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In order to the investigation on the effects of methyl jasmonate on the secondary metabolites of Calendula officinalis L., the plants were grown in a modified Hogland (1/2) solution and were treated with 50 and 100 µm methyl jasmonate. The results indicated that jasmonate treatment decreased lignin content of root but increased lignin content of shoots, in comparison with those of the control plants. However, total content of wall-bound phenolics of roots increased and those of shoots decreased by jasmonate treatment. Anthocyanin content of shoot, decreased by methyl jasmonate. Likewise, flavonoid contents of shoots in both treatments were lower than those of the control plants. Lipid peroxidation rate of roots and shoots did not show significant changes in jasmonate treatments, compared to the control plants. In both control and jasmonate treated plants, α- Cadinol was the most abundant essential oils component. Induction of α-Muureloene with specific antifungal properties in the jasmonate treated plants and increase of it along with increase of jasmonate concentration, suggested that jasmonate can be used in order to induce modifications in secondary metabolism pathway of Calendula officinalis, resulting to produce desired medicinal compounds.

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During the past decade, natural plant products as environmentally safe option have received attention for controlling phytopathogenic diseases. Investigation of plants containing natural antimicrobial metabolites for plant protection has been recognized as a desirable method of disease control. The fungus Fusarium oxysporum causes diseases such as root rot, damping off and Fusarium wilt and it infects many plant species and crops. Methanolic crude extracts of 30 plant species belonging to 17 families collected from the west of Iran were screened for antifungal activity against F. oxysporum during 2012. Bioassay of the extracts was conducted by agar dilution method with five replications. The inhibitory effect of the extracts was examined at concentration of 2000 ppm. Twenty out of 30 tested plant species (67%) showed inhibitory activity against mycelial growth of F. oxysporum. The most effective extracts with more than 50% inhibition belonged to Haplophyllum perforatum and Calendula officinalis. High number of plants with antifungal activity in this experiment showed that the flora in the west of Iran could be regarded as a rich source of plants with antifungal activity. Therefore, further screening of other plant species, identifying active fractions or metabolites and in vivo application of active extracts are in progress.  

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In recent years a lot of researches have been carried out about sensitivity of the living organisms to magnetic fields and nanoparticles. Therefore, to evaluate the effect of the magnetic field and silver nanoparticles on photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoids), proline, glycine betaine, soluble sugars and proteins, nitrate and nitrate reductase activity and protein electrophoresis pattern on Calendula officinalis L., in 2015 experiments were performed in the Department of Biology, University of Urmia. Seedlings were grown for 30 days in four treatments including: control, magnetic field with B = 3 mT for an hour per day, silver nanoparticles (50 ppm), and magnetic field (B = 3mT) plus silver nanoparticles (50 ppm). The results showed that plants treated with magnetic field, silver nanoparticles and magnetic field + silver nanoparticles photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoids) content, compatible solutions content such as proteins and soluble sugar, proline andglycine betaine and nitrate content and nitrate reductase activity were significantly (P<0.05) increased compared to control group. Electrophoretic pattern of proteins investigated the maximum bands visible on gel electrophoresis were for treated groups with silver nanoparticles + magnetic field.

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Background: Medicinal plants possess considerable potential for discovering new phytochemicals that could be considered as a solution to fight against multidrug-resistant pathogens. Calendula officinalis (C. officinalis) is used worldwide due to its antimicrobial properties. This pilot study assessed the antibacterial activity of herbal extract and homeopathic preparation of C. officinalis flowers against South African ESKAPE pathogens.
Materials & Methods: Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method (with a 6.0 mm disk diameter) was employed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of herbal extract and homeopathic preparation against South African ESKAPE pathogens. Various ethanol concentrations of herbal extract (50, 60, and 90%) and 62% ethanol concentration of homeopathic preparation were tested.
Findings: The inhibitory effect of C. officinalis did not surpass that of antibiotics. However, the ethanol herbal extract of C. officinalis showed some antibacterial activity against ESKAPE pathogens compared to its homeopathic preparation. Moreover, 50% ethanol extract of C. officinalis (20 µL) showed significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus species compared to its homeopathic preparation.
Conclusion: The rapid spread of antibiotic resistance necessitates the search for plant-based antibacterials. Due to their wealth in phytochemicals, medicinal plants provide a rich resource for producing novel antibacterial drugs. The current study attempted to demonstrate the inhibitory activities of ethanol herbal extract (HEs) and homeopathic mother tincture (MT) of C. officinalis flowers against ESKAPE pathogens and Escherichia coli species.