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Water deficiency, especially in the arid and semi-arid areas, necessitates the proper water use and recycling. The objective was to investigate the effects of deficit irrigation as well as treated wastewater on the biochemical properties of Rosmarinus officinalis L., grown in the arid area of Iranshahr, Iran. A split-split plot design on the basis of a complete randomized block design with three replicates was conducted in 2017. Irrigation water treatments of (I1 = 100% of field capacity, FC), 75% of FC (I2), and 50% of FC (I3) as main plots, reduced (S1), and partial irrigation (S2), as sub-plots, and well water (Q1), treated wastewater (Q2), and the combination of Q1 and Q2 (Q3, 50% + 50%), as sub-sub plots, were tested. Plant biochemical properties including proline (Pr), soluble sugars (SS), and essential oil volume (V) and yield (Y) as well as water use efficiency (WUE) were determined. The I2, treatment, compared with I1, increased Pr, SS, V, Y and WUE by 34.4, 31.9, 52.6, 34.3, and 48.1%, respectively. The S2 treatment also increased plant biochemical properties more than 45% related to S1, and Q2 significantly enhanced the measured parameters compared with Q1 and Q3. Treated wastewater improved the essential oil yield of the plant in water deficit conditions. Accordingly, under deficit water conditions, treatment I2S2, and in the case of unfavorable water sources and deficit water conditions, treatment I2Q2 are recommendable to alleviate water stress and improve the biochemical properties of Rosmarinus officinalis L. in the arid areas., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Ethnopharmacological relevance Stachys lavandulifolia Vahl (Lamiaceae) is a medicinal plant widely used in Turkey and Iranian folk medicine due to its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, but little is known about its essential oil. Aim of this study We studied the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of S. lavandulifolia essential oil (EOSl) and (-)-α-bisabolol (BIS), its main compound, in algogen-induced orofacial nociceptive behavior in mice, and assessed the possible involvement of pro-inflammatory cytokines in these profiles. Materials and methods The GC-FID and GC–MS analysis of EOSl demonstrated the presence of (-)-α-bisabolol (56.4%), bicyclogermacrene (5.3%), δ-cadinene (4.2%) and spathulenol (2.9%) as the main compounds. Male Swiss mice were pretreated with EOSl (25 or 50 mg/kg, p.o.), BIS (25 or 50 mg/kg, p.o.), morphine (3 mg/kg, i.p.) or vehicle (saline 0.9% with two drops of tween 80, 0.2%), before formalin- (20 μl, 2%), capsaicin- (20 μl, 2.5 µg) or glutamate- (20 μl, 25 Mm) injection into the right upper lip (perinasal area) in mice. The anti-inflammatory profile of EOSl or BIS (50 mg/kg) was assessed by the inflammatory response induced by carrageenan (2% in 0.2 mL) in mice (pleurisy model). Results Our results showed that p.o. treatment with EOSl and BIS displayed significant inhibitory (p<0.05 or p<0.01 or p<0.001) effects in different orofacial pain tests on mice, but BIS proved to be more effective, significantly reducing nociceptive behavior in all tests including both phases of the formalin test. The analgesic effect is not related to any abnormality since EOSl- or BIS-treated mice exhibited no performance alteration in grip strength. Moreover, EOS1 and BIS exhibited a significant anti-inflammatory effect (p<0.001) in the pleurisy model of inflammation, which seems to be related to a significant reduction (p<0.05) of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α in BIS treatment, and of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β (p<0.01) in EOS1 treatment. Conclusion Our results corroborate the use of S. lavandulifolia in traditional medicine as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory, which seems to be related to (-)-α-Bisabolol, the main compound of EOSl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Due to adverse effects of synthetic compounds, there is a growing interest in utilization of plant-derived natural products in the pharmaceutical and food industries. Iranian endemic medicinal plants widely used in traditional practice have attracted much attention as antibacterial and antioxidant agents., Objective: This review attempts to compile the accessible scientific research pertained to phytochemical compounds, antibacterial and antioxidant effects of essential oils obtained from some of the most widely used and distributed medicinal plants in Iran., Methods: This review has been compiled using references via reliable databases (Google Scholar, SID and Science Direct) from 2010 to 2020. This literature review was limited to references published in English and Persian languages., Results: Based on studies heretofore carried out, essential oils isolated from mentioned medicinal plants exhibited strong antioxidant activity which is attributed to their main phytochemical compounds; thymol, carvacrol, p -cymene and γ-terpinene. In addition, the antibacterial activities of essential oils of most plant species from Apiaceae and Asteraceae families were more susceptible against Gram-positive bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus than Gram-negative bacteria; however, essential oils of other studied plant species manifested similar behaviours against both Gram-positive and -negative bacteria., Conclusions: As there is rich ethnobotanical knowledge behind Iranian endemic medicinal plants, further scientific research is required to prove their safety and efficacy. This review revealed that there are numerous valuable medicinal plants adoptable in food and pharmaceutical industries in the near future.

The medicinal composition of rosemary essential oil has led to its widespread use in the food, cosmetic, health and herbal industries. In the present work, seasonal variations of essential constituents of essential oil, essential oil yield were evaluated. The predominant components of rosemary were: camphene, limonene, α-pinene, camphor, borneol, linalool, 1,8-cineole, (E)- caryophyllene and bornyl acetate. The highest rate of linalool was seen in summer, while camphor, limonene and borneol showed the highest percentage in cold season. Some of the compounds such as α-pinene, camphene, bornyl acetate and ( E )- caryophyllene in the spring with the activation of some important plant enzymes such as peroxidase showed the highest amount. It is hoped that this research will provide very useful information about the best time to harvest the valuable rosemary plant and can be useful for the health, food and herbal industries that use this plant.

Background: The use of herbs has recently been considered an effective method in the treatment of infections. The purpose of this study was to introduce Iranian medicinal plants with an effect on vaginal infections., Methods: In our systematic review study, keywords including 'medicinal plants', 'Iranian medicinal plants', 'vaginal infection', 'essential oils', and 'extracts' were searched in PubMed, Web of Science Direct, Scopus, Scientific Information Database, and Google Scholar. This study focused on the articles published from 2000 to 2019., Results and Discussion: According to our investigation, Stachys lavandulifolia, Thymus vulgaris L., Origanum vulgare L., Allium jesdianum, Cichorium intybus, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Azadirachta Indica, Stachys lavandulifolia, Coriandrum sativum L., Rosmarinus officinalis, Ferula gummosa L., Origanum syriacum, Eucalyptus globulus, Myrtus communis, Zingiber officinale, Punica granatum, Vitex agnus-castus, Mentha suaveolens, Quercus Brantii Lindl, Zataria multiflora, Berberis vulgaris, Thymus vulgaris L., Echinophora platyloba, Stachys lavandulifolia, Viola odorata, Menthe piperita, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Ziziphus mauritiana, Quercus infectoria, Hypericum perforatum, Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Calendula officinalis, Origanum vulgare, Ziziphus nummularia, Satureja Bachtiarica, Foeniculum vulgare, Nigella sativa, Anethum graveolens, Salvia officinalis, and Calendula officinalis are used to treat vaginal infections., Conclusion: Therefore, native plants of Iran have been reported to have antimicrobial properties for the treatment of vaginal infections and can be used as a suitable and effective alternative to antibiotics in future research., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Stachys pilifera Benth is an endemic species of Iran where it is found in the mountainous habitats of Zagros region. The plant is a rich source of secondary metabolites endowed with different medicinal properties. Here, for the first time, the essential oil variability among eleven wild populations of S. pilifera , was investigated. Results indicated that the variation of the chemical profile of essential oils was remarkable. The most abundant components were cis -chrysanthenyl acetate (19.1-48.2%), viridiflorol (1.4-19.1%), trans -caryophyllene (2.3-11.9%), caryophyllene oxide (1.9-11.0%), limonene (2.0- 5.9%) and spathulenol (0.0- 9.5). Based on the cluster analyses (CA), four main chemotypes were recognized: chemotype I ( cis -chrysanthenyl acetate), chemotype II ( cis -chrysanthenyl acetate/viridiflorol), chemotype III ( cis -chrysanthenyl acetate/viridiflorol/spathulenol), chemotype IV ( cis -chrysanthenyl acetate/ trans -caryophyllene/α-pinene). The chemical variation detected can be useful to consider these populations for pharmaceutical industries and industrial applications as well as for domestication and conservation purposes.

Background: Conscious patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) suffer from anxiety and agitation for various reasons, which can affect their recovery processes., Aims: To compare the effects of lavender and Citrus aurantium essential oils on anxiety and agitation of conscious patients admitted to ICUs., Design: A randomized parallel placebo-controlled trial., Methods: One hundred and fifty conscious patients admitted to ICUs were selected by convenience sampling and were randomly divided into three groups, groups of lavender aromatherapy and Citrus aurantium aromatherapy, in addition to the routine care and inhalation of five drops of lavender or Citrus aurantium essential oils for 30 minutes. The placebo group, in addition to routine care, was provided with 5 drops of normal saline for 30 minutes. Anxiety was assessed with the state subscale of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and agitation was examined with Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale before, immediately, one hour, and three hours after the intervention., Results: All three groups suffered from relatively severe state anxiety before the intervention. The level of anxiety in the lavender and Citrus aurantium groups was significantly lower than that of the placebo group immediately and three hours after the intervention ( P < 0.05). No significant difference was observed between the two groups of lavender and Citrus aurantium. The majority of the samples in all three groups were agitated before the intervention, but agitation of all three groups decreased after the intervention. Restless/agitation reduced significantly in all three groups. Although restless/agitation of the lavender and Citrus aurantium groups reduced more than that of the placebo, no significant difference was found between the three groups., Conclusion: The results of the present study showed the positive effects of lavender aromatherapy and Citrus aurantium aromatherapy on reducing the anxiety of patients admitted to ICUs. Relevance to Clinical Practice . Aromatherapy can be used as an effective and safe intervention to reduce anxiety in ICUs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Zahra Karimzadeh et al.)

Junipers (Juniperus spp.) are important pharmaceutical plants, and they are commonly grown in the northern hemisphere because of the various medicinal properties attributed to the Juniperus genus. However, despite their pharmaceutical and also industrial importance, and despite plant diversity being a common topic of research among professional breeding programs, there is a relatively small body of work which focuses on diversity in juniper, and this is especially true of juniper species that are native to Iran. Thus, the present study set out to investigate juniper diversity via identifying any morphological, phytochemical, and genetic differences among and within three important species of Iranian junipers. The data revealed the terpenoid profiles of the investigated species to be distinct from one another, with α-pinene, β-pinene, myrcene, sabinene, and limonene being the predominant terpenoids detected. Intriguingly, high levels of myrtenyl acetate were detected in the J. sabina tissue collected from the Ramsar site, and this terpenoid was not found in either of the other studied species, nor has it been noted in any other studies that focus on juniper. The genetic variation of Juniperus was analyzed using five ISSR markers and the molecular variance was computed using the GenAlEx software. The results revealed there to be a high degree of genetic diversity both among and within the studied populations. A dendrogram of the genetic data using the UPGMA method with the Dice coefficient divided the genotypes into two main groups. J. communis and J. excelsa were grouped together, while J. sabina was separated into its own group. In general, morphologically speaking, the leaf and cone types were found to be chiefly influential vis-à-vis separating the populations into their respective groups. Ultimately, it is our hope that the biochemical, genetic, and morphological diversity data collected from these species will contribute to the success of future juniper breeding and restoration programs., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The aim of this work was to evaluate the phytochemical components, minerals, the antioxidant activity and total phenol contents of the essential oil from aerial parts of six major medicinal plants in Rayen, Iran. The plants included Ranunculus arvensis, Teucrium polium, Dracocephalum polychaetum, Kelussia odoratissima, Artemisia sieberi and Thymus kotschyanus. Total phenol content ranged from 0.03 to 0.158 mg/mL. A. sieberi showed the highest radical scavenging ability (IC 50  = 94 μg/mL). The amount of minerals ranged as follows: P (0.23-29%), K (1.08-4.76%), Ca (0.78-2.35%), Mg (0.24-0.94%), Cu (8.3-15 mg/kg), Cd (0.7-1.1 mg/kg), Pb (2-11.7 mg/kg) and Fe (250-1280 mg/kg). A total of 79 compounds were identified across all plants. The main components studied in the plants were l-perillaldehyde, biosol, carvacrol, 1,8-cineol, terpinyl acetate and 1,2,3,6,7,7 a-hexahydro-5 h-inden 5-one.