three different solvents such as aqueous, ethanol, and acetone were used to extract the bioactive compounds from the leaves of A. vera to screen the antibacterial activity selected human clinical pathogens by agar diffusion method. The maximum antibacterial activities were observed in acetone extracts (12 ± 0.45, 20 ± 0.35, 20 ± 0.57, and 15 ± 0.38 nm) other than aqueous and ethanol extracts. CONCLUSION: Due to its phytochemical composition, A. vera leaf gel may show promise in alleviating symptoms associated with/or prevention of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, neurodegeneration, and diabetes.

FT-IR study of the polysaccharides isolated from the skin juice, gel juice, and flower of Aloe vera tissues affected by fertilizer treatment.

BACKGROUND: This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of different amounts of fertilizers on the polysaccharides of Aloe vera plant. There were four different treatments, viz. T1 = 150% N, T2 = 150% P, T3 = 150% K, and T4 = 150% NPK (50% N + 50% P + 50% K) soil. Crude water-soluble polysaccharides were isolated from the gel juice, skin juice, and flowers of A. vera planted in these soils. RESULTS: Result indicates that skin juice contained 2.4 times the level of polysaccharides in gel juice from one plant, suggesting the potential industrial application of A. vera skin rather than discarding it. After anion-exchange chromatography, neutral polysaccharides accounted for 58.1% and 78.5% of the total recovered neutral and acidic polysaccharide preparations from the gel juice and skin juice, respectively, whereas the crude flower polysaccharides were largely composed of weakly acidic polysaccharides (84.2%). Sugar analysis of the polysaccharides after gel permeation chromatography revealed that glucose and galactose were the most abundant monosaccharide in the neutral polysaccharides from the gel juice and skin juice, respectively. The acidic polysaccharides from the two juices consisted of glucuronic acid, galactose, glucose, mannose, and xylose with variable proportions. CONCLUSIONS: Except glucuronic acid (15.4%) in flower acidic polysaccharide, the flower neutral and acidic polysaccharides contained galactose, glucose, and mannose as the main sugar components. Glucuronic acid was the major uronic acid in all acidic polysaccharides from different tissues.