An Investigation of the Secondary Metabolites and Antioxidant Capacity of Some Commercial Iranian Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Cultivars under Drought Stress

Background and Aim: This research was conducted in order to investigate secondary metabolite contents such as ellagic acid, total phenol, total flavonoid and antioxidant capacity in some commercial Iranian pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivars under drought stress. Materials and Methods: The experiment was a factorial arrangement based on a completely randomized design with three replications. Two factors, including pomegranate cultivars (Rabab Neyriz, Nadery badroud, Shyshah cap Ferdous, Ardestany Mahvelat, Malase Yazd and Shirinshavar Yazd) and irrigation levels (60% and 40% field capacity), the moderate and severe stresses respectively, and 80% field capacity as "control" were used and the plants were kept for six weeks. Subsequently, the alteration of some secondary metabolite contents, including ellagic acid content, total phenol, total flavonoid and antioxidant capacity in fully developed leaves were measured under above treatments. Results: In this research, all the examined cultivars had similar responses to drought stress treatments, but the intensity of these responses was different in various cultivars. Drought stress caused an increase in ellagic acid content, total phenol, total flavonoid and antioxidant capacity in all cultivars. Conclusion: According to the ultimate results, due to the high amount of ellagic acid, total phenol, total flavonoid and the consequent antioxidant capacity of the pomegranate leaf, it can be used in medicinal industry to produce herbals drugs

Modelación de Calor Isostérico de Soya para Estimación de Energía de Desorción usando Red neural.

Sorption isotherm of soya bean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) was obtained by the dynamic experimental method. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) were used for modeling soya bean equilibrium moisture content (EMC). Thermodynamic equations and trained ANN for prediction of two thermodynamic properties of net isosteric heat and entropy of soya bean were utilized. The ANN models were better compared with mathematical models. In this study, the isosteric heat and entropy of sorption of soya bean were separately predicted by two power models as a EMC function. Predictive power of the models was high (R2 ≈ 0.99). At the moisture content above 11% (dry basis, db), isosteric heat and entropy of sorption of soya bean were smoothly decreased, while they were highest at moisture content about 8% (db). Isosteric heat and entropy would be useful in the storage simulation of dried soya bean. The ANN model predicts soya bean EMC more accurately than mathematical models. Hence, better equations could be developed for the prediction of heat of sorption and entropy based on data from the ANN model.La isoterma de desorción de soya (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) se obtuvo por el método experimental dinámico. Se usaron redes neuronales artificiales (ANN) para modelación del contenido de humedad de equilibrio (EMC) de soya. Se utilizaron ecuaciones termodinámicas y ANN dirigidas para predicción de dos propiedades termodinámicas, calor isostérico neto y entropía de soya. Los modelos ANN fueron mejores comparados con modelos matemáticos. En este estudio, el calor isostérico y entropía de absorción de soya fueron predichas separadamente por dos modelos de poder como una función de EMC. El poder predictivo de los modelos fue alto (R2 ≈ 0.99). A un contenido de humedad superior a 11% (db), el calor isostérico y entropía de absorción de soya fueron ligeramente reducidos, y fueron las más altas a un contenido de 8% (db). El calor isostérico y entropía podrían ser útiles en la simulación del almacenamiento de soya deshidratada. El modelo ANN predice EMC de soya más confiablemente que los modelos matemáticos. Por lo tanto, podrían desarrollarse mejores ecuaciones para la predicción del calor de absorción y entropía basada en datos del modelo ANN

The design and equipments of hospital pharmacies in Isfahan, Iran

Background: Nowadays pharmaceutical care departments located in hospitals are amongst the important pillars of the healthcare system. The aim of this study was to evaluate designing features and equipments of hospital drugstores affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this cross-sectional study a self-defined and validated questionnaire was used which included all the necessary and standard needed spaces and equipments of an ideal hospital pharmacy. The questionnaire was filled in by one of the researchers in all twelve hospital drugstores located in the teaching and non-teaching hospitals affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Data analysis was done using SPSS (version 14). Results: Results showed that 56% of drugstore space allocations were unsuitable. Used pharmaceutical equipments in 75% of surveyed hospitals were not according to the standards. Almost all of these pharmacies had rather an enough space for storage, but cold storages were not designed in 58% of them. In 66% of perused hospitals, pharmaceutical services disposal level was admissible. The structural engineering parameters like size and dimensions, available spaces, availability of structural planes, existence of air conditioning systems and brightness controllers, adequate stores for drugs and safe places for narcotics were observed in 55% of pharmacies. Conclusions: There are apparent out of standard space allocations and shortages of needed equipments for offering drug services in studied drugstores that may probably lead to a waste of time and money. These issues may reduce the efficiency and safety of pharmaceutical services and drug administration in hospitals

Investigation on antimicrobial effects of essential oil of purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea L.) and identification of its chemical compounds

Background: Purple coneflower (Echinaceae purpurea L.) is a perennial herbaceous with astringent properties, disinfectant, antimicrobial and anti intoxication activity. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of shoot essential oil of purple coneflower against some microorganisms including gram positive, gram negative bacteria, filamentous fungi and yeasts. Material and Methods: In this experimental and laboratory investigation, plant samples were collected in full blooming stage. Shoot essential oil was extracted by hydro-distillation technique using Clevenger apparatus. The chemical constitutes of this oil was analyzed by GC and GC/MS method. Anti microbial properties of the essential oil were determined using micro broth dilution and well disk diffusion methods. At the end, data were analyzed by the SPSS version 15 software, using the T-test and Duncan s' test. Results: Twenty nine components were identified by GC and GC/MS in the essential oil of purple coneflower representing 96.21% of total oil. The major components were Germacrene D (53.30%), -Cymene (9.78%), β-Caryophyllene (7.52%), α-Humulene (5.22%), β-Bisabolene (4.43%) and α-Pinene (4.23%), respectively. This oil exhibited strong antifungal activity against filamentous fungi and yeast with average of inhibition zone (AIZ) 39.63. Microorganisms differ in their resistance to purple coneflower oil. All of the bacteria including gram positive and gram negative bacteria are more resistant than fungi and gram negative bacteria are more resistant than gram positive bacteria. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhimurium were more resistant than others. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that coneflower essential oil with significant antimicrobial effects and can be used instead of synthetic antibiotics that microbial resistance towards them is increasing