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This research focused on improving the drought tolerance of Dracocephalum moldavica , a plant vulnerable to water stress, by exploring the combined effects of melatonin spray and mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices inoculation. The experiment was designed as a factorial randomized study to evaluate the plant’s morphological, physiological, and phytochemical responses under different drought conditions (100%, 75%, and 50% field capacity). The findings revealed that the combination of melatonin and mycorrhizal inoculation significantly improved the morphological traits of Moldavian balm under drought conditions. Under severe drought (50% field capacity), chlorophyll a and b levels increased by 26.3% and 35.5%, respectively, when both treatments were applied. Stress indicators, including electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content, were substantially reduced with the simultaneous application of melatonin and mycorrhizal symbiosis, indicating decreased cellular damage. Moreover, the combined treatment resulted in the highest activities of the antioxidant enzymes catalase and peroxidase, suggesting that these treatments bolster the plant’s oxidative stress defense mechanisms. Additionally, drought stress alone led to an increase in secondary metabolites like phenolic and flavonoid compounds, which were further amplified by the treatments. The study also observed significant alterations in the essential oil composition of the plant. Drought stress increased the levels of α-pinene, 1,8-cineole, and borneol, and these increases were even more pronounced with the combined treatments. Conversely, the levels of geraniol and geranial decreased under drought stress and further with treatment. Overall, this research demonstrates that melatonin and Glomus intraradices inoculation can effectively enhance drought tolerance in Dracocephalum moldavica by improving its physiological characteristics and biochemical composition.

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) is a medicinal herb that has multiple pharmacologic properties. This plant is rich parthenolide (PN). Hairy roots (HRs) culture is a valuable biotechnological tool for the production of plant secondary metabolites. Furthermore, application of elicitors is one of the most effective strategies to induce the metabolite biosynthesis. This study has investigated the effects of various elicitors on the production of PN in feverfew hairy root culture and the expression of parthenolide synthase (TpPTS) gene. Three elicitors were used separately and in combination, including yeast extract (YE) (2.5 mgL− 1), methyl jasmonate (MJ) (100 µM), Ag+ (100 µM), YE + MJ, Ag+ + MJ, YE + Ag+, and YE + MJ + Ag+ which were added to the 1/2MS medium on day 18 and after 48 h and 96 h, hairy roots were collected to determine the PN content. Total RNA was extracted from hairy roots and used for cDNA synthesis and real-time PCR analysis to investigate the gene expression of TpPTS. The PN content was determined by HPLC. The highest PN content (0.05 mg g− 1 dry weight) was achieved after application of elicitors (in 2.5 mgL− 1 YE and 100 µM MJ) and the highest expression of TpPTS gene also occurred after 96 h in the same treatment. It was concluded that some of the combined elicitors could efficiently increase the parthenolide content of feverfew in vitro culture. The additive effect of elicitors might be due to the separate mechanisms of each substance that is acting in an independent pathway.

Achillea species (Asteraceae) are important medicinal foods widely used as traditional medicine, herbal tea, and food additives. In the present study, the chemical composition, antioxidant, cytotoxicity, and enzyme inhibitory activities (α-amylase, α-glucosidase, cholinesterase, and tyrosinase) of the essential oils (EOs) and ethanolic (EtOH) extracts from flowers and leaves of Achillea filipendulina were investigated. The EOs were characterized by the presence of 35 and 38 volatile constituents, representing 98.88% and 97.26% of the flowers and leaves oils, respectively. Chrysanthenyl acetate (19.11% and 16.26%), 1,8-cineole (17.18% and 12.01%), borneol (9.70% and 7.66%), and α-pinene (9.60% and 8.77%) were identified as the major compounds. Phenolics profiling showed 11 phenolic acid and flavonoids are presented in this herb flower and leaves EtOH extracts of which chlorogenic acid (214.95 and 154.54 mg/100 g extract), cinnamic acid (116.67 and 90.41 mg/100 g extract), and apigenin (204.89 and 228.28 mg/100 g extract) were the major ingredients. Moreover, the extracts contained significant amounts of total phenolics, flavonoids, tannins, and saponin compounds. All samples showed moderate to high inhibitory effects against key enzyme linked to Alzheimer’s and diabetes diseases. Furthermore, the extracts exhibited promising antityrosinase activity. Evaluation of antiproliferative activity exerted that flower of the plant had the highest effect on MCF-7 and Hep-G2 cell lines, while the plant essential oil didn’t have significant effect. Overall, our findings indicated that A. filipendulina has great potential for designing novel industrial formulations including pharmaceuticals and cosmeceuticals.

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) is one of the most important medicinal plants with different pharmacologic properties, such as anti-inflammatory, cardiotonic, antitumor and antiangiogenic activities. Parthenolide (PN) is a main bioactive molecule in feverfew which belongs to sesquiterpene lactone compounds. Currently, the plant cell suspension has been used as a useful method to produce secondary metabolites (SMs) components. Meanwhile, the elicitor application is an effective strategy to induce the production of SMs in plants. The present study was conducted as two different experiments in cell suspension of feverfew. In the first experiment, the effects of explant (shoot and root), hormone (TDZ + NAA and TDZ + 2. 4-D) on cell dry weight for one month were investigated. In the second experiment, the effect of elicitor (namely, MJ, YE and Ag+) and the hormones after 24, 48 and 72 h on PN content was assessed. The result of the first experiment revealed that the simple effects and the interaction of hormone × explant were significant (P < 0.01) for cell dry weight. Growth rate analysis showed that shoot-derived cell suspension in 1 mg L−1 NAA + 0.5 mg L−1 TDZ treatment had the highest amount of cell dry weight 14 days after the culture. According to the second experiment, the highest PN content was obtained in cell suspension containing 0.5 mg L−1 2, 4-D + 0.1 mg L−1 TDZ with application of the YE + MJ elicitor after 48 h. The cell suspension treatment with each of the elicitors had a positive effect on the PN production. In conclusion, the application of combined elicitors in feverfew cell suspension culture can be used as an efficient tool for large-scale PN production.