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During postharvest life, broccoli suffers from floret yellowing confining its economic and nutritional value. The objective of the present study was to explore the mechanisms employed by phytosulfokine α (PSKα) at 150 nM for delaying floret yellowing in broccoli during storage at 4°C for 28 days. Our results showed that the higher endogenous accumulation of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) resulting from the higher gene expression and activities of l-cysteine desulfhydrase (LCD) and d-cysteine desulfhydrase (DCD) in broccoli floret treated with 150 nM PSKα may serve as an endogenous signaling molecule for delaying senescence. Moreover, the suppressed ethylene biosynthesis in broccoli floret treated with 150 nM PSKα might be ascribed to lower gene expression and activities of ACC synthase (ACS) and ACC oxidase (ACO). Furthermore, lower gene expression and activities of Mg2+ dechelatase (MDC), pheophytinase (PPH), and pheophorbide a oxygenase (PaO) might be the reasons for the higher accumulation of chlorophyll in broccoli floret treated with 150 nM PSKα. Based on our findings, exogenous PSKα application could be employed as signaling bioactive hormone for retarding floret yellowing of broccoli during storage at 4°C for 28 days.

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Aims: Helicobacter pylori infection spreads widely in the world and has several complications including gastric cancer. The aim of this work is to investigate the antimicrobial properties of Valeriana officinalis L., Satureja bachtiarica and Thymus daenensis extracts against H. pylori. Methods: The disk diffusion test was used in this experiment. Methanolic extract was isolated from Valeriana officinalis L., Satureja bachtiarica and Thymus daenensis. Ten clinical isolates of H. pylori were used in this experiment, which was obtained at Alzahra hospital, Tehran, Iran from individual patients with gastrointestinal disorders. H. pylori strains were identified using the checking of bacterial growth (0.5 – 1 mm), Gram staining, urease test, catalase test and the drug resistance standard was performed on them. To determine the MIC of the extracts, disk diffusion (Kirby-Bauer) test in agar was used. Results: The clinical strains showed the highest susceptibility to tetracycline (10%). The inhibition zone diameter was the highest at 10% concentration of methanolic extracts of Valeriana officinalis L., Satureja bachtiarica and Thymus daenensis and had the highest growth inhibitory effect at higher concentrations. Conclusion: The methanolic extracts of Valeriana officinalis L., Satureja bachtiarica and Thymus daenensis herbs showed high anti-H. pylori effects in high concentrations and among them, Satureja bachtiarica showed the highest antibacterial effect.

Background: Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.), is an important medicinal plant of Asteraceae family, which is a rich source of pharmaceutically active compounds including phenols, flavonoids and fatty acids. In traditional medicine this plant has been used as an herbal medicine to treat various diseases.Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of jasmonic acid to protect safflower against drought damages. Method:The greenhouse experiment was conducted as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with three replications. The first factor was irrigation regime, which was applied at four levels: field capacity (FC), 0.8 FC, 0.6 FC and 0.4 FC. The second factor was application of jasmonic acid in three concentrations (0, 0.5 and 1 mM).Results: According to the obtained results activities of antioxidant enzymes including catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, and also the amount of compounds like abscisic acid, proline, malondealdehyde, protein, phenols and flavonoids contents were significantly increased in safflower by enhancement of water stress. Conversely, relative leaf water content (RWC) exhibited a significant decrease due to water deficit. According to the obtained results, application of jasmonic acid can mitigate the adverse effect of drought stress on the mentioned attributes. Also, the amount of main fatty acids in the oil were significantly changed due to water deficient. Conclusion:The results illustrated that jasmonic acid has an important role in increasing safflower ability to cope against drought stress through improvement of antioxidant enzymes activities and enhancement of secondary methabolites.