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The potato tuber moth (PTM), Phthorimaea operculella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is an important pest of potato and other solanaceous plants. It is cosmopolite and oligophage that exists in most countries where potatoes are grown. Because of chemical treatment adverse effects, there is a necessity to find safe alternatives to synthetic insecticides. So, medicinal plants are promising since they are safe, inexpensive and effective. In this direction, potato tubers were dipped in 1 ml of 5% methanolic extracts of fumitory, licorice, lavender and oregano. The percentage of first larval penetration to tubers and oviposition-preference of mentioned medicinal plants was investigated on PTM. Subsequently, fumigant toxicity of essential oils of basil, european pennyroyal, lavender, mint and savory were investigated on P. operculella. Treated potato tubers by methanolic extract of lavender elicited the lowest percentage (19.3) of first larval penetration. Studying of oviposition-preference demonstrated that the largest number of eggs were laid on control and fumitory with 28 and 10 eggs after three days, respectively. Probit analysis of essential oils showed that the most effective oil was savory which exhibited LC₅₀ value on adults of PTM equivalent to 0.048 µL/L air.  

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Medicinal plants were used from past to present. Different small arthropods such as Acari were found on these plants. Therefore a study on the Acari fauna associated with some medicinal plants (Family: Asteraceae) in Hamedan region was carried out during 2008–2009. In this survey, 23 species belonging 18 genera from 15 different families of the subclass Acari were collected and identified. Two spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch) was determined as an abundant phytophagous mite species in this study.

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This research conducted in order to prioritize the effective criteria on development of medicinal plants cultivation in North Khorasan Province using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Delphi methods. For this purpose, a list of effective factors offered to delphi group. Analysis of delphi process showed that among 23 offered factors 19 factors, had greater impact on development of medicinal plants cultivation. Hierarchy tree was drawn through grouping of 19 factors into four criteria including economic, promotional-educational services, cultural-social and supportive policies factors. The pair wise comparison questionnaires were then distributed among relevant researchers and experts of the province to get their opinions about the priority of criteria and sub- criteria. The questionnaires were analyzed using Expert Choice software. The result revealed that economic criterion with respective weight of 0.406 had the most impact among four criteria affecting the development of medicinal plants cultivation. The supportive policies (respective weight of 0.275), educational-extension services (respective weight of 0.193) and cultural-social factors (respective weight of 0.125) received the maximum towards the minimum priorities, respectively. The results of synthesis process showed that among the 19 factors, the guaranteed purchase and establishing of pilot fields of medicinal plants, farmers' awareness of comparative advantage of medicinal plants, and the development of processing industries had the maximum towards minimum impacts on development of medicinal plants cultivation.

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Haplothripsverbasci (Osborn) is recorded from Iran for the first time. The specimens of this species were collected on flowers of Verbascum thapsus (Scrophulariaceae) from Hamedan Province, western Iran.    

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Background: Emergence of drug-resistant bacteria has highlighted the need to identify new and more efficient antibacterial agents. The aims of this study were to evaluate the antibacterial activity of dill (Anethum graveolens) seeds essential oil and to investigate the effect of cumin (Cuminum cyminum) seeds alcoholic extract on biofilm formation ability of Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Materials and methods: This experimental study was carried out at the Faculty of Medicine of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences in 2014. Activity of dill seeds essential oil was evaluated based on the inhibition zone diameter and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against some important pathogenic bacteria including: Vibrio cholerae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. Furthermore, the effect of sub-inhibitory concentrations of cumin seeds alcoholic extract was evaluated on biofilm formation ability of K. pneumoniae. The biofilms were formed on semi-glass lamellas and observed by a scanning electron microscope.
Results: Dill essential oil showed a good to moderate activity against the tested strains. The highest antibacterial activity was observed against S. aureus (inhibition zone of 15 mm and MIC of 0.62 mg.mL^-1) and V. cholerae (inhibition zone of 14 mm and MIC of 0.7 mg..mL^-1). The cumin alcoholic extract had no effect on biofilm formation ability of K. pneumoniae.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed the presence of antimicrobial compounds in dill extract. The cumin alcoholic extract was not able to inhibit biofilm formation ability of K. pneumoniae. Because of the medicinal plants properties, it is valuable to search for promising herbs and novel chemical compounds.

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One of the most important proteins in gene silencing and creation of small RNA, are argonaute proteins. Most of these proteins have an endonucleolytic activity so argonaute proteins play a key role in creation of defense mechanism against certain pathogenic viruses. In current study we studied the putative argonaute genes in six medicinal plants using bioinformatic tools. Sequences of argonaute genes of six medicinal plants were retrieved from target database using Arabidopsis Argonaut blast. Sequence alignment, 3D structure, phylogenetic tree and conserved domain were generated for six medicinal plants argonautes. Results showed that studied medicinal plants have 6 to 18 argonaute proteins in the genome. There were three classes of Argonaute proteins similar to that of Arabidopsis, and each varies in length from 846 to 1187 AA, with a average of 970 AA and 108 kDa. six medicinal plants argonaute proteins had PAZ, PIWI and MID conserved domains.Our results showed that six medicinal plants have three classes of argonautes, This indicates is that the conservation of argonaute proteins in different plants.

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The aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts from aerial parts of Berberis thunbergii L. and Alhagi maurorum Fisch. were tested against the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), for antifeedant activity, which was measured by nutritional indices parameters such as relative growth rate (RGR), relative consumption rate (RCR), efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI) and feeding deterrence index (FDI). Treatments were evaluated by the method of flour disc bioassay in the dark, at 27 ± 1 °C and 60 ± 5% RH. Aliquots of 10 µl of several concentrations from each extract (0.25-2.0%) and controls (solvents) were spread evenly on the flour discs. After evaporation of the solvent, 10 adult insects were introduced into each treatment. After 72 h, nutritional indices were calculated. Results indicated that nutritional indices varied significantly as extract concentrations increased. The difference between extracts and treatments was significant (P < 0.05). In this study, A. maurorum decreased RGR, RCR and ECI significantly more than those of B. thunbergii extract. In addition, hydroalcoholic extracts decreased RGR, RCR and ECI significantly more than those of aqueous extracts. Both plant extracts increased FDI as the extract concentrations were increased, showing high feeding deterrence activity against T. castaneum. Generally, antifeedant activity of A. maurorum was greater than that of B. thunbergii and hydroalcoholic extract was more effective than aqueous extract.

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In order to examine possible integration between irradiation and botanical pesticides, combined effects of essential oil from Rosmarinus officinalis L. and gamma radiation were determined on mortality of Callosobruchus maculatus F. (Coleoptera: Bruchidae). Experiments were conducted by pretreatment with essential oil fumigation followed by irradiation and inversely, pretreatment with irradiation followed by essential oil fumigation. The mortality rate was assessed 72 h after last treatment. Integration of gamma radiation and R. officinalis oil enhanced the mortality of C. maculatus compared with control treatments of either irradiation or fumigation alone. Synergistic effects of mortality on 1-2 days old adults of C. maculatus were observed when exposed to combination of gamma radiation and essential oil. It was found that pretreatment with fumigation followed by irradiation was perfectly effective. The study showed that either of the pre- treatments could enhance the susceptibility of the pest to the other treatment. Our findings led to a conclusion that the combination of gamma radiation and R. officinalis oilfumigation has a potential for application in integrated management of C. maculatus.

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Background: Concentrations of 4 toxic metals, viz. Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in the soil and alfalfa samples collected from Borujerd, Iran, was determined. The capability of alfalfa to accumulate heavy metals from soils was assessed in terms of Biological Concentration Factor. Materials and Methods: The alfalfa and soil samples were collected from 20 different farms, including 13 wastewater-irrigated and seven underground-irrigated farms. After acid digestion, the samples were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Results: The levels of Cd, Pb, and Zn in the soils of wastewater-irrigated farms were higher than those from the groundwater-irrigated farms. With the exception of Cu, concentrations of heavy metals in the alfalfa crop were higher in wastewater-irrigated farms compared to well water. Also, in the case of BCF, both Cd and Cu values decreased with increasing metal concentration in soil. The order of BCF of heavy metals in alfalfa was in order of Cu>Cd>Zn>Pb in well water-irrigated and Zn>Cd>Cu>Pb in wastewater –irrigated samples. Discussion and Conclusions: The findings remarked that the levels of Cu, Cd, and Pb in alfalfa were exceeding the permissible levels suggested by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. These outcomes propose that the consumption of alfalfa plants is potentially threatening both animal and human health.

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Aims: Bioproduction methods of nanoparticles are preferrabale to chemical and physical methods because of low energy and time expenditure. The aim of this study was to investigate the biological preparation of silver nanoparticles, using Artemisia sieberi.
Materials & Methods: In this experimental study, the extract of Artemisia sieberihas was used to produce silver nanoparticles by a simple, non-toxic, and low-cost method. Formation of silver nanoparticles was established despite the presence of an absorption peak at 490nm, using spectrophotometer. The size and shape of silver nanoparticles were shown using scanning electron microscopy. Precise size and change range of nanoparticles were measured by Particle Size Analysis (PSA). FT-IR results also indicated the role of different functional groups in the synthetic process.
Findings: The change in the color of the extract from pale yellow to light brown and absorption peak at about 490nm showed production of silver nanoparticles. The silver nanoparticles were mainly spherical and their diameter was in the range of 27nm to 65nm, and in some regions, they were stacked or scattered together. The mean size of nanoparticles was 70nm and the dispersion of nanoparticles was in the range of 40nm to 140nm.
Conclusion: The silver nanoparticles derived from the Artemisia are spherical and their mean size is about 70nm. Their dispersion is between 40nm and 140nm.

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To the best of the author’s knowledge, Shāhnāmeh scholars have used another meaning of the word "Āzār" in the hemistich "bar in Khastegihā bar āzār kist" and have defined "Āzār" as "a kind of burning medicine or ointment that is rubbed on the wound". The author here has used the word "Āzārchoob" as a variety of the word "Āzār" through a medicinal plant, called "Āzārchoob" which is frequently used as a pain reliever to bruises or fractures in Fars province. He has considered "Āzārchoob" as another evidence of the meaning of "Āzār" to "ointment" in this hemistich of Shāhnāmeh. Therefore, it is necessary to record and correct the word "kist" in the intended hemistich, which appears in some editions of Shāhnāmeh, especially in the edition of Khaleghi Mutlaq by considering the meaning of "Āzār" and according to the recording of some versions of this word in Khaleghi Mutlaq's edition, as "Chist". In addition, it is advised to go for the recording and correction of "tan-āzār" and changing it into "bar āzār" in the hemistich "bar in Khastegihā tan-āzār Chist" in line with the recording of some copies in the print of the Absolute Creator. In the same way, the statement "Āzār-e Kist" should be corrected to "āzār Chist" in the hemistich "bar ān Khastegihā bar āzār-e kist", according to the recording of some copies in the print of the Absolute Creator.
 

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Abstract
Aim and Background: Today, the use of medicinal plants in the cancer treatment due to less side effects has been considered. Silybum marianum is a medicinal herb of Asteraceae, which is used in the treatment of liver diseases and gallbladder diseases, cancer, cardiovascular diseases. The encapsulation of bioactive materials in nano-liposomes is an effective approach to regulate drug release, increase stability, protect them from environmental reactions, reduce volatility, and increase its effects. The aim of this study was encapsulation of the extract of Silybum marianum in to liposomes and to evaluate the physico-chemical in order to effect on liver cancer cells
 
Materials and Methods: In this study, extract of Silybum marianum was prepared by Soxhlet method. Liposomal vesicles were prepared by thin-film hydration method and the extract of Silybum marianum was loaded. Finally, the nanoparticles were assayed for encapsulation efficiency, release profile and physicochemical properties such as particle size, zeta potential, morphology, and FTIR.
Results: Nanoliposome containing Silybum marianum extract had 63.37% encapsulation efficiency and size 122 nm zeta potential -13.1 and the dispersion index 0.197. The release of herbal extract of Silybum marianum was controlled. There is no chemical interaction between the extract and the liposome and is morphologically homogeneous and had a spherical structure.
Conclusion: The results of this study show that the extracts of Silybum marianum can be encapsulated in appropriate size and function in nanoliposomal forms, so liposomes are a suitable carrier for the Silybum marianum extract.
 

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Thymus is a medicinal plant which contains one of the world's top ten essential oils, exhibiting antibacterial, antioxidative, food preservative and mammalian age-delaying properties. This work was aimed at identifying between-species variations requiring for selecting appropriate parents for hybridization. Six Iranian endemic Thymus accessions belonging to Thymus daënensis, T. eriocalyx and T. migricus were studied. Root tips were examined for karyological studies and fresh young leaves of the standard reference (Parsley, Petroselinum crispum, 2C DNA= 4.45 pg) and the Thymus samples stained with propidium iodide (PI) for flow cytometric (FCM) measurements. Two ploidy levels (diploid and tetraploid) and 3 chromosome numbers (30, 56, 60) were recognized. The latter chromosome number is being reported for the first time on T. daënensis accession. FCM measurements showed that 2C DNA contents varied from 1.02 to 2.42 pg, verifying more than 2-fold variations and showing a genome size range of 499 to 1182 Mbp, correspondingly. The mean amount of 2C DNA/chromosome and mean of monoploid genome size were not proportional to ploidy. 2C-values were correlated with, and linearly regressed upon somatic metaphase, considering either total chromosome volume (TCV) or total chromatin length (X).

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  Medicinal plants are valuable natural resources that because of large amount of active compounds have been concerned in modern societies. Black Cumin, Coriander and Dill are such resources which they have many therapeutic and medicinal properties. Our purpose of this research is To evaluate the antioxidant activity of water- methanol extract of Black Cumin, Coriander and Dill seeds in comparison with BHT. For the preparation of water- methanol extract, the mentioned seeds powders were mixed with methanol - water (80:20 v/v) solvent at ratio 1:4 w/v. The total phenolic compounds (TPC) was measured by Folin- Ciocalteau’s method. Antiradical and inhibitory activity of the extracts were evaluated by DPPH method and compared with synthetic antioxidant BHT. The antioxidant activity of above extracts was studied in soybean oil (oven test at 60 ⁰C) by measuring peroxide value (PV) and thiobarbituric acid value (TBA) and compared with BHT (at level 100 mg/ml). There water- methanol extracts of Black Cumin, Coriander and Dill seeds contained 955.77, 890.62 and 923.16 mg/kg phenolic compounds. The highest IC₅₀ related to water- methanol extract of Black Cumin (104.76 mg/ml) which demonstrated higher antiradical activity compared to the Coriander and Dill seeds extracts. In oven test, the water- methanol extract of Black Cumin showed the greatest antioxidant activity and at level 100 mg/ml acted as BHT at level 100 mg/ml. water-methanol extracts of Black Cumin, Coriander and Dill as natural antioxidants are capable of scavenging radicals derived from lipid oxidation and reduction of auto-oxidation rate.  

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Background: In recent years, the use of medicinal plants has increased significantly. Essential oils are one of the most important secondary metabolites in plants with promising potentials to promote health. Paying attention to the quality and effectiveness of medicinal plant products is important. Use of free essential oils due to volatility, low stability, poor solubility in water and low bioavailability, limit both their use and effectiveness. The most important tool to increase the quality of essential oil is the use of nanoparticles as carriers. This study aimed to investigate the nanoencapsulation of essential oils of medicinal plants and its effect on increasing the stability of essential oils and improving the quality of drug delivery systems. Method: In the present study, the data of scientific research articles have been used to investigate the use of nanoparticles in increasing the effectiveness of the essential oils. Findings: Drug-carrier nanoparticles include various materials such as nano polymers, dendrimers, etc. that can have different morphology and sizes depending on their synthesis method. Technology of nanoencapsulation of essential oils is used to increase stability, purposefulness and control the release time of essential oil in the human. One of the advantages of targeted drug delivery is the accurate and intelligent accumulation of essential oil as a drug at the target site, thus increasing the stability and pharmacological effects of the essential oil on the organs in the human. Conclusion: Nanocapsules containing essential oils of medicinal plants have significantly increased the effectiveness of essential oils in medical applications.

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Aims: Datura stramonium L. is a medicinal plant known for its alkaloid compounds. Limited research has explored the impact of fertilizers like solopotas and fulvic acid on its growth and structural traits. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of these fertilizers on the growth rate and biomass of D. stramonium.
Materials & Methods: Solopotas and fulvic acid were applied as foliar sprays at concentrations of 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8%, with five applications at 5-day intervals. Growth parameters such as plant height, leaf length, stem length, root length, leaf number, flower and fruit counts, and shoot weight were measured at maturity and compared with control plants treated with distilled water.
Findings: The fertilizer treatments significantly affected leaf traits, flower and fruit numbers, plant height, and shoot weight (p<0.05), but not root length. The 2% fulvic acid treatment resulted in the tallest plants (45.75 cm), compared to 31.25 cm in the control. The 4% fulvic acid treatment had the most leaves (39.5), while the control had the lowest (19). The 2% solopotas treatment produced the longest leaves (14.15 cm), while the 8% solopotas had the shortest (8.17 cm). The 2% fulvic acid also resulted in the heaviest shoots (13.5 g), compared to 3.5 g in the control.
Conclusion: Application of 2% fulvic acid and 2% solopotas significantly improved growth and biomass of D. stramonium, particularly in plant height, leaf number, and leaf length. These findings suggest these fertilizers can enhance the commercial potential of D. stramonium.

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Bread is the main source of a large part of the energy, protein, minerals and vitamins required by humans. Aloe Vera is one of the oldest medicinal plants that beside of fiber, minerals, vitamins, amino acids and natural sugars, have antimicrobial agents, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant Therefore, its use helpful for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's, heart disease, digestive problems. This study examined the effect of addition of aloe vera powder in quantities of 1, 3, 6 and 9% (w / w based on flour) on the quality of Barberi bread, as well as changes in microbial, texture, color and water absorption properties of bread within 72 hours in order to produce the functional bread. The results showed that the adding of aloe vera powder, causing controlling the activity of microorganisms and mold and yeast, increase swelling power and reduce staling the bread. However, volume, brightness, Points smell, taste and the ability to chewing has declined. In general, investigation of breads characteristics in this study showed that the adding powder of aloe vera until 1%, causing improve the quality of shelf life and increase the healthly value of Barbari breads that is produced.

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Plant growth is often limited by low levels of soil micronutrients such as copper (Cu), ‎especially in calcareous salt-affected soils of arid and semiarid regions. The aim of this ‎work was to investigate individual and combined effects of salinity and Cu on growth, leaf ‎relative water content (LRWC), cell membrane permeability, lipid peroxidation, and total ‎phenolic content (TPC) of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) in a hydroponic ‎experiment. A factorial arranged experiment with three salinity levels (i.e., 0, 50, and 100 ‎mM NaCl), and three levels of copper (i.e., 0, 0.5, and 1.0 µM Cu2+, as CuSO4) was ‎performed. The salt stress led to a significant decrease in leaf relative water content ‎especially at 0 µM Cu2+. Salt treatments (50 and 100 mM) were found to increase ‎electrolyte leakage and malonyldialdehyde content of rosemary; however, this increase ‎was greater at 0 µM than 1.0 µM Cu2+. Regardless of Cu treatments, salinity (50 and 100 ‎mM) induced significant increases in TPC by 13 and 29%, respectively. The application of ‎‎1.0 M Cu at the 50 mM NaCl treatments increased total phenolic content by 19% ‎compared to 0M Cu. Copper nutrition resulted in greater accumulation of phenolic ‎compounds in plant roots and thereby decreasing lipid peroxidation under salt stress ‎conditions.‎