Showing 391 results for Type of Study: Original Article
Faezeh Ranjbar, Dr Nikoo Nasoohi, Dr Khosro Khajeh,
Volume 12, Issue 2 (9-2025)
Abstract
Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), also known as FGF-2, is a crucial member of the fibroblast growth factor family, involved in a variety of biological functions including cellular proliferation, wound healing, angiogenesis, intercellular signalling, and cell differentiation, In contemporary stem cell research, serum-free media enriched with various additives and growth factors are employed, and among these, bFGF being particularly significant. Despite its extensive potential applications, the clinical utilization of bFGF is limited due to its instability, especially in aqueous environment. Therefore, a thorough investigation of the protein's structural integrity and stability is essential. This study focuses on the expression, purification, and characterization of bFGF for structural and stability analysis through biophysical methods. Intrinsic fluorescence measurement indicated a structural alteration surrounding the tryptophan residue, while circular dichroism (CD) analysis showed a decrease in the protein’s secondary structure. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) used for stability analysis. Furthermore, the study aims to evaluate the biological activity of the protein in cellular context. For this purpose, gold nanoparticles were synthesized. The results from the Cell Migration Assay indicated that the proliferation of HT29 cells was enhanced following treatment with bFGF in conjunction with gold nanoparticles. Also, a MTT assay was conducted.
Parichehr Hanachi, Zahra Adibi, Zahra Gharari, Bahareh Attaran, Roshanak Zarrin Ghalami,
Volume 12, Issue 2 (9-2025)
Abstract
Plant secondary metabolites like phenols and flavonoids neutralize free radicals and are linked to antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. Due to rising drug resistance in pathogens such as Salmonella paratyphi, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus, medicinal herbs are increasingly explored for antimicrobial properties. This study evaluated the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant capacity, and antibacterial effects of Arctium lappa. TPC, TFC, and antioxidant levels were measured using Folin-Ciocalteu, Aluminum chloride, FRAP, and DPPH assays, respectively. Antibacterial activities were assessed by microdilution broth and disc diffusion methods to determine MIC50 and MBC values. Results showed that A. lappa ethanolic extract, prepared with diluted water and the boiling method, had the highest flavonoid content (7.9 ± 0.40 mg/g DW). The leaves and flowers extract, using methanol and the boiling method, had the highest phenolic content (62.13 ± 0.73 mg/g DW) and antioxidant capacity. The ethanolic extract of A. lappa leaves also demonstrated the strongest antibacterial activity, with an MBC of 0.140 mg/mL and an 8 ± 0.4 mm inhibition zone against all tested bacteria. These findings suggest A. lappa bioactive compounds, particularly phenolics and flavonoids, offer promising potential for treating bacterial infections in pharmacognostic applications.
Mrs Maryamsadat Mesbahi Bidgoli, Dr Mohammad Fazilati, Dr Anosheh Rahmani, Dr Habibollah Nazem,
Volume 12, Issue 2 (9-2025)
Abstract
Objective: Ozone treatment has been recognized as an effective approach to significantly reduce mycotoxin levels, including ochratoxin A (OTA), in agricultural products. This study aimed to evaluate the safety of untreated and ozone-treated OTA-contaminated corn (OCC) through a sub-chronic toxicity assessment in rats.
Method: Male rats were randomly assigned into one control group and three experimental diet groups. The experimental groups received untreated OCC or ozone-treated OCC through oral administration for a 30-day period. Clinical signs, survival, hematological parameters, serum biochemical indices, and histopathological alterations of liver and kidney tissues were examined to evaluate potential toxicological effects.
Results: No mortality or overt clinical abnormalities were observed during the experimental period. Rats fed untreated OCC exhibited significant decreases in white blood cell (WBC) counts and marked elevations in alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels. Histopathological evaluation revealed OTA-induced lesions in both liver and kidney tissues. In contrast, rats fed ozone-treated OCC showed reduced biochemical alterations and attenuated histopathological damage compared with those receiving untreated OCC.
Hamideh Ahmadian, Professor Azarnoosh Jafari, Professor Jamil Vaezi, Professor Ehsan Karimi,
Volume 12, Issue 2 (9-2025)
Abstract
Veronica is a species-rich genus of the Plantaginaceae, comprising over 500 annual and perennial herbs distributed across both hemispheres. We examined relationships within the Veronica hederifolia complex (V. hederifolia, V. cymbalaria, V. panormitana, and V. triloba), all belonging to V. subg. Cochlidiosperma. Overlapping morphological features complicate taxonomic delimitation in this group. To clarify species boundaries, we analysed 28 sequences from three regions: the nuclear low-copy CYCLOIDEA2 region, the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS), and the plastid DNA (trnL–trnF), in addition to morphological characters. Morphological variation was observed in leaf shape, calyx and pedicel orientation, corolla diameter and colour, sepal form, and seed features. Bayesian phylogenetic inference revealed that the CYC2 marker provided the highest resolution, confirming the monophyly of the complex and distinguishing V. triloba as a separate species. V. cymbalaria and V. panormitana formed sister lineages, with V. panormitana as the earliest-diverging taxon. Plastid trnL–trnF sequences showed limited variability, and ITS data displayed partial incongruence, likely due to hybridization, introgression, and polyploidy. Overall, integrating molecular and morphological evidence highlights the utility of low-copy nuclear markers in resolving recently diverged and reticulate lineages, supporting distinct evolutionary trajectories within the V. hederifolia complex.
Mehsa Arami, Jalal Gholamnezhad, Mostafa Shirmardi,
Volume 12, Issue 3 (9-2025)
Abstract
The water crisis in desert areas, including Ardakan city, has caused some industries to use industrial effluents and urban sewage as water sources to irrigate green spaces for the development of green spaces. Chadormello Industrial Complex is one of the industries that, in line with the management of this crisis, irrigates the green space created there with the water resources available at the factory site, i.e. industrial effluent and purified urban sewage. The purpose of this research is to investigate some morphological and physiological traits of a number of plants cultivated in this complex, which are irrigated with the mentioned water sources or gray water. This research is in the form of a complete randomized block design with three water treatments including three types of urban sewage treatment water, industrial wastewater and a mixture of both types of water in three replications for six plant species: olive, eucalyptus, pomegranate, Tehran pine, Egyptian silk and bitter elder. Investigating the morphological characteristics of height and diameter of the trunk and measuring the physiological characteristics including the amount of some elements including iron, zinc, manganese, copper, cadmium and lead were done. The results showed that among the three applied treatments.
Naser Jafari, Zahra Pournasrollah, Soghra Ramzi,
Volume 12, Issue 3 (9-2025)
Abstract
The Roodbast Wetland in Babolsar city is a crucial source of agricultural water and supports various living organisms near human settlements. Preserving the quality of this habitat is vital for both natural and human reasons. This study investigates the ecological status of Roodbast Wetland using algae as biological indicators of pollution. Diverse samplings were conducted in different seasons. Pollution levels were assessed using the Palmer index and various biological indicators. The study cataloged 81 genera across 7 phyla of algae. Chlorophyta had the highest species diversity, while Chrysophyta had the fewest. Peak algae proliferation occurred in summer and spring. Chlorophyta and Bacillariophyta were predominant throughout most of the year. In summer, Palmer’s pollution index peaked at stations 3 and 4, with a value of 35. In winter, stations 2, 4, and 5 showed minimal pollution with indices of 6, 9, and 7, respectively. During summer and autumn, all stations recorded Palmer indices exceeding 24. The primary cause of wetland pollution in spring is the influx of sub-branches from Babolrood, carrying village sewage and agricultural runoff. The rise in pollution in summer and autumn is due to elevated water temperatures, reduced rainfall, and increased extraction of lagoon water for rice replanting.
Naser Jafari, Ali Taravati, Aref Sheikh Amiri,
Volume 12, Issue 3 (9-2025)
Abstract
This study aimed to assess the ecological and environmental conditions of the Talar River using epilithic and epipelic diatoms. Sampling was conducted seasonally from summer 2023 to spring 2024 at three selected stations. Simultaneous with diatom sampling, one-liter water samples were collected to measure physical and chemical parameters. Diatom samples were prepared and identified based on standard protocols. In total, 84 species from 24 genera were identified. The most diverse genera were Navicula, Nitzschia, and Gomphonema. Navicula cryptotenella had the highest cell abundance, followed by Nitzschia palea and Navicula rhynchocephala. Diversity indices such as Shannon, Simpson, and species evenness showed no significant spatial difference. The results of the Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) between environmental variables and epilithic species showed that the first and second axes explained 41.09 and 14.81% of the total variance, respectively, accounting for 55.9% of the constrained variance. For epipelic species, the first and second axes explained 37.37 and 14.40% of the total variance, respectively, and together accounted for 51.77% of the constrained variance. Moreover, the analysis revealed a strong correlation between environmental variables (especially pH and phosphate) and diatom community structure in both habitats, underscoring the role of environmental factors in shaping their distribution patterns.
Mrs Seyedeh Maryam Mousavian Kalat, Mrs Latifeh Pourakbar, Mr Majid Azizi,
Volume 12, Issue 3 (9-2025)
Abstract
Iranian black zira is an aromatic and medicinal plant from Apeaceae family. In order to investigate the effect of fertilization and tuber age on plant height, greening percentage, flowering percentage, and yield components, an experiment was conducted in field conditions in the form of 9 main plots including NPK fertilizer at three levels (control ), fertilizer 1(2.5 grams per liter), fertilizer 2 (with a concentration of 2 times and 5 grams per liter) and tuber age at two levels of three and four years (medium and three-year-old tubers ) was carried out in, fertilizer with 2 times concentration) and tuber age at two levels (three and four years old) was carried out in 1402-1403 in Kalat region of Khorasan Razavi.The results showed that tuber weight has a direct and positive effect on the percentage of germination, flowering, plant growth and yield. The highest percentage of greening (100%) and flowering (100%) was observed in large tubers and the lowest percentage of greening (51%) and flowering (16.93) was observed in medium tubers and 0 fertilizer (no fertilization).application of 20-20-20 fertilizer (NPK) and use of tubers with more age (weight) improved the growth and yield of Iranian black zira.
Naser Samsami, Jalal Jalilian, Esmaeil Gholinezhad, Raheleh Tahmasebi,
Volume 12, Issue 3 (9-2025)
Abstract
This study was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications with aimed to investigate the effects of different levels of salinity stress on root traits, allometric coefficient, and grain yield of Galega in three cultivation conditions (greenhouse, outdoor pots, and field) during 2024 cropping year. The results of variance analysis in greenhouse conditions showed that salinity stress had a significant effect on root diameter, root dry weight, and leaf dry weight. Specifically, salinity stress of 10 and 5 dS/m caused a 49 and 16 percent reduction in root diameter, 27 and 8 percent in root dry weight, and 49 and 10 percent in leaf dry weight, respectively. In outdoor pots, salinity stress had a significant effect on stem length, root volume, root diameter, root dry weight, stem dry weight and grain yield, and significant reductions were observed in these traits, reaching a maximum of 69% in stem dry weight. In field conditions, similar results were obtained, and salinity stress of 10 and 5 dS/m, respectively, caused a 78 and 67% reduction in grain yield and significant changes in other traits. Therefore, field cultivation conditions and lower salinity stress levels (below 5 dS/m) were superior for planting Galega.
Zahra Mahdavi, Behrooz Esmailpoor, Rasoul Azarmi,
Volume 12, Issue 3 (9-2025)
Abstract
The different treatments in this experiment were foliar spraying of salinity reducer at five levels (control, 15 and 30 mgL-1 glycine betaine without liquid fish waste fertilizer, 15 and 30 mgL-1 glycine betaine with 15% (v/v) liquid fish waste fertilizer) on stevia plants grown under salt stress conditions (0, 30, 60, 90 mM of NaCl). results showed that salinity negatively affected growth parameters, relative water content, a* and b* color and increased the activity of total phenol, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), malondialdehyde (MDA), proline, and total carbohydrates compared with control samples. Salinity at 90 mM decreased the relative water content by 44.7% compared to the not stress. Salinity 90 mM salinity stress increased 70.46% total carbohydrates, 66.66% in H2O2 , MDA by 66.66% , Electrolyte leakage (EL) by 67.04 and 47.21% proline content by compared to the control. On the other hand, simultaneous application of glycine betaine and fish waste bio-fertilizer mitigated the effects of salinity stress by enhancing growth parameters especially at the highest salinity level (90 mM).
- Mojgan Habibi, Dr. Saeed Afsharzadeh, Dr. Shabnam Abbasi,
Volume 12, Issue 3 (9-2025)
Abstract
The flora of a region is a key indicator of various ecosystem factors across geological periods, and plant identification is crucial for assessing natural capacity and land use. This study aimed to conduct a floristic survey of the Basiran Protected Area in Eqlid County, Fars Province. Plant samples were collected using a survey method and linear transects. From 250 collected samples, 94 species across 70 genera and 34 families were identified. Dicotyledons constituted the majority, with 82 species and 59 genera, while monocotyledons included 12 species from 11 genera. Fabaceae was the largest family (13 species), and Astragalus the largest genus (7 species). Significantly, 16 species (17%) were endemic to Iran. Phytoecological analysis revealed that 47 species (50%) were hemicryptophytes, and 59 species (63%) belonged to the Irano-Turanian phytogeographic region. The findings also highlight the adverse impacts of recent droughts, rising temperatures, and grazing pressure on the area's flora. Consequently, the study emphasizes the urgent need to reconsider current management and conservation policies, particularly concerning livestock grazing, medicinal plant harvesting, and wood collection, to ensure the long-term sustainability of this protected ecosystem.