A Randomized Controlled Trial Examining the Effect of Aromatherapy Using the Damask Rose Essential Oil on Pre-operative Anxiety Levels

Background: Non-pharmacological care interventions like aromatherapy can be cost-effective and efficient ways to reduce anxiety and adverse results before surgery. Objectives: In this study, the efficacy of aromatherapy on pre-operative anxiety in patients undergoing Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PCNL) referring to Peymaniyeh Hospital in Jahrom-Iran was the main goal. Methods: This controlled-randomized trial was conducted on 38 patients that were randomly assigned to two groups: Control and Aromatherapy (Rosa damascena). The anxiety levels were recorded for all two groups the night before the surgery. On the day of surgery and after re-communication, patients were approached in a pre-operative holding area, and the intervention was performed. Data were collected over 11 months from June 2015 to May 2016. Results: The statistically significant difference after the intervention between the control and intervention groups indicated that Aromatherapy with Rosa damascene reduced the patient’s anxiety. Conclusions: This survey prepares evidence for the use of Damask rose as an anti-anxiety intervention. Using Damask rose as a nursing intervention helps nurses provide individualized care and helps patients control their anxiety.

Phenol-rich alternatives for Rosa x damascena Mill. Efficient phytochemical profiling using different extraction methods and colorimetric assays

Damask rose is a well-established, abundant source of phytochemicals, as well as economically important essential oil—however, its cultivation is demanding and costly. In this paper, extracts from four raw plant materials—Salvia officinalis, Sambucus nigra, Matricaria chamomilla, Calendula officinalis, known to be rich in phenolic compounds, but also far easier to cultivate—were directly compared to those obtained from Rosa × damascena Mill. By combining diverse extraction methodologies (in a Soxhlet apparatus, ultrawave-assisted and microwave-assisted, using supercritical CO2) and complementary in vitro assays (radical scavenging, iron reducing, Folin–Ciocalteau and Al3+ complexation), it was possible to conveniently approximate and compare the phytochemical portfolios of those diverse plants. By factoring in the crop yields of different species, economically important conclusions can be reached—with pot marigold (C. officinalis) seemingly the most viable substitute for damask rose as a source of phenolics. Fatty acid and microelement analyses were also performed, to further enrich the chemical profiles of plant extracts. The paper also aims to collate and redesign multiple colorimetric assays frequently used while studying plant extracts in vitro, but criticized for their lack of correlation to in vivo activity. We show that they remain a viable tool for direct comparison of extraction methodologies, while highlighting their shortcomings.

The effects of saffron petals and damask rose petals on biochemical and inflammatory measurements

Objectives Diabetes is a chronic disease caused by high blood sugar greatly affected by diet. The chemical medicines applied to treat diabetes usually have side effects. This study aimed to investigate the effect of saffron petals, damask rose petals, and saffron-damask rose petal herbal teas on weight loss, fasting blood sugar, lipid profile, and the inflammatory factors of diabetic rats. Methods In this study, 40 male Sprague Dawley rats with an average age of four weeks received a high-calorie, high-fat, high-sugar diet for nine weeks. The rats were then randomly assigned to five groups, including normal, control, saffron petal, damask rose petal, and saffron plus damask rose petal groups. For nine weeks, 3 mL of the herbal tea was administered to the intervention groups daily through oral gavage. The levels of FBS, lipid profile, Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1C), and glucose tolerance test (GTT) were measured following the intervention. Results Saffron petals reduced weight gain, Triglyceride (TG), and HbA1c and increased hs-CRP and IGF-1 (all p < 0.05). The damask rose petal reduced weight gain, FBS, hs-CRP, and HbA1c and increased the IGF-1 (all p < 0.05). Saffron plus damask-rose petals reduced the weight gain, TG, hs-CRP and HbA1c, and increase IGF-1 factor (all p < 0.05) compared to the control group. No significant effect was found on visceral fat, LDL-C, and HDL-C. Compared with the normal group, saffron petals and damask rose petals increased the FBS, HDL, and LDL levels. Damask rose and the combination of saffron petals and damask rose decreased IGF-1 compared with the normal group (all p < 0.05). Conclusions Saffron and damask rose petals could have beneficial effects on improving the status of biochemical markers. The simultaneous use of saffron and damask rose may counteract the adverse effects of saffron on inflammatory indices.

Genetic diversity analysis in a mini core collection of Damask rose (Rosa damascena Mill.) germplasm from Iran using URP and SCoT markers

Background Rosa damascena Mill is a well-known species of the rose family. It is famous for its essential oil content. The aim of the present study was to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of a mini core collection of the Iranian Damask rose germplasm. This involved the use of universal rice primers (URP) and start codon targeted (SCoT) molecular markers. Results Fourteen URP and twelve SCoT primers amplified 268 and 216 loci, with an average of 19.21 and 18.18 polymorphic fragments per primer, respectively. The polymorphic information content for URR and SCoT primers ranged from 0.38 to 0.48 and 0.11 to 0.45, with the resolving power ranging from 8.75 to 13.05 and 9.9 to 14.59, respectively. Clustering was based on neighbor-joining (NJ). The mini core collection contained 40 accessions and was divided into three distinct clusters, centered on both markers and on the combination of data. Conclusion Cluster analysis and principal coordinate analysis were consistent with genetic relationships derived by STRUCTURE analysis. The findings showed that patterns of grouping did not correlate with geographical origin. Both molecular markers demonstrated that the accessions were not genetically diverse as expected, thereby highlighting the possibility that gene flow occurred between populations.

FOLIAR APPLICATION OF POTASSIUM AND ZINC ENHANCES THE PRODUCTIVITY AND VOLATILE OIL CONTENT OF DAMASK ROSE (Rosa damascena Miller var. trigintipetala Dieck)

Potassium (K) levels are decreasing worldwide in agricultural soils, and K deficiency is becoming a major issue. Study on damask rose response to K application is scarce. Furthermore, despite its importance in the cell division, photosynthesis and protein synthesis, there is a lack of published reports on plant responses to zinc (Zn) application. Further research is required to understand the damask rose's response to both elements. This study investigated the effects of K and Zn foliar application on the vegetative growth, flower yield, and volatile oil content and composition of damask rose. K and Zn nutrition was applied either individually or combined as K2SO4 and ZnSO4 at 0.5 or 1.0%. Foliar application of K2SO4 and ZnSO4 was applied with a manual pump four times in each growing season, the first at the beginning of stem elongation and leaf formation, and then at two-weekly intervals. Results showed that K and/or Zn treatments significantly improved the growth characters, flower yield, relative water content (RWC), stomatal conductance, and essential oil content and composition such as linalool, nerol, citronellol, geraniol, and nonadecane. The chlorophyll content, total soluble sugars (TSS), and protein content also increased, but free amino acid content decreased, suggesting that the distribution of nitrogenous compounds (between amino acids and proteins) and their transformation were influenced by K and Zn supply. Individual applications of K or Zn increased the N, P, K, and Zn contents in damask rose leaves, relative to the control, which increased further with combined applications of K and Zn. Results suggest that foliar application of K and/or Zn could be part of the damask rose fertilization program to provide plants with the optimum level of nutrition for improving the quantity and quality of flowers and essential oil yields.