DataSheet_1_Photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence of Iranian licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra l.) accessions under salinity stress.docx

While salinity is increasingly becoming a prominent concern in arable farms around the globe, various treatments can be used for the mitigation of salt stress. Here, the effective presence of Azotobacter sp. inoculation (A1) and absence of inoculation (A0) was evaluated on Iranian licorice plants under NaCl stress (0 and 200 mM) (S0 and S1, respectively). In this regard, 16 Iranian licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) accessions were evaluated for the effects on photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence. Leaf samples were measured for photosynthetic pigments (via a spectrophotometer), stomatal and trichome-related features (via SEM), along with several other morphological and biochemical features. The results revealed an increase in the amount of carotenoids that was caused by bacterial inoculation, which was 28.3% higher than the non-inoculated treatment. Maximum initial fluorescence intensity (F0) (86.7) was observed in the ‘Bardsir’ accession. Meanwhile, the highest variable fluorescence (Fv), maximal fluorescence intensity (Fm), and maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) (0.3, 0.4, and 0.8, respectively) were observed in the ‘Eghlid’ accession. Regarding anatomical observations of the leaf structure, salinity reduced stomatal density but increased trichome density. Under the effect of bacterial inoculation, salinity stress was mitigated. With the effect of bacterial inoculation under salinity stress, stomatal length and width increased, compared to the condition of no bacterial inoculation. Minimum malondialdehyde content was observed in ‘Mahabad’ accession (17.8 μmol/g FW). Principle component analysis (PCA) showed that ‘Kashmar’, ‘Sepidan’, ‘Bajgah’, ‘Kermanshah’, and ‘Taft’ accessions were categorized in the same group while being characterized by better performance in the aerial parts of plants. Taken together, the present results generally indicated that selecting the best genotypes, along with exogenous applications of Azotobacter, can improve the outcomes of licorice cultivation for industrial purposes under harsh environments.</p

Volatile components of horsetail (<i>Hippuris vulgaris</i> L.) growing in central Italy

<p><i>Hippuris vulgaris</i>, also known as horsetail or marestail, is a freshwater macrophyte occurring in lakes, rivers, ponds and marshes. According to ‘The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species’, <i>H. vulgaris</i> is at a high risk of extinction in Italy in the medium-term future. In the present study, we analysed for the first time the volatile composition of <i>H. vulgaris</i> growing in central Italy. For the purpose, the essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation and analysed by GC-MS. The chemical composition was dominated by aliphatic compounds such as fatty acids (26.0%), ketones (18.7%) and alkanes (11.4%), whereas terpenoids were poorer and mostly represented by diterpenes (7.4%). <i>n</i>-Hexadecanoic acid (25.5%), hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (17.5%) and <i>trans</i>-phytol (7.4%) were the major volatile constituents. These compounds are here proposed as chemotaxonomic markers of the species.</p

HPTLC determination of chemical composition variability in raw materials used in botanicals

<div><p>Besides the chemotaxonomic value, nowadays determination of biodiversity and chemical variability has a commercial impact. The exact identity of raw material and constituents of botanical products, such as food supplements or herbal remedies, is a very important argument, being the real prerequisite for quality control and traceability, followed by the determination of active components. However, the analytical approach must consider the natural great variability in secondary metabolites and product form, such as in extracts. Against the reductive approach, on the basis of single chemical standards, so far dominant in Pharmacopoeias monographs, we report applications and utility of the high-performance thin-layer chromatography fingerprint in determination of species of the same genus, of populations of the same species and of different drugs of the same plant.</p></div

Isofuranodiene is the main volatile constituent of <i>Smyrnium perfoliatum</i> L. subsp. <i>perfoliatum</i> growing in central Italy

<div><p>The essential oil hydrodistilled from the aerial parts of <i>Smyrnium perfoliatum</i> subsp. <i>perfoliatum</i> growing in central Italy was analysed by GC-MS. The main peak in the gas chromatogram was given by the furanosesquiterpene curzerene which is the Cope rearrangement product of isofuranodiene formed into injector and column during the gas chromatographic run. A truthful quantification of these compounds was achieved by HPLC-DAD analysis which showed that isofuranodiene is the main volatile component (180.0 mg/g eo) of <i>S. perfoliatum</i> subsp. <i>perfoliatum</i>, while curzerene occurs in small amounts (18.1 mg/g eo).</p></div

Chemical composition, antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity on tumour cells of the essential oil from flowers of <i>Magnolia grandiflora</i> cultivated in Iran

<p><i>Magnolia grandiflora</i> (Magnoliaceae) is an evergreen tree with fragrant and showy flowers native to southeastern USA but widely cultivated all over the world and used in cosmetics industry in treatment of skin diseases. Here, we report on the chemical analysis of the essential oil obtained from flowers of plants cultivated in Iran, together with the evaluation of its antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. The essential oil composition was dominated by bioactive sesquiterpenes, namely <i>β</i>-elemene, bicyclogermacrene, germacrene D and (<i>E</i>)-caryophyllene. The oil exhibited moderate radical scavenging activity towards the radical, and mild non-selective inhibitory effects against A375, MDA-MB 231 and T98 G tumour cell lines. The latter were influenced by the presence of the anticancer <i>β</i>-elemene. These results provided new insights for potential application of <i>M. grandiflora</i> volatile oil in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry where only the non-volatile magnolol and honokiol have hitherto been fully exploited.</p

Chemical composition and insecticidal activity of the essential oil from <i>Helichrysum faradifani</i> endemic to Madagascar

<p><i>Helichrysum faradifani</i> (Asteraceae) is a perennial shrub growing in rocky and sandy places of Madagascar. The plant is used in the Malagasy traditional medicine as a wound-healing agent, disinfectant and for the treatment of syphilis, diarrhea, cough and headache. In the present work, we analysed the chemical composition of the essential oil distilled from the aerial parts of <i>H. faradifani</i> by GC-MS and evaluated its insecticidal activity against 2nd, 3rd and 4th instar larvae of the lymphatic filariasis vector <i>Culex quinquefasciatus</i> by acute toxicity assays. The most sensitive were 2nd instar (LC₅₀ = 85.7 μL L⁻¹) larvae. For the 3rd and 4th instar larvae, the estimated LC₅₀ were 156.8 and 134.1 μL L⁻¹, respectively. Monoterpene hydrocarbons (51.6%) were the major fraction of the essential oil, with the bicyclic α-fenchene (35.6%) as the predominant component. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (34.0%) were the second major group characterising the oil, with γ-curcumene (17.7%) as the most abundant component.</p

Anti-<i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> activity of hemlock (<i>Conium maculatum, Apiaceae</i>) essential oil

<p><i>Conium maculatum</i> is a nitrophilous weed belonging to the Apiaceae family and occurring in hedgerows, pastures, waste ground, along rivers and roadsides. Little is known on the chemistry and bioactivity of other secondary metabolites occurring in the plant. In the present work, we have analysed the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils hydrodistilled from leaves and inflorescenes of <i>C. maculatum</i> growing in Sicily, Italy. The composition of essential oils was achieved by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, whereas the inhibitory effects on the growth of two Gram negative strains, namely <i>Escherichia coli</i> and <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> were assessed by two different analysis. The essential oils exhibited different chemical profiles (1-butylpiperidine and myrcene in the inflorescenes), (mostly (<i>E</i>)-caryophyllene in the leaves). The latter oil was particularly active in inhibiting the growth of <i>P. aeruginosa</i>. These results shed light on the possible application of hemlock essential oils as antimicrobial agents.</p

SPME-GC-MS analysis of commercial henna samples (<i>Lawsonia inermis</i> L.)

<div><p>The aim of this work was to provide a characterisation of volatile constituents from different commercial batches of henna (<i>Lawsonia inermis</i>) leaves of different geographic origin. Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was used for the purpose. A total of 72 components were identified by GC–MS in the headspace of different henna samples which proved to differ considerably from each other, because they were characterised by different classes of components, mainly aliphatic compounds (9.0–64.7%), terpenoids (5.8–45.5%) and aromatics (7.9–45.2%), with alkanes (0.9–18.5%), aldehydes (2.1–18.8%) and carboxylic acids (3.1–29.3%), monoterpenes (3.4–30.0%) and sesquiterpenes (0.8–23.7%) and phenyl propanoids (0.6–43.1%), being the most abundant, respectively. Major representatives of these groups were <i>n</i>-hexadecane (0.5–4.7%), (2<i>E</i>)-hexenal (0.5–11.7%) and acetic acid (2.8–24.5%), limonene (0.8–14.7%), carvol (3.8–7.1%), geranyl acetone (1.4–7.9%) and (<i>E</i>)-caryophyllene (3.3–8.4%), and (<i>E</i>)-anethole (0.6–35.0%), respectively. We assume that factors such as the manufacturing process, the storage conditions and the different geographic origin of the samples may contribute to such variability.</p></div

Supercritical CO₂ extracts and essential oils from <i>Teucrium polium</i> L. growing in Algeria: chemical composition and antioxidant activity

<p>In this work, we studied the essential oils (EOs) obtained by hydrodistillation and lipophilic fractions extrated by carbon dioxide supercritical fluid extraction (SFE-CO₂) from <i>Teucrium polium</i> (Lamiaceae). EOs and SFE-CO₂ extracts were analyzed by GC and GC-TOFMS. EOs showed qualitative differences compared with SFE-CO₂ extracts, though in both products germacrene D was the most abundant component. Notably a new EO chemotype, characterzed by germacrene D, β-eudesmol, shyobunol, and δ-cadinene, was reported. EOs along with SFE-CO₂ extracts, plant powder, and solid residue after SFE were evaluated for total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxdiant activity by DPPH, FRAP, and ORAC assays. The raw plant material was the most active, followed by the solid residue after SFE-CO₂ extraction. On the other hand, EO and SFE-CO₂ extracts displayed weak activity. These results showed that the antioxidant compounds of <i>T. polium</i> are of hydrophilic nature and are not extracted or retained in the plant material after SFE-CO₂ extraction.</p

A new glucosidic phthalide from <i>Helichrysum microphyllum</i> subsp. <i>tyrrhenicum</i> from La Maddalena Island (Sardinia, Italy)

<p>In this study, we reported the analysis of the medium polarity fraction obtained from an accession of <i>Helichrysum microphyllum</i> subsp. <i>tyrrhenicum</i> from La Maddalena Island. Besides several compounds already evidenced in this species and related genera, i.e. micropyrone (<b>1</b>), arzanol (<b>2</b>), helipyrone (<b>3</b>), acetyl-bitalin derivatives (<b>4</b>, <b>5</b>), gnaphaliol (<b>6</b>), caffeic acid (<b>7</b>), ursolic acid (<b>8</b>), 7-<i>O</i>-β-(d-glucopyranosyl)-5-methoxy-1(<i>3H</i>)-isobenzofuranone (<b>9</b>), gnaphaliol-9-<i>O</i>-β-d-glucopyranoside (<b>11</b>) and gnaphaliol-3-<i>O</i>-β-d-glucopyranoside (<b>12</b>), the presence of a new glycosidic phthalide, 6-<i>O</i>-β-(d-glucopyranosyl)-4-methoxy-1(<i>3H</i>)-benzofuranone (<b>10</b>), was evidenced for the first time, which resulted in a structural isomer of compound (<b>9</b>). The occurrence of this new benzofuranone derivative is an additional evidence of the deep intraspecific variability expressed by this species, which was also stated for the non-volatile components, and may be a distinctive trait of the population growing on La Maddalena Island.</p