Search

Objective: Some species of Astragalus are used for the treatment of various types of cancer. The present study was designed to evaluate the anticancer potential of Astragalus ovinus extract (AOE) against DMBA-induced breast carcinoma in rats. Materials and Methods: The anti-tumor and antioxidant effects of AOE were evaluated against DMBA-induced breast carcinoma in rats using DPPH, FRAP and ABTS technique, respectively. Forty adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups including the control group received a single dose of DMBA solvent orally, and groups II, III and IV received a single dose of DMBA (40 mg/kg) dissolved in olive oil. Groups I and II received normal saline and groups III and IV were treated with AOE orally (120 and 240 mg/kg respectively) for 60 consecutive days. Chemopreventive effects were assessed in terms of diameter and volume of tumors, expression levels of PCNA, and serum levels of CA15.3, p53, MDA, CAT, and calcium, and histopathological features. Results: AOE contained a noticeable amount of phenolic and flavonoids compounds. This extract showed a potent antioxidant activity both in vitro and in vivo. AOE significantly decreased the diameter and volume of tumors (p<0.01) and reduced the serum levels of CA15.3 (p<0.001), p53 (p<0.01), MDA (p<0.001), and calcium (p<0.01). AOE also decreased the expression of PCNA in cancerous tissues and reduced the histopathological deformity. Conclusion: According to the data, AOE produced a significant chemopreventive activity in DMBA-induced breast tumors in rats, probably due to its antioxidant and its inhibitory effect on some tumorigenicity markers such as CA15.3, p53 and PCNA activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of irrigation regimes and N levels on assimilate remobilization of two barley cultivars (Yousefsix-rowedand Nimrouztwo-rowed) in 2011 and 2012. There were three levels of water regimes (full irrigation (I100), 75% and 50% of I100: I75and I50, respectively) in 2011. Rain-fed treatment (I0) was included in 2012. Three N levels (0, 60, and 120 kg ha−1) were used. Grain yield and assimilate remobilization decreased by severe water stress (I0), however, the reduction of them were intensified by N fertilizer application. The N remobilization was negatively affected by N fertilization and water stress. The two-rowed showed higher N remobilization (10.7%) and contribution of N remobilized to N content of grain (5.8%) than the six-rowed. The two-rowed cultivar showed significantly higher assimilate remobilization and grain yield than the six-rowed under I50(26.3% and 6.5%, respectively) and I0(48.7% and 17.1%, respectively), while the six-rowed had similar or higher performances in terms of these traits under I100and I75. This study showed that optimizing irrigation and N rates (decrease N level with increasing water stress) and selection of the suitable cultivars (Nimrouztwo-rowed) might increase assimilate remobilization and consequently grain yield under drought stress conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments were conducted to determine barley cultivars (Yousefsix-rowedand Nimrouztwo-rowed) response to different water and nitrogen (N) regimes at Fars Agricultural Research Center using split-split-plot design. There were three levels of water regimes (full-irrigation (I100), 75% and 50% of I100: I75and I50, respectively) in 2010. Rainfed treatment (I0) was included in 2011. Three N levels (0, 60 and 120 kg ha−1) were used. Grain and biomass water use efficiencies (WUEgand WUEb, respectively) were positively affected by N supply. The I75improved WUEgand WUEbby 17% and 20% as compared to I100, respectively. Two-rowed cultivar showed higher WUEgand WUEbthan six-rowed. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) was negatively affected by water stress and N fertilization. The highest grain yield was achieved by 120 and 60 kg N ha−1under I100and drought stress conditions, respectively. Two-rowed cultivar showed significantly higher NUE and grain yield than six-rowed cultivar under I50and I0; by contrast, six-rowed cultivar had similar or higher performances in terms of these traits under I100and I75. This study showed that optimizing irrigation and N rates and selection of suitable cultivars in semi-arid Mediterranean climate might increase NUE, WUE and produce economic grain yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]