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Copyright of Journal of Plant Production is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Origanum majorana L. as a member of the family Lamiaceae, is cultivated in different areas including the Mediterranean region and Egypt. O. majorana extracts were used as inhibitory agents against food-poisoning microbes. This work is also aimed to assess the antimicrobial effects of O. majorana on canned Mackerel (Trachurus trachurus). It had been noticed that all extracts displayed promising antimicrobial activities toward all tested microbes including food-borne microbes. The prepared extracts exhibited brilliant antioxidant activities especially ethanolic extracts (1040.06 and 1055.44 AAE/ g). In addition, the extracts revealed promising total phenolic contents (532.94 and 900.52 mg GAE/g). GC/Mass analysis had been performed for the four extracts and the results revealed that Terpinen-4-ol (12.82%), Tricyclene (11.08%), 9-Octadecene,1,1'-[1,2-ethanediylbis(oxy)]bis- (Z,Z)(4.74%),-methoxy-6 ethylbenzoic acid (21.04%), Dodecane, 2,2,4,9,11,11-hexamethyl (13.66%) and Ethyl9,12,15-octadecatrienoate (7.57%) were the major compounds. Results of total phenolics and antioxidant results in all extracts namely: rosmarinic acid > chlorogenic acid > kaempferol > catechin and gallic acid. The results revealed that all extracts are safe to be used as food additives (IC50 more than 200µg/ml). Therefore, we recommend incorporate these extracts into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films used to preserve foods from bacterial infections, as well as using these extracts as special food additives with mackerel to preserve them for a period of no less than 30 days and, the sensory characteristics has received excellent acceptance when adding fresh O. majorana instead of dried O. majorana to canned mackerel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ETHNOBOTANY has improved dramatically in recent decades and become a widely recognized scientific discipline after the usage of mathematical methods. Cultural importance index (CI) is considered a tool for evaluating the use-value (UV) of plants. It become an essential quantitative method in many ethnobotanical studies. The present study evaluates the cultural significance of different Egyptian endemics using four indices (UR: number of use reports, RFC: relative frequency of citation, RI: relative importance and CV: cultural value) depend on informant report. Each index intends to evaluate the CI of plant taxa and its statistical analysis. Ethnobotanical information was collected from summer 2018 to Spring 2020 through monthly visits to the study area. CI was applied on 41 endemic plants recorded in the Egyptian flora. Medicinal species were the most represented group (40 taxa), then grazing (25), and human food (14). Ranking of CI index according to the contribution of each species indicating that Rosa arabica was the first-ranking (6 out of 9 groups), followed by Origanum syriacum subsp. sinaicum (5 groups) and Sonchus macrocarpus (3 groups). High positive linear correlation was detected between CI-RFC (0.96), CI-RI and CI-CV (0.98); while weak correlation between number of uses (NU) and RFC (0.47) at P<0.05 (n=41). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Origanum majorana (O. majorana) is one of the most widely used herbs in Egypt due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-genotoxic, antimutagenic, anticoagulant and beneficial properties. Our study's main goal is to determine how well O. majorana leaf extract can reduce hepatotoxicity and oxidative stress produced by dexamethasone (DXM). Thirty female rats were divided into three groups of ten. Animals in group1 received distilled water daily for eight weeks and served as control. Those in group 2 exposed subcutaneously to 0.1 mg/kg body weight of DXM three times per week for eight weeks and served as the toxic group, while those in group 3 were treated daily and orally with 100 mg/kg of O. majorana aqueous extract + 0.1 mg/kg of DXM three times per week for eight weeks and served as treated group. Results: Due to DXM treatment, the activities of liver function markers were significantly elevated (P < 0.0001), whereas O. majorana pretreated animals improved or reduced the elevated liver function enzyme activities. Dexamethasone administration considerably enhancing oxidative stress which rose (P < 0.0001) MDA concentration and attenuated the antioxidant defense system by decreasing the activities of GST, GSP, GSR, and CAT significantly in liver homogenate when compared to control animals. The results further demonstrated that pretreatment with O. majorana boosted the antioxidant defenses against the damaging effects of DXM. Conclusion: It can be said that dexamethasone exposure induced- hepatotoxicity and oxidative stress in rats that repaired by O. majorana aqueous extract which had the ability to reduce the impact of hepatic damage. To evaluate the health benefits and safety of O. majorana in individuals, more clinical research is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was carried out to evaluate the essential oil content and chemical composition of sweet marjoram (Majorana hortensis Mnch.) plants grown at seven locations in Egypt (Giza, Beni-Suef, Faiyum, Minia, Assiut, Sohag and east Elowainat). The plant samples were collected from such regions, their volatile oils were extracted and oil content (%) in air-dry herbage was calculated. The essential oil composition was determined by using GC-MS and the percentages of its main components from the studied regions were compared. Moreover, antioxidant potential of total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) in plant extracts were determined. Results showed that the essential oil content and its percentages of volatile oil's major components were changed also TPC and TFC differed among the collected plant samples grown at the studied locations as a result of variations in the geographical regions, soil characteristics and climatic conditions. Thus, the essential oil percentage in such sites varied from 1.2 to 3.0 %. The main components of oil; 4- terpineol, γ-terpinene, α-thujene, (+) trans-4-thujanol, sabinene, α-terpinene, linalool, α-phellandrene, β-thujene, (-)-B-caryophyllene, β-pinene, α-pinene and carvacrol can be interpreted as a factor connected to oil composition which is characteristics for commercial marjoram. The difference variability between the maximum and minimum values of each constituent among the locations gave an account in descending order: 27.57, 11.76, 10.56, 10.46, 8.81, 8.66, 6.01, 4.01, 3.39, 2.16, 0.91, 0.89 and 0.21%, respectively. However, TPC ranged from 128.43 to 140.71 mg PEs /g dry wt., and TFC from 86.61 to 117.22 mg/RU g dry wt. According to this investigation, it is recommended to study the environmental factors of the location where marjoram plants will be cultivated since marjoram is considered to be a promising essential oil crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Origanum majorana belongs to the Lamiaceae family as a famous spice plant in Egypt, which is used to treat arthritis, allergies, fever, flu, hypertension, respiratory infections, migraine, and asthma. In our studies, it was found that the ethanol extract of O. marjoram could significantly reduce NO release at 200 (P < 0.001), 100 (P < 0.001) and 50 (P < 0.01) μg/mL compared with the model group. Therefore, the chemical constituents were further studied to obtain the bioactive compounds. As a result, ten compounds were isolated and identified from the 70% ethanol extract of O. marjoram, including six flavonoids (3–8), two terpene derivatives (9-10), one lignan (2), and one phenolic glycoside (1). Among them, compounds 1–3, 5, and 9-10 were isolated from this genus for the first time. Compounds 1, 9, and 10 could significantly decrease the content of NO at the concentration of 100 μm (P < 0.001) in RAW264.7 cells induced by LPS. Furthermore, compounds 9 and 10 were more effective than compound 1 to lower the content at 50 μm (P < 0.001). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of antimicrobial-resistant foodborne pathogens in our food can threaten our life. Thus, great attention was paid to find a potentially effective, safe, and natural antimicrobial agent. Therefore, this study carried out this study to in-vitro investigate the potential use of Origanum majorana and Curcuma longa as natural antimicrobial food additives to control multidrug-resistant foodborne pathogens isolated from minced beef and beef burger samples. Herein, we examined 100 raw meat product samples, i.e., 50 each of fresh minced beef and frozen beef burger samples, randomly collected from butcher's shops in Egypt, for the presence of pathogenic E. coli and S. aureus. Pathogenic E. coli was detected in 36 % of examined minced beef samples, while we failed to isolate it from beef burger. On the other hand, coagulase-positive S. aureus was found in 26 and 10 % of minced beef and beef burger samples, respectively. The multiple-drug resistant (MDR) isolates of E. coli and S. aureus were identified using 11 and 6 commercial antimicrobial discs, respectively. MDR isolates were selected for molecular identification based on virulence and anti-microbial resistance genes. Molecularly, eaeA gene was detected in 100% of identified pathogenic E. coli strains, while stx1 was detected in one strain only. Whereas mecA and coa were detected in 100% of coagulase-positive S. aureus isolates, The antimicrobial effectiveness of Origanum majorana (OM) and Curcuma longa (CL) ethanolic extracts against isolated MDR pathogens were evaluated. OM and CL were potentially effective against MDR coagulase-positive S. aureus with variable inhibition zones ranged from 2mm to25mm. While they did not inhibit pathogenic E. coli strains (O158, O157, O114, O142, O44, O86, O25). Extracts of OM and CL were proved to be potentially effective against MDR coagulase-positive S. aureus, and can be used as a natural alternative food preservative to control S. aureus growth in food in place of chemical antimicrobial agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhynchophorus ferrugineus is the most dangerous palm pest in Egypt and the Middle East. A lot of efforts have been made since three decades up to date to solve this problem. In this study, the essential oil of Origanum majorana was tested in vitro against larvae, pupa and adult stages of R. ferrugineus. In addition, the chemical composition of the essential oil was elucidated by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Two main toxic components (benzonitrile, 2-hydroxy 23.67%and L-linalool16.32%) were found. A significant mortalities were achieved after exposure to three concentrations (5, 10 and 15%) of O. majorana oil. Each concentration contains five replicates with 5 larva, pupa or adult for each replicate. The effect reached 50% for 10% concentration at 96 hrs, 48 hrs and 12 hrs for larva, pupa and adult, respectively. In addition, the cuticle of treated larvae was investigated histopathologically, and corrugation and a thinning surface were found. These results suggest that O. majorana essential oil is a promising alternative to chemical pesticides and can be used as a biopesticide against larvae, pupa and adult of R. ferrugineus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the present investigation, two genera of family Labiatae (genus Origanum and genus Thymus including their available species in Egypt) were analyzed genetically on DNA level using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Four selective primer combinations (E-AGC/M-CAA, E-AGC/M-CAC, E-AGG/M-CTC, and E-ACC/M-CAT) were used to detect genetic variations (polymorphisms) within and between the studied plant species of each genus and with their cultivated relatives. Results: A total of 193 amplified fragments were obtained overall primer combinations with a disparity in the number of bands for each primer combination. The primer combination E-AGG/M-CTC exhibited a large number of amplicons (67) compared to the other primers with polymorphism percentage 69%. The polymorphism information content (PIC) was calculated for the four primer combinations showing a very high values ranging between 0.98 and 0.99. On the other hand, Thymus species (Thymus vulgaris, Thymus capitatus L., and Thymus decassatus Benth.) exhibited a total number of 171 amplicons for all primer combinations with an average of 42 bands. The primer combination E-AGG/M-CTC produced the largest number of bands (62 bands) with polymorphism percentage 35%, even though the primer combination AGC/M-CAA was more efficient to give high polymorphisms within Thymus species where it resulted in a total of 35 bands with polymorphism percentage 63%. The PIC values were calculated ranging from 0.96 to 0.99. Conclusion: One can conclude that AFLP technique was informative and efficient technique to give a good coverage of Origanum and Thymus genomes. Furthermore, it was helpful to elucidate the genetic variations and phylogenetic relationships within the studied species as a basis for further studies on these genera and related species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imidacloprid (IMID), one of environmental persistent neonicotinoid insecticides, has been used a long time ago and categorized from insecticide induced moderate toxicity by World Health Organization (WHO). Marjoram, is one of the most worldwide used herbs in Egypt due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-genotoxic, anti-mutagenic, anticoagulant, and beneficial effects. This study aimed to evaluate the protective role of marjoram extract on the immunotoxic response and oxidative stress induced by IMID in the immune lymphoid organs (thymus and spleen) of rats. Fifty adult male albino rats were divided randomly into five groups; negative and positive (distilled water) control, marjoram extract (200 mg/kg/day), IMID (22.5 mg/kg/day), marjoram extract + IMID (200 mg/kg +22.5 mg/kg) orally for 8 weeks. Marjoram pretreatment reversed reduced animals body, thymus and spleen weights attributed to IMID. It amended the significantly elevated total leukocytes, neutrophils percentage, increased immunoglobulin G and the significantly reduction of lymphocytes percentage, phagocytic activity, phagocytic index and lysozyme activity induced by IMID. Moreover, marjoram administration significantly reduced thymic and splenic gene expression of interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α and increased interleukin-10, in addition, it decreased thymic and splenic contents of malondialdehyde and restored the reduced antioxidant enzymes' activities following IMID exposure. Marjoram ameliorated IMID induced histopathological alterations in thymus and spleen and adjusted IMID immunomodulatory effects by increased the downregulation of CD4 and CD8 immune reactive cell expression. Conclusion, Marjoram has a protective role to reverse IMID immune toxic effects in thymus and spleen tissues of rats by its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory defense mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]