A comparative study on Acorus calamus (Acoraceae) micropropagation and selection of suitable population for cultivation in Iran

In addition to various medicinal properties, Acorus calamus (sweet flag) is used in health, food, and perfume industries. Since this species is a rare plant in Iran, its propagation and cultivation are of the great importance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different plant growth regulators on micropropaga-tion of this plant and to select the appropriate population. The root, the rhizome and the leaf explants of three populations (Arzefon, Pelesk, and Alandan) were cultured on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) for callus induction and plant regeneration. The results showed that only rhizome explant resulted in direct plant regeneration. Among different treatments, the 1 mg/l treatment of BAP and NAA - with the highest mean number of regenerated plants (3.75 ± 0.85), the highest percentage of grown explants (91.6%) and maximum average length of regenerated plants (12.06 ± 0.32 cm) - was the best treatment for regeneration of sweet flag. The highest mean number of root (6.6 ± 0.1) was observed in Alandan population in 1 mg/l treatment of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). According to the present study, Alandan population is suitable for cultivation purposes in Iran.

Neuroprotective role of Beta-asarone: A review

Acorus calamus (Acoraceae) also known as sweet flag in Indian traditional medicine is generally used for treatment of various ailments like cough, fever, bronchitis, inflammation, depression, tumours, haemorrhoids, skin diseases, insomnia, hysteria, epilepsy, and loss of memory. Asarone is a chemical compound of the phenylpropanoid class found in plants such as Acorus and Asarum. There are two isomers, α (trans) and β (cis). Alpha-asarone is potentially toxic compared to beta-asarone and hence pharmacological elucidation of beta-asarone is wide. Beta-asarone due to its blood brain barrier crossing property it is well elucidated for potential neuroprotective effect. The beneficial properties of beta-asarone are attributed to molecular pathways of endoplasmic reticulum stress, autophagy and synaptogenesis through IRE1/XBP1 ER stress pathway, mitochondrial ASK1/MKK7/JNK pathway, CaMKII/CREB/Bcl-2 expression and PERK/CHOP/Bcl-2/Beclin-1 pathways. The memory enhancing property of beta-asarone is said to be due to beclin dependent autophagy by PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. The aim of this review is to highlight the neuroprotective role of beta asarone in terms of neuroinflammation, apoptosis, neurogenesis and autophagy with special emphasis on two neurodegenerative disorders Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease along with its beneficial property in elucidating synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis. Further research on toxicity and pharmacokinetics of beta-asarone are much needed to bring this potential compound into therapeutic use.

A comparative study of chemical constituents and safety of Thai herbal medicated oil formula and traditional medicated oil

Objectives Medicated oil has been traditionally used as an analgesic medicine to relieve pain by applying to the skin over painful muscles, and has been established in The National List of Essential Medicines (2556 B.E.). Traditional Medicated oil (TMO) consists of cassumunar ginger, Wan En Lueang, and Wan Ron Thong. It is prepared by frying herbs in coconut oil which is a traditional method. Thai Herbal Medicated oil formula (MOF) comprises cassumunar ginger, sweet flag, lesser galangal, wild turmeric, Wan En Lueang, and Wan Ron Thong. Its preparation by maceration with methyl salicylate is modified method to avoid the heat in the traditional preparation. Since both recipes have different methods of extraction and compositions, it is necessary to determine the chemical constituents and acute skin irritation potential of MOF and TMO. Methods This study applied Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) for quality assessment of MOF extract and TMO extract. The mass spectra of the compounds matched with authentic standards from the NIST library. The compounds were identified by comparing their retention time and peak area, and the percentage of matched factor was more than 80%. The safety assessment on acute skin irritation used the 4 h human patch test (4 h HPT) in 36 healthy subjects. Results The 37 compounds were found in MOF extract. The most common chemical constituents were terpene derivatives; monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, and others, namely benzene derivatives, ester, phenylpropanoid, and other compounds. The 33 compounds were found in TMO extract and the chemical groups were similar to MOF extract. The 4 h HPT demonstrated that the MOF extract, TMO extract, methyl salicylate solvent, and coconut oil solvent, did not induce skin irritation. However, the vehicle of the formulae and the whole formulae as MOF and TMO clinically induced skin irritation and accorded with rubefacient. The characteristic as mild erythema or dryness, but not erythema with edema, could appear after the use of rubbing skin products. Conclusions The chemical constituents found in MOF and TMO extracts were partially different and their acute skin irritation reactions were not significantly different. A study on the efficacy of both remedies should be performed in the future, as well as a study on active chemical constituents. This study provides scientific evidences of quality and safety, including GC-MS condition for poly-herbal medicated oil standardization.

Evaluation of Botanical Powders for the Management of Rice Weevil (Sitophilus oryzae L. Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Rupandehi, Nepal

An experiment to manage rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae L. Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in wheat (Triticum aestivum L. Gramineae) was carried out at Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS), Paklihawa Campus, Rupandehi, Nepal. The experiment was conducted under completely randomized design (CRD) with seven treatments viz. neem leaf dust (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) 15 g/kg, tobacco leaf dust (Nicotiana tabacum L.) 10 g/kg, ginger rhizome powder (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) 20 g/kg, garlic cloves powder (Allium sativum L.) 20 g/kg, Sichuan pepper seed powder (Zanthoxylum armatum Roxb.) 10 g/kg, sweet flag rhizome dust (Acorus calamus L.) 5 g/kg, and control with three replication. Result revealed that the highest mortality of weevils was observed in the wheat seed treated with A. calamus (98.33%), followed by N. tabacum (85.67%), A. sativum (73.34%), A. indica (70.67%), Z. armatum (70.34%), and Z. officinale (58.34%). Similarly, the lowest percent weight loss (3.32%) and damage of seed (4.0%) were observed in wheat treated with A. calamus. Moreover, the highest germination (89%) was observed in seeds treated with A. calamus rhizome powder when tested at 90 days after treatment application. Based on weevil mortality and the germination test, it is found that sweet flag rhizome powder is the best treatment against rice weevil followed by tobacco leaf dust and garlic clove powder. Therefore, these botanicals could be one of the effective alternatives for the management of weevil especially to the farmers who do not use chemical insecticides in the rural areas of Nepal.

Uromyces acori (Uredinales) Penyebab Nekrosis pada Daun Tanaman Jeringau (Acorus calamus) di Indonesia

Uromyces acori (Uredinales) A Causal Agent of Rust Disease of Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus) in Indonesia In Indonesia, an asexual state of a rust fungus namely Uredo acori has been considered as the causal agent rust disease of the sweet flag. No report according sexual state is available in Indonesia. The objectives of the present study are confirming the fungal identity morphologically and determine its optimal germinating temperature. An artificial inoculation was conducted by dusting the urediniospore onto detached leaves of sweet flag. Only leaves showed uredinia were selected. The tip bases of the leaves were dipped into a 4% sucrose solution, incubated in a room condition at 25 °C for inducing telial state with teliospore formations. Based on morphological characters of the teliospore and urediniospore, the rust fungus of sweet flag was identified as Uromyces acori. The fungus is germinating optimally at 25 °C.

Forest Litterfall in Mount Kasunogan

Forest litterfall is plant materials that have been fallen to the ground. It is vital in the process of nutrient forests. The vegetation of the stations in Mount Kasunogan consisted of 7 plant species from 7 different families; Tamanu (Calophyllum) from Calophyllaceae, Sweet flag (Calamus Sp) from Acoraceae, Pitanga (Eugenia Sp) from Myrtaceae, Cogon Grass (Imperatacylindrica) from Poaceae, Hickory Wattle (Mangium) from Fabaceae, Nutrush (ScleriaScrobiculata) from Cyperaceae, Screw pine (Pandanus Odoratissimus) from Pandanaceae, and Ivory Mahogany (DysoxylumSp) from Meliaceae. The researchers investigated litterfall production and decomposition rate and correlated these two essential processes to the soil physical and chemical composition of Mount Kasunogan. Organic matter, Soil pH level, and Soil Moisture have a significant influence on litter production and what factors could increase or decrease its production. It has been denoted that all soil attributes (Organic matter, Soil pH level, and Soil Moisture) impact forest litterfall production. However, two of the attributes, which are the organic matter and soil moisture, barely contribute to the litterfall. In contrast, the soil pH is perfectly correlated and has a significant effect on litterfall production. Station three’s advantage regarding the soil pH and wind presence due to its high elevation explains a large amount of litter production in the area. In this study, it is also concluded that the acidic the soil gets, the faster the decomposition, which also resulted in the faster decomposition in station 2 among the rest of the sites in Mount Kasunogan.

In vitro Evaluation of Botanical Extracts, Chemical Fungicides and Trichoderma harzianum Against Alternaria brassicicola Causing Leafspot of Cabbage

Alternaria leaf spot caused by Alternaria brassicicola is one of the destructive diseases of crucifers and causes considerable loss in the yield and quality of the produce. An experiment was conducted in in vitro to evaluate the efficacy of six botanical extracts at three concentrations i.e. 5%, 10% and 15%, six chemical fungicides at five different concentrations i.e. 50ppm, 100ppm, 250ppm, 500ppm and 1000ppm and Trichoderma harzianum against Alternaria brassicicola. The study was carried out using poisoned food technique for botanical extracts and chemical fungicides and dual culture technique for T. harzianum in Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Among botanical extracts, maximum inhibition (99.91%) of mycelial growth was observed in sweet flag at 15% concentration followed by 10% sweet flag (96.68%) and 5% sweet flag (93.64%) and minimum inhibition percent (5.61%) was observed in Lantana camara at 5% concentration. Hexaconazole proved to be the most effective chemical fungicide recording 100% growth inhibition at all the tested concentrations which was at par with1000 ppm metalaxyl + mancozeb (Kriloxyl Gold), 500 and 1000 ppm mancozeb and 1000 ppm carbendazim + mancozeb(SAAF)whereas, 50 ppm carbendazim was least effective in reducing fungal growth (7.16%). T. harzianum showed 65.02% inhibition of test fungus. The study indicated better performance of some chemical fungicides even at lower concentrations i.e. 100ppm and 250ppm. So, such effective fungicides could be used to minimize hazardous effect. Significant effect of some botanical extracts against pathogen growth suggests their application as potential control agent alternative to chemicals.