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Spearmint essential oil is a valuable medical and food product. Spearmint essential oil is effective for the treatment of flatulence, indigestion, nausea, and colic along with Alzheimer, obesity, and fungal infections. This study evaluated the quality and quantity of spearmint essential oil by examining some extraction strategies. The procedures were hydro-distillation, hydro-steam distillation, microwave-assisted hydro-distillation, and open hydro-distillation. The hydro-distillation had five pH levels (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10) and four NaCl concentrations (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2%). microwave-assisted hydro-distillation at a power of 225 W was applied for 60, 90, and 120 minutes for process durations. The solvent extraction of herbal distillate obtained by an open hydro-distillation system was done using n-pentane and n-hexane to achieve a recovered essential oil by a rotary evaporator. The results showed that the lowest pH in the hydro-distillation process led to obtaining double yield compared to the control. Additionally, at 1 and 1.5% NaCl concentrations, the oil yield increased by 12.86 and 20.87%, respectively. Although the yield was reduced by microwave-assisted hydro-distillation, however within 120 minutes, carvone increased by 12.7% and limonene decreased by 42.3%. The best quality of spearmint oil belonged to solvent extraction followed by rotary evaporator.

High performance liquid chromatography data related to the concentrations of 12 phenolic compounds in vegetative parts, measured at four sampling times were processed for developing prediction models, based on the cultivar, grapevine organ, growth stage, total flavonoid content (TFC), total reducing capacity (TRC), and total antioxidant activity (TAA). 12 Artificial neural network (ANN) models were developed with 79 input variables and different number of neurons in the hidden layer, for the prediction of 12 phenolics. The results confirmed that the developed ANN-models ( = 0.90 - 0.97) outperform the stepwise regression models ( = 0.05 - 0.78). Moreover, the sensitivity of the model outputs against each input variable was computed by using ANN and it was revealed that the key determinant of phenolic concentration was the source organ of the grapevine. The ANN prediction technique represents a promising approach to predict targeted phenolic levels in vegetative parts of the grapevine.

Kelussia odoratissima Mozaff. (Apiaceae) is a native plant that has been traditionally consumed in Iran’s food and pharmaceutical industries. Overharvesting of the taxon, especially at the beginning of the growing season, due to its considerable medicinal and economic value, is believed to be the main reason for the extirpating of this plant. The consequences of the severe anthropogenic impacts on the genetic diversity of populations are poorly known. In order to investigate the level of genetic variation and patterns of the genetic structure of K. odoratissima , we developed novel microsatellite markers using the 454 Roche next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform for the first time. Out of 1,165 microsatellite markers bioinformatically confirmed, twenty-five were tested, of which 23 were used to screen genetic variation across 12 natural populations. Our results showed that the average number of alleles per locus and the polymorphic information content (PIC) were 10.87 (range 7 to 27), and 0.81 (range 0.67 to 0.94), respectively. The mean observed and expected heterozygosities (± SD) across all populations were 0.80 ± 0.31 and 0.72 ± 0.14, respectively. The average pairwise F ST among the populations was 0.37 (range 0.04 to 0.81). Bayesian and distance-based clustering, and principal coordinate analyses revealed at least four major genetic clusters. Although high level of structure can be explained by landscape topography and geographic distance, presence of admixed populations can be associated to seed or pollen dispersal. Contrary to expectations, the high level of genetic variation and lack of inbreeding suggest that overexploitation has not yet significantly purged the allelic variability within the natural populations in protected areas.

The economic value of the saffron stigma is primarily due to three crucial apocarotenoids: crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal, which contribute to its color, flavor, and aroma. These compounds make saffron highly valuable in various industries. Plant viruses like the cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) are significant threats to agricultural crops worldwide, causing economic losses. To elucidate the influence of viral stress on the quality of saffron, morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular indexes were assessed. Under the stress of both viruses, typical viral symptoms appeared. The lowest contents of leaf pigments, flowering performance, petal anthocyanin, greenness, and photosynthesis properties were observed in plants infected with CMV and TuMV. According to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, CMV inoculation led to the highest reduction in crocin and safranal content, while inducing the highest increase in picrocrocin compared to the mock treatment. Gene expression analysis involved in the biosynthesis of crucial secondary metabolites showed a high correlation with the content of each metabolite. CMV inoculation resulted in the lowest expression of CsALDH31l and the highest expression of CsUGT709G1 compared with the mock treatment. Our findings demonstrate the association between virus stress and changes in the metabolism of the saffron medicinal plant.

Background Predicting the potential habitat of plants in arid regions, especially for medicinal ones, is very important. Although Pergularia tomentosa is a key species for medicinal purposes, it appears in very low density in the arid rangelands of Iran, needing an urgent ecological attention. In this study, we modeled and predicted the potential habitat of P. tomentosa using maximum entropy, and the effects of environmental factors (geology, geomorphology, altitude, and soil properties) on some characteristics of the species were determined. Results The results showed that P. tomentosa was absent in igneous formation while it appeared in conglomerate formation. In addition, among geomorphological units, the best quantitative characteristics of P. tomentosa was belonged to the conglomerate formation-small hill area (plant aerial parts = 57.63 and root length = 30.68 cm) with the highest electrical conductivity, silt, and CaCO 3 content. Conversely, the species was not found in the mountainous area with igneous formation. Moreover, plant density, length of roots, and aerial parts of the species were negatively correlated with soil sand, while positive correlation was observed with CaCO 3 , EC, potassium, and silt content. The maximum entropy was found to be a reliable method (ROC = 0.91) for predicting suitable habitats for P. tomentosa . Conclusion These results suggest that in evaluating the plant’s habitat suitability in arid regions, contrary to the importance of the topography, some environmental variables such as geomorphology and geology can play the main role in rangeland plants’ habitat suitability.

Satureja bachtiarica Bunge (Lamiaceae) is a medicinal plant native to Iran which is widely used in traditional medicine, as a spice and as a vegetable. Understanding the patterns of genetic variation and structure of natural populations of the plant will be crucial for breeding and management purposes. However, until now, there has been no molecular tool with codominance inheritance available for studying genetic variation in this plant. In this study, we developed microsatellite markers for S. bachtiarica using a next-generation sequencing technique, and applied these markers to quantify the genetic variation and structure of natural populations. Sixty individuals collected from five natural populations were tested with 15 markers, 11 of which were fund to be polymorphic. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 4 to 17, with an average of 7.5 alleles per locus. The polymorphic information content of loci ranged from 0.41 to 0.89, with an average of 0.63. The average observed and expected heterozygosities over all populations were 0.62 (range 0.58 to 0.69) and 0.61 (range 0.60 to 0.63), respectively, and a low level of inbreeding (FIS) was observed in all populations (ranging from − 0.08 to 0.10) except Boli. None of the populations revealed any signature of recent reduction in population size. Private allelic richness was positively correlated with elevation (P < 0.05). The mean pairwise FST (± SD) among populations was 0.07 ± 0.01 (range 0.05 to 0.10). The clustering and Bayesian structure analyses exhibited genetic admixture between populations as supported by a weak population differentiation. The results of this study show the high efficiency of developed markers to investigate the genetics of natural populations of S. bachtiarica. The developed markers can also help to screen natural variation in diverse populations of closely related species, and can consequently be applied in conservation genetic and breeding programs.

Spearmint essential oil (SEO), one of the economically valuable natural products, has special importance in the food, pharmaceutical, and perfumery industries due to its antifungal, antioxidant, and enzyme inhibitory properties. In this study, we optimized and evaluated the effect of three pre‐treatments on the extraction of SEO for quantity and quality: ultrasonic bath (UB), water to material ratio‐ultrasonic bath (W/M‐UB), and cold plasma‐ultrasonic bath (CP‐UB). Three experiments were designed using the central composite design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM). Experimental treatments included UB temperature (30–80°C) and time duration (1–30 min), cold plasma (CP) power (15–24 kV), and water/material ratio (10–40). Then, SEOs were extracted by hydro‐distillation using the Clevenger apparatus. The results showed that SEO yield in the optimal conditions of treatments was 119.7%, 206.6%, and 155.7% higher in UB, W/M‐UB, and CP‐UB pretreatments respectively, in comparison to control sample and optimized conditions were UB temperature: 37.3°C and UB time: 5.2 min at UB treatment, 33.9 of W/M ratio, 69.9°C of UB temperature and 6.9 min of UB time at W/M‐UB treatment and CP power: 22.176, UB temperature: 40.135 and UB time: 24.122 at CP‐UB treatment. Oxygenated monoterpenes were also higher in the essential oils (EOs) of all three treated plant materials. In conclusion, the SEO extraction yield improved by the application of the pretreatments in optimized conditions. The aim of this study was to increase the extraction efficiency of essential oil. Treatments were ultrasonic bath, water to material ratio, and cold plasma. Increasing the time of ultrasonic bath and cold plasma power led to a higher yield. Treatments with ultrasonic bath temperature and water/material ratio inversely affected the yield. The treatments raised the percentage of oxygenated monoterpenes slightly.

Background: Predicting the potential habitat of plants in arid regions, especially for medicinal ones, is very important. Although Pergularia tomentosa is a key species for medicinal purposes, it appears in very low density in the arid rangelands of Iran, needing an urgent ecological attention. In this study, we modeled and predicted the potential habitat of P. tomentosa using maximum entropy, and the effects of environmental factors (geology, geomorphology, altitude, and soil properties) on some characteristics of the species were determined. Results: The results showed that P. tomentosa was absent in igneous formation while it appeared in conglomerate formation. In addition, among geomorphological units, the best quantitative characteristics of P. tomentosa was belonged to the conglomerate formation-small hill area (plant aerial parts = 57.63 and root length = 30.68 cm) with the highest electrical conductivity, silt, and $CaCO_3$ content. Conversely, the species was not found in the mountainous area with igneous formation. Moreover, plant density, length of roots, and aerial parts of the species were negatively correlated with soil sand, while positive correlation was observed with $CaCO_3$, EC, potassium, and silt content. The maximum entropy was found to be a reliable method (ROC = 0.91) for predicting suitable habitats for P. tomentosa. Conclusion: These results suggest that in evaluating the plant's habitat suitability in arid regions, contrary to the importance of the topography, some environmental variables such as geomorphology and geology can play the main role in rangeland plants' habitat suitability.

Director Kianoosh Ayari's story of human tragedy and survival begins with a devastating earthquake that hits a town and nearby village without warning. He works with only two professional actors and some survivors of the December 26, 2003 earthquake that devastated the 2,000-year-old southern Iranian city of Bam, leaving 43,000 dead, 20,000 injured and 60,000 homeless. His drama, working with documentary immediacy, recreates all the horror and loss and confusion, and also the extraordinary courage, compassion and self-sacrifice that surface at the time of a natural disaster. A woman finds herself a lone survivor of her village, and moves toward Bam. Of the many inhabitants there who are scrambling to extract their friends and loved ones from the rubble, one man whom the quake has released from the confines of his prison cell tries to locate his now unrecognizable house to find his wife, mother, and daughter Arezoo. Like so many other survivors, he must face the terrible possibility that his family is gone. Both dazed, woman teacher and agonized prisoner turn to the work of rescue and recovery.