Analysis of Fatty Acid Composition of Crude Seed Oil of Lactuca sativa L. by GC-MS and GC Methods

        Lactuca sativa L. (Garden Lettuce), is an edible herb cultivated in Iran and other parts of the world. In Traditional Iranian Pharmacy books, garden lettuce is named "Kass Bostani" and  Hakim Aqili classified it as a "Ghazā'ye Dawā'ee" (Ghazā means Food; Dawā means Drug). It is said to be soporific, prescribed to cure insomnia and to be useful in thirst and feeling of hotness and burning in the stomach. Seeds of this herb reduce semen, suppress libido and are useful in cases of frequent nocturnal emissions. Fixed oil obtained from seeds of this plant is reputed to have hypnotic and brain moistening properties. In this study we aimed to analyze the fatty acid composition of the crude seed oil of Lactuca sativa L. Methyl esterification of the fatty acids was performed by the method of Ken'ichi Ichihara et al but with a slight modification. Components of the oil were then extracted by n-hexane and analyzed by Gas chromatography-Mass spectroscopy and Gas Chromatography methods. Identified constituents which represented 98.20% of the total elutes were the methyl esters of linoleic (52.38%), oleic (34.42%), palmitic (7.25%), stearic (2.66%), arachidic (1.32%) and myristic (0.17%) acids. Total percentages of methyl esters of the saturated and unsaturated fatty acids identified in our examined oil are 11.4 and 86.80% respectively. In conclusion, seed fat of Lactuca sativa L. like many other plant fats, is rich in unsaturated fatty acids.</p

Review: Pharmacological effects of Capparis spinosa L.

Medicinal plants have been known as one of the most important therapeutic agents since ancient times. During the last two decades, much attention has been paid to the health-promoting effects of edible medicinal plants, because of multiple beneficial effects and negligible adverse effects. Capparis spinosa L. is one of the most common medicinal plants, used widely in different parts of the world to treat numerous human diseases. This paper aims to critically review the available scientific literature regarding the health-promoting effects of C. spinosa, its traditional uses, cultivation protocols and phytochemical constituents. Recently, a wide range of evidence has shown that this plant possesses different biological effects, including antioxidant, anticancer and antibacterial effects. Phytochemical analysis shows that C. spinosa has high quantities of bioactive constituents, including polyphenolic compounds, which are responsible for its health-promoting effects, although many of these substances are present in low concentrations and significant changes in their content occur during processing. In addition, there is negligible scientific evidence regarding any adverse effects. Different health promotion activities, as well as tremendous diversity of active constituents, make C. spinosa a good candidate for discovering new drugs. However these findings are still in its infancy and future experimental and clinical studies are needed

Essential Oil Constituents of Two African Olibanums Available in Isfahan Commercial Market: Essential oils of olibanums

The composition of the essential oils of two African (“white” and “yellow”) olibanums available in the commercial market of Isfahan (Iran) was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectroscopy methods. The main constituents of the “White” olibanum oil were alpha-pinene (34.8%), limonene (15.9%), alphathujene (9.0%), para-cymene (7.0%), myrcene (6.2%) and sabinene (6.0%). Majorcomponents of the “yellow” olibanum oil were alpha-pinene (48.0%), limonene (21.7%), myrcene (4.9%), beta-caryophyllene (4.9%) and para-cymene (3.5%)

Chemical Constituents of the Flower Essential Oil of Lavandula officinalis Chaix. from Isfahan (Iran): Essential oil of Lavandula officinalis

Chemical constituents of the essential oil of flowers of Lavandula officinalis Chaix. growing in Isfahan, Iran, were studied by TLC and gas chromatography-massspecrtometery (GC-MS) methods. Twelve components which constitute 94.8% of the examined oil were identified. The main constituents were linalool (34.1%), 1,8-cineole (18.5%), borneol (14.5%), camphor (10.2%), terpinen-4-ol (4.5%), linalyl acetate (3.7%), α-bisabolol (3%), α-terpineol (2.2%) and (Z)-β-farnesene (2.2%)

Volatile Constituents of the Seed Kernel and Leaf of Moringa peregrina (Forssk.) Fiori, Agricolt. Cultivated in Chabahar (Iran): Volatile constituents of the seed kernel and leaf of Moringa peregrina

Volatile constituents of the seed kernel and leaf of cultivated Moringa peregrina (Forssk.) Fiori, Agricolt collected after hydrolysis were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Five glucosinolate degradation products which constituted almost the whole isolated oil of the seed kernel were identified to be: isobutyl isothiocyanate (94.0%), isopropyl isothiocyanate (4.9%), sec-butyl isothiocyanate (0.5%), n-butyl isothiocyanate(0.5%) and benzyl isothiocyanate (&lt;0.1%); while the volatile isothiocyanates which constituted also almost the whole isolated oil of the leaf were found to be: isobutyl isothiocyanate (88.5%), isopropyl isothiocyanate (10.2%), n-butyl isothiocyanate (0.4%) and sec-butyl isothiocyanate (&lt;0.1%)