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Chamomile is one of the well-known herbs in the world, with numerous medicinal, cosmetic and health benefits. In this study, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design technique to evaluate the three different dosses of nitrogen (N1 = 0, N2 = 50 and N3 = 100 kg·ha-1) from urea 46%, and three different vermicompost dosses (V1 = 0, V2 = 4 and V3 = 8 t·ha-1) and three different zeolite superabsorbent levels (S1 = 0, S2 = 50 and S3 = 100 kg·ha-1) on flower yield and essential oil of chamomile in Kazeroon, Fars province in 2017. The results showed that increasing the amount of nitrogen and vermicompost increased the plant height, flower diameter, number of flowers, flower yield, essential oil content, biological yield and essential elements content of the Chamomile. In the interaction of N x V, the highest and lowest dry flower yields were observed in N3V3 (456 kg·ha-1) and N1V1 (316.9 kg·ha-1) treatments, respectively. The interaction showed that the highest and the lowest of essential oil content were observed in N3V3 (2.82 kg·ha-1) and N1V1 (1.56 kg·ha-1), respectively. The highest content of chamazulene compound were obtained in N2V3S3 treatments with 6.40% and the highest content of α-bisabolol oxide A related to N2V3 treatments with 53.50%. Based on the interaction results of N x V x S, the highest biological yield was observed in N3V2S3 with 2012 kg·ha-1. The reason for the results can be due to the high moisture storage capacity of the superabsorbent and vermicompost, which can increase the availability of water consumption. In general, it seems that with increasing nitrogen and vermicompost ratios of soil, not only the nutritional availability of the plant (especially nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) increased, but also the physical structure and vital processes of the soil by creating a suitable substrate for root growth -- increased the production of chamomile flower yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aerial parts of four populations of Salvia mirzayanii were collected from different natural habitats of Fars province in southwest of Iran. Chemical composition of S. mirzayanii were isolated by hydrodistillation using Clevenger type apparatus and analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS. The major compounds in four population were α-terpinyl acetate, eudesm-7(11)-en-4-ol, bicyclogermacrene, δ-cadinene, 1,8-cineole, germacrene D-4-ol , cis-dihyroagarofuran , linalyl acetate, α-cadinol , linalool and α-terpineol in four ecotypes. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of different ecotypes of S. mirzayanii were studied against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans by disc diffusion method. The results showed that the oil exhibited good antimicrobial activity against all medically important pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zataria multiflora Boiss. belonging to the family Lamiaceae is an important folkloric medicinal plant in Fars province, Southwestern Iran. In this study, essential oil constituents, phenolic content, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities from the aerial parts of Z. multiflora collected from different natural habitats of Fars province were investigated. The essential oil of all samples was extracted by hydro-distillation using Clevenger type apparatus and analyzed using GC and GC-MS. The main chemical constituents were, thymol (34.41 - 54.35 %), p-cymene (9.49 - 19.85 %), γ-terpinene (7.34 - 16.70 %), carvacrol (5.35 - 15.34 %) and α-pinene (1.63 - 5.25 %). The total phenolic content and the antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts were determined with the Folin-Ciocalteau reagent and by the 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay, respectively. Total phenols varied from 234.66 to 302.28 mg gallic acid equivalents/g dry weight, and IC50 values in the radical scavenging assay ranged from 348.63 to 453.76 mg/mL. The antimicrobial activity of the essential oils was individually evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans using disc diffusion and serial dilution methods. The oils obtained from different geographical habitat showed high activity against four medically important pathogens. The results support the traditional usage and also possible use of Z. multiflora essential oil and extracts in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]