Journal of Medicinal Plants Biotechnology

Abstract This study investigated the effect of different levels of charcoal obtained from acacia wood on some growth characteristics, essential oil content, and nutrient absorption of sage plants under cadmium stress. The experimental treatments included different levels of charcoal (0, 1, and 2% by weight) and cadmium stress at three levels of 0, 30, and 60 mg/kg of soil, which was factorial in the form of a completely randomized design with 4 replications in the research greenhouse of the Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. The results showed that increasing the concentration of cadmium caused a significant decrease in the growth of sage plants in terms of height, stem diameter, number of sub-branches, leaf area, number of leaves, biomass, and root growth. Cadmium stress also caused a decrease in essential oil content and the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium elements, and increased iron, manganese, and cadmium in the aerial parts of the sage plant. The use of charcoal reduced the harmful effects of cadmium on growth by reducing the transfer of cadmium from roots to aerial organs and improving the absorption of nutrients. In plants treated with increasing charcoal concentration, the amount of essential oil in the flowering branches of sage significantly increased. The greatest effect of charcoal on morphological traits, percentage of essential oil, and concentration of nutrients was observed in the highest concentration used (2% by weight) and in plants under severe cadmium stress.

Abstract Rosmarinic acid, as one of the most valuable phenolic compounds in different plant species, has several
biological properties, including antivirus, antibacterial, antitumor and anti-inflammatory. Elicitors, by
producing messages, can stimulate the production of secondary metabolites in plants. Nitric oxide (abiotic
elicitor) is a stable gaseous radical, which acts as a signaling molecule in plants and in many physiological
processes, development and environmental stresses. Due to the lack of information on the amount of rosmaric
acid and the use of SNP as abiotic elicitor in Nepeta nuda L., the effect of SNP on production of rosmarinic
acid was investigated in four concentrations (0, 25, 50 and 100 μM) in vitro shoot culture of catmint hairless.
The amount of rosmarinic acid was measured by HPLC after drying samples at room temperature. The results
of the samples analysis showed that the content of rosmarinic acid increased 37.7% in treatment of nitric oxide
(25 μM) compared to the control sample (without application of nitric oxide). Also, amount of rosmarinic acid
reduced with increasing nitric oxide concentration in the culture medium. So that the amount of this compound
reached from 54.73 mg.g-1 DW in the control sample to 14.61 mg.g-1 DW in treatment of nitric oxide (100
μM). The results of this study indicated catmint hairless plant has the high level of rosmarinic acid and the
amount of this valuable drug combination improved with the use of abiotic elicitor nitric oxide at low
concentration.