Explore the vast range of titles available.

Lemon balm ( Melissa officinalis ) is a vital industrial and medicinal plant widely utilized in pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries due to its rich bioactive metabolites, including terpenoids and phenolic compounds, as well as its diverse therapeutic properties. This study examined the effects of silicon nanoparticles (Si-NPs; 300 mg/L foliar spray), superabsorbent polymer (SAP; 1 g/kg soil), and drought stress (75% field capacity) on the phytochemical, physiological, and growth parameters of lemon balm under greenhouse conditions. Conducted over 2023–2024 at Arak University’s medicinal plants department, the experiment followed a randomized complete block design with eight treatments and three replicates. Drought stress significantly reduced chlorophyll *a* (0.74 mg/gFW) and total chlorophyll content (1.00 mg/gFW), while Si-NPs and SAP mitigated these effects by enhancing chlorophyll levels, stem height, and diameter while reducing electrolyte leakage and proline accumulation. Conversely, drought stress elevated electrolyte leakage (32.45%) and proline (1.26 µmol/gFW). The combined Si-NP and SAP treatment yielded the highest flavonoid concentrations (6.76 mg QE/g DW) and antioxidant activity (59.37%). Notably, Si-NPs and SAP alleviated drought-induced morphological and physiological impairments. Essential oil content peaked (0.29%) under drought stress, with geranial and neral identified as primary constituents. The control and SAP treatments produced the highest geranial content (51.53%), whereas SAP alone maximized neral (34.95%). Si-NPs elevated linalool acetate (5.71%), and drought stress increased isopulegol (11.16%). These findings demonstrate the efficacy of Si-NPs and SAP in enhancing lemon balm’s drought tolerance and phytochemical yield.

This study focused on extracting and preconcentrating lawsone (2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone) from Lawsonia inermis leaves to develop an advanced antibacterial polymer wound dressing designed to prevent infections and enhance wound healing. Utilizing biocompatible cellulose acetate as the base polymer, the material was combined with Ag-MOF (silver-metal-organic frameworks) to serve as a nano-carrier for the controlled release of lawsone. Extraction was performed via maceration and QuEChERS methods, with HPLC and UV-Vis spectrophotometry confirming a significantly higher lawsone yield from QuEChERS (57.218 ppm) than maceration (8.205 ppm). Spectrophotometric analysis identified water as the optimal solvent, with QuEChERS achieving an 83% dry extract efficiency. The wound dressings exhibited exceptional hydrophilicity (contact angles of 39.7° for QuEChERS and 57.2° for maceration), high moisture absorption (63% equilibrium rate, 79.42% water fraction), and effective antibacterial activity, particularly against Staphylococcus aureus (17.5 mm inhibition zone for maceration-based extract). Sustained release profiling indicated peak extract concentration (934.124 ppm) after 24 h, while structural analyses (XRD, FTIR, FE-SEM) confirmed optimal physicochemical properties. These findings demonstrate the dressing’s superior exudate management, biocompatibility, and antimicrobial efficacy, positioning it as a promising therapeutic solution for wound care.

Background Basil ( Ocimum basilicum L.), a globally significant medicinal plant of the Lamiaceae family, contains valuable volatile oils, polyphenols, and flavonoids with wide applications in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. This study evaluated salinity stress responses across 13 basil cultivars, quantifying growth, morphological, and biochemical changes under 90 mM NaCl. Results Salinity stress (90 mM NaCl) significantly reduced shoot biomass across all cultivars ( p  < 0.01), with Variegated showing maximum reduction (59.8%) versus Bush/Light Purple cultivars (31%). Essential oil content increased in all cultivars except Dark Opal under 90 mM NaCl ( p  = 0.003), with Lettuce showing a 12-fold rise (0.05–0.60% v/w), though yield (mL/plant) declined in most cultivars due to biomass reduction. Cluster analysis revealed genotype-specific tolerance mechanisms: Purple cultivars demonstrated specify osmotic adjustment through 58% higher proline accumulation and 33% lower MDA levels than sensitive genotypes. Conclusions Bush and Light Purple exhibited superior salt tolerance (31% biomass reduction), ideal for cultivation in saline soils, while Lettuce and Afghan showed enhanced essential oil production (up to 12-fold increase) under 90 mM NaCl, offering potential for phytochemical extraction. The observed diversity in stress responses provides valuable genetic resources for breeding climate-resilient cultivars, supporting sustainable medicinal plant production.

Pennyroyal ( Mentha pulegium L.) is a valuable medicinal plant, renowned for its diverse biological and therapeutic effects, which are largely attributed to its wide range of secondary metabolites, such as terpenoids and phenolic compounds. Currently, water deficit, as a major growth-limiting factor for many medicinal plants, poses one of the most significant challenges in plant production. A factorial experiment, based on a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications, was conducted to assess the effects of foliar application of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) on the growth, physiological attributes, and biochemical responses of M. pulegium under a gradient of drought stress intensities. The experimental treatments comprised four levels of drought stress (100%, 75%, 50%, and 25% of field capacity) and four concentrations of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) (0, 5, 10, and 15 µM). The accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), proline, glycine betaine, and total phenols, as well as the activities of catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzymes, were elevated in response to increasing drought intensity. A decline in relative water content, photosynthetic pigment levels, stomatal conductance, Rubisco enzyme activity, and photosynthetic rate with increasing stress levels resulted in reduced plant growth. Foliar application of ALA significantly mitigated the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and lipid peroxidation (as measured by malondialdehyde content) in pennyroyal plants. This protective effect was mediated by an enhancement in the accumulation of antioxidant compounds, including total phenols and essential oils, coupled with increased activity of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase. Furthermore, ALA application, particularly at a concentration of 10 µM, alleviated the detrimental effects of water deficit on photosynthesis by enhancing photosynthetic pigment content, stomatal conductance, and Rubisco enzyme activity. The enhanced drought tolerance observed in pennyroyal following ALA application is primarily attributed to a significant boost in the plant’s antioxidant capacity. This enhanced capacity effectively protects the photosynthetic apparatus from oxidative damage. Consequently, the resultant improvement in photosynthetic efficiency supports better growth performance under drought stress conditions.

The medicinal species of Carla ( Momoradica charantia ) is one of the medicinal plants in Cucurbitaceae family, which has shown significant effects on the control of diabetes, blood pressure, high cholesterol and liver failure due to its valuable alkaloid and glycosidic compounds. In order to investigate the effect of different strengths of Hoagland’s nutrient solution and different levels of sodium silicate on yield components, biochemical characteristics and photosynthetic pigments of the medicinal plant Carla under hydroponic conditions, a factorial experiment in the form of a completely randomized design with three replications was carried out in the Department of Medicinal Plants of Arak University. The first factor included the concentrations of nutrient solution at four levels (¼, ½, 1 and 2 strength of Hoagland’s nutrient solution) and the second factor included sodium silicate spraying at four levels (0, 50, 100 and 150 mg L − 1 ) taken from the source of sodium silicate. The results showed that different strengths of Hoagland’s nutrient solution and different concentrations of sodium silicate had a significant effect on all growth and morphological traits. The results of the experiment showed an increase in the number of flowers and fruits in double strength Hoagland concentration compared to the control (full strength), and the lowest amounts of these traits were observed at ¼ strength Hoagland concentration. In addition, the maximum numbers of flowers and fruit, fruit diameter, fruit length, and fruit weight were obtained at concentration of 100 mg L − 1 sodium silicate, and the minimum values of these traits were recorded at ¼ strength Hoagland’s solution. The highest amounts of chlorophyll b and a were seen in double strength Hoagland’s solution and the lowest amounts were seen in ¼ strength Hoagland. Moreover, the amount of carotenoid was the highest in ¼ strength Hoagland and the lowest in double strength Hoagland. The maximum and minimum values of chlorophyll b and a were obtained at concentrations of 150 and 0 mg/kg sodium silicate, respectively. In general, it was found that double strength Hoagland was more effective than other concentrations on yield components and morphological parameters, and flowering and fruit harvesting times were also reduced in the mentioned treatment. On the other hand, sodium silicate at 100 and 150 mg L − 1 had more obvious effects on the evaluated traits and the reduction of flowering and fruit harvesting times.

Nanoelicitors are biological and non-biological factors that can affect the synthesis of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants. Feverfew is a valuable medicinal plant containing effective and important anti-cancer compounds (essential oil and parthenolide). This study was conducted to investigate the effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) on yield, metabolites content, and zinc and iron absorption of Feverfew. After seed preparation, seedling production, soil physicochemical properties analysis, ZnONPs treatments, maintenance and harvesting at full flowering stage, morphological traits and yield components were measured. The essential oil was extracted by Clevenger and parthenolide was identified by UPLC-MRM-MS. The content of Zn and Fe were measured by OES-ICP. The effects of ZnONPs were significant on all morpho-phytochemical traits. An increased biological yield (dry weight) was observed at 2000 ppm ZnONPs (32.54 g/day) compared to control (28.09 g/day). The highest (0.9% V/W) and lowest (0.56% V/W) content of essential oil were related to 1000 ppm ZnONPs and control. The content of parthenolide decreased at different levels of ZnONPs. The lowest (36.83 mg/kg DW) and highest (266.02 mg/kg DW) rates of Zn absorption were observed in control and 2000 ppm ZnONPs. Nanoparticles at all concentrations increased the biological yield, essential oil content, and Zn absorption. None of the ZnONPs concentrations improved the flower yield. Along with increasing ZnONPs and Zn uptake, parthenolide levels decreased. Also, it was determined that there was an antagonistic effect between Zn and Fe absorption.

The unreasonable use of inputs, including chemical fertilizers and pesticides, has put agricultural production at risk of unsustainability in many areas. Extended exergy analysis (EEA) is an innovative method for assessing the ecological sustainability of agricultural ecosystems. EEA allows for a comprehensive assessment of the material and immaterial flows in the system and, as a result, a more accurate assessment of sustainability. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of the sustainability of autumn and spring potato systems was performed based on the EEA approach in Golestan Province in Iran during the crop year of 2017–2018. for this purpose, 120 and 60 farms were taken into account for the autumn and spring farming systems, respectively. The extended exergy (EE) values of autumn and spring potato crops in Golestan Province were 2.30E + 05 and 1.68E + 05 MJ ha −1 , respectively. The highest shares of EE in both autumn (57.00%) and spring (48.64%) crops were related to cumulative exergy consumption (CExC). The excessive consumption of inputs in the autumn system led to enhanced CExC. The exergy of environmental remediation cost (EE E ) for the spring farming system (7.84E + 04 MJ ha −1 ) was lower than that of the autumn farming system (9.20E + 04 MJ ha −1 ), which was mainly due to the high consumption of inputs like diesel fuel in the latter system. Accordingly, the ecological sustainability of the spring farming system was greater than that of the autumn farming system. The values of capital conversion factor (K cap ) for material and energy inputs to the autumn and spring farming systems were 0.011 and 0.014 US$ MJ −1 , respectively, which indicated that potato production in Golestan Province was more costly in the spring farming system. The values of the specific capital conversion factor of product sales (K cap EE ) for the autumn and spring potato systems were 0.006 and 0.005 US$ MJ −1 , respectively. Therefore, the economic efficiency of the autumn farming system was higher than that of the spring farming system. Also, the Extended Exergy Efficiency Indices (I] EE ) for the autumn and spring potato production systems were 45 and 37%, respectively, which represented the higher thermodynamic efficiency of the autumn farming system. The cumulative degrees of perfection for the autumn and spring potato systems were 0.78 and 0.77, respectively, which demonstrated the more optimal use of energy and materials in the autumn compared to the spring farming system. Based on the results obtained in this research, it is recommended to improve management models including selections of appropriate types and amounts of input consumptions corresponding to the systems so as to reduce costs and ameliorate thermodynamic-economic indices.

Laparoscopy is the gold standard for diagnosing endometriosis; however, it is an invasive and costly method. Recent studies offer a non-invasive approach based on extracellular vesicle miRNA. Despite this, no consensus diagnostic biomarker has been identified to date. For addressing this gap, we decided to investigate plasma derived extracellular vesicle associated candidate miRNAs. In order to identify candidate miRNAs, a comprehensive search was performed in PubMed database using the search terms “micro-RNA” and “endometriosis”. Then, bioinformatics analysis was performed utilizing the miRTarBase database, Enrichr, and relevant software. During the experimental phase, the presence of candidate miRNAs was assessed in blood samples of 13 women with severe endometriosis, confirmed through laparoscopy or doppler sonography, as well as in 11 endometriosis-free women, as control group. After literature review of 405 articles published between 2007 and 2023, followed by bioinformatics analysis, were identified five miRNAs (miR-451a, 148a, 23b, 100, and 154) as candidate miRNAs. Subsequently, the expression levels of miR-451a, 148a, 23b, and 100 found to exhibit differences between the case and control groups. Our study suggests to serve of these miRNAs as a potentially diagnostic biomarker panel for endometriosis, however it needs to be confirmed by future studies with large diagnostic validation.

In this study, the global DNA methylation, histone acetylation and methylation levels of cumulus cells (CCs) in infertile polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients and the correlation of these epigenetic modifications with the expression of the ovarian aromatase gene (as an important marker in the etiology of PCOS) were investigated. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 24 patients (12 PCOS patients and 12 healthy women), who underwent ovarian stimulation. Nucleosome ELISA was performed, in order to identify the global occupancy level of Mecp2 (as a marker of DNA methylation) and H3K9me2/H3K9ac as histone modification markers in chromatin fractions obtained from CCs. The gene expression was measured by qRT-PCR. The level of DNA incorporation of MeCP2, histone modification markers and binding of estrogen receptor β (ERβ) to regulatory sequences were examined by ChIP-QPCR assay. The data demonstrate a significant increase in global occupancy levels of MeCP2 and H3K9ac markers and a decrease of H3K9me2 to chromatin in CCs of PCOS patients vs. control group. Furthermore, gene expression, and the incorporation of H3K9ac in PII, PI.3, and PI.4 promoters of in PCOS, were higher than those of controls. Also, significant hypomethylation of H3K9 at PII and DNA hypomethylated at PII and PI.3 promoters and differential binding of ERβ to three promoters were observed in PCOS patients ( < 0.05). Aromatase expression can be affected by epigenetic modifications and differential ERβ binding to the proximal promoters. These mechanisms may be involved in the enhanced aromatase transcription during ovarian stimulation in PCOS patients.

Endometriosis is major gynecological disease that affects over 10% of women worldwide and 30%-50% of these women have pelvic pain, abnormal uterine bleeding and infertility. The cause of endometriosis is unknown and there is no definite cure mainly because of our limited knowledge about its pathophysiology at the cellular and molecular levels. Therefore, demystifying the molecular mechanisms that underlie endometriosis is essential to develop advanced therapies for this disease. In this regard, HOX genes are remarkable because of their critical role in endometrial development and receptivity during implantation, which is attributed to their ability to mediate some of the sex steroid functions during the reproductive period. Access to the expression profiles of these genes would provide the necessary information to uncover new genes for endometriosis and assist with disease diagnosis and treatment. In this study we demonstrate an altered expression pattern for the HOX clusters (A-D) and their cofactors in both eutopic and ectopic conditions compared to control tissue biopsies. Remarkably, most of the intensive changes occurred in eutopic samples from endometriosis patients compared to control tissue biopsies. Pathway analysis revealed the involvement of differentially expressed genes in cancer that correlate with an association between endometriosis and cancer. Our results suggest critical roles for the HOX cluster and their cofactors in endometriosis pathophysiology.