Punica Research Articles

Genetic diversity in inter-simple sequence repeat profiles across natural populations of Indian pomegranate (Punica granatum L.)

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.), in the monogeneric family Punicaceae, is found in Iran, Afghanistan, India and Mediterranean countries. Iran is considered to be its primary centre of origin. In India, pomegranate occurs naturally only in the Western Himalayan regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand States. However, there is no information about genetic variation in wild pomegranate at population level. In this paper, we describe genetic diversity across natural populations of Indian pomegranate based on inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. Forty-nine accessions representing eight populations from two regions were analysed using ISSR. Seventeen ISSR primers resulted in 268 polymorphic bands, with 87.01% polymorphism throughout the accessions. Pair-wise population genetic distances ranged from 0.05 to 0.45, with a mean of 0.25 between populations. amova and Nei's genetic diversity analyses revealed higher genetic variation within populations than among populations. A higher genetic differentiation (G(ST)) was observed between the spatially distant populations, indicating a low level of genetic exchange (Nm) among these populations. However, clustering of populations was not in accordance with their geographical affiliations in the tree. The results indicate that the ISSR method is sufficiently informative and powerful to assess genetic variability in pomegranate, and that patterns of genetic variability observed among populations of wild pomegranate from the Western Himalaya differ. Estimation of genetic variation reported here provides a significant insight for in situ conservation and exploitation of genetic resources for this economically important species as potential breeding material.

Medicinal plants as immunosuppressive agents in traditional Iranian medicine.

Immunomodulation using medicinal plants provides an alternative to conventional chemotherapy for several diseases, especially when suppression of inflammation is desired. The "Canon of Medicine", the epochal work of Avicenna, the great Persian scientist of the middle ages, provides comprehensive information about medicinal plants which used to cure inflammatory illnesses in traditional Iranian medicine. Taking into consideration that the mechanisms of damage in these illnesses are mediated by immune responses, it is reasonable to assume that the plants used for such diseases may suppress the immune responses and the resultant inflammation. In Iran, because of great diversity of climate and geographical conditions, numerous varieties of plants grow and at least 1000 species are recorded as medicinal plants. Many of these plants such as Punica granatum, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Foeniculum vulgare and Polygonum species prescribed by ancient Iranian physicians have been shown to possess anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. In recent literature, different species of native medicinal plants such as Stachys obtusicrena, Salvia mirzayanii, Echium amoenum, Dracocephalum kotschyi and Linum persicum have been shown to have appreciable anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects including inhibitory effects on lymphocyte activation, suppression of cellular and humoral immunity and induction of apoptosis. This review focuses on plants that are used in Iranian traditional medicine and have been reported to act as immunoinhibitory agents.

Where was the birthplace of Pomponio Leto

In the wake of past attempts to identify Pomponio Leto's birthplace in different locations in Southern Italy a fresh review of the evidence is offered, including the lives by the Pomponian disciples Petrus Marsus, Michael Fernus and Marcus Antonius Sabellicus; Giovanni Pontano's and Pietro Ranzano's accounts; records by contemporary diarists; a heading in a manuscript; and sixteenth-century histories. It is suggested that Pomponio's own phrase ut Calaber noster Ennius was intended to give news of Ennius' origins thanks to the rediscovery of Silius' Punica. The sources for Pomponio's origins are then reassessed and a strong case is made for Teggiano in Campania.

Nar’ın (Punica granatum) terapötik etkileri

Summary The pomegranate, Punica granatum L., an ancient, mystical, and highly distinctive fruit, is the predominant member of two species comprising the Punicaceae family. The pomegranate has been widely consumed in many different cultures for thousands of years, largely without incidents, and thus is considered generally safe by the general public. The pomegranate tree, Punica granatum, especially its fruit, possesses a vast ethnomedical history and represents a phytochemical reservoir of heuristic medicinal value. The tree/fruit can be divided into several anatomical compartments: seed, juice, peel, leaf, flower, bark, and roots, each of which has interesting pharmacologic activity. Juice and peels, for example, possess potent antioxidant properties, while juice, peel and oil are all weakly estrogenic. However, the use of juice, peel and oil have also been shown to possess anticancer activities, including interference with tumor cell proliferation, cell cycle, invasion and angiogenesis. In the human and animal studies, pomegranate has been shown to exert significant antiatherogenic, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory effects. It is possible to use pomegranate in the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and ultraviolet radiationinduced skin damage. Increasing body of evidence has underscored the cancer preventive efficacy of pomegranate both in vitro and in vivo animal models. Currently, numerous clinical trials are in progress exploring the therapeutic potential of pomegranate extracts.

EVALUATION OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME COMMERCIAL POMEGRANATE (PUNICA GRANATUM L.) CULTIVARS GROWN IN IRAN

Abstract Iran is one of the most important pomegranate producers and exporters in the world. In spite of various pomegranate cultivars grown in different regions of the country, few published data on the characteristics of the cultivars in the literature are available. The aim of this research was to study the main fruit characteristics of five commercial pomegranate cultivars including ‘Malas-e-Torsh-e-Saveh’, ‘Rabab-e-Neiriz’, ‘Malas-e-Yazdi’, ‘Shishe-Cap-e-Ferdows’ and ‘Naderi-e-Natanz’. Fresh weight, dry weight, volume, length, diameter, peel thickness, aril percentage, juice percentage, total soluble solids (TSS), titrable acidity (TA) and pH were the traits measured. The result of this research may be used to develop an index for cultivars selection for pomegranate production and breeding programs in the future. INTRODUCTION Pomegranate ( Punica granatum L.) belongs to the Punicaceae family and is one of the oldest known edible fruits (Pekmezci and Erkan, 2003). Pomegranates are widely grown in many tropical and subtropical countries, especially in the moderate climate of the Mediterranean regions (Salaheddin and Kader, 1984). In addition, pomegranate trees have great adaptability to adverse climatic conditions, such as saline soils and drought conditions (Sepulveda et al., 2000). Pomegranate has been cultivated for a long time in Iran. There are many wild and cultivated pomegranates throughout Iran. It probably originates from central Asia in regions from Iran to the Himalayas in northern India (Jackson and Looney, 1999). At present, Iran with more than 650,000 tons annual production, is one of the major pomegranate producers and exporters in the world. The most important pomegranate growing regions of the country are Fars, Khorasan, Markazi, Isfahan and Yazd provinces, which include about 75% of the total production of the country. The most important pomegranate cultivars in Iran are ‘Malas-e-Torsh-e-Saveh’, ‘Rabab-e-Neiriz’, ‘Malas-e-Yazdi’, ‘Shishe-Cap-e-Ferdows’ and ‘Naderi-e-Natanz (Budrood)’. Physico-chemical characteristics of some pomegranate cultivars grown in Saveh in Iran have been studied previously (Zamani, 1990). The physico-chemical composition of 25 pomegranate cultivars grown in Iran has been characterized (Barzegar et al., 2004; Fadavi et al., 2005). In addition, the correlation between quantitative and qualitative characteristics of pomegranate fruit has been studied. (Sarkhosh et al., 2005). The main objective of the present research was to study the physico-chemical characteristics of some commercial pomegranate cultivars grown in different regions of Iran.

Analgesic activity of various extracts of Punica granatum (Linn) flowers

Th e extracts of fl owers of Punica granatum (Linn). (N.O. Family Punicaceae) were investigated for analgesic activity in mice using hot plate method. Th e fl owers of Punica granatum (Linn) were collected from the local market of Mumbai, Maharashtra and were in a dried condition. Th e dried powdered fl owers (500 gm) were extracted in a soxhlet apparatus by using diff erent solvents. Mice weighing 15-25 gm were taken for the experiment. Th e reaction time of animals in all the groups was noted at 30, 60 and 120 min after drug administration. All data were analyzed with Student-t test. Th e various extract of the fl owers of Punica granatum (Linn) showed signifi cant analgesic activity at a dose of 50 mg/kg body weight. A maximum analgesic activity was found at 60 min, after drug administration, which was equivalent to the standard drug used as morphine sulphate. Key words: Analgesic activity, mice, Punica granatum (Linn.)

The Poet at War: Ennius on the Field in Silius's Punica

The Poet at War: Ennius on the Field in Silius's Punica

ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF ANTIFUNGAL (Candida albicans) COMPOUND FROM THE HULL OF DELIMA FRUITS (Punica granatum L.)

The hull of delima fruits (Punica granatum L.) are traditionally used to cure dysmenorhoe. Preliminary study indicated that extract of the hull was able to inhibit the growth of Candida albicans. Therefore this study was aimed to isolate and identify active compounds responsible for the activity from the hull of P. granatum. The study was initiated by extracting the powdered material with petroleum ether followed by methanol. Antifungal activity test (100 mg/ml) indicated that the petroleum ether extract was more active than the methanol extract (inhibition zone: 10.59 vs 6.92 mm). The pet. ether extract was triturated by n-hexane to give n-hexane insoluble and n-hexane soluble fractions. The latter that was active (inh. zone: 9.50 vs 0.00 mm) was fractionated by vacuum liquid colomn chromatography (vlc; SiO2, n-hexane with increasing amount of ethylacetate) to give 7 fractions (F1-F7). Fraction 2 (inh. zone: 9.05 mm) and 3 (11.05 mm) displayed antifungal activity, then F3 was subjected to contact bioautography to give 2 active compounds [Rf. 0.50 (major) and 0.10 (minor)]. Preparative tlc [SiO2 F-254 nm; nhexane: ethylasetate 4-1, developed 2x) of F3 was aimed to separate 2 active compounds. Due to limited amount of the minor compound, the MFC was applied only for the major compound (Rf. 0.50; 200 mg/ml). The structure identification was done by mean of spectroscopic methods (uv, ir, ms and nmr) to be a setrol type of compound having stigmastane skeleton, esterified by a long-chain fatty acid. Keywords : Punica granatum L., Candida albicans, active compound, terpenoid

Studies on the hypoglycaemic activity of Punica granatum seed in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats

The hypoglycaemic activity of Punica granatum Linn. (Family Punicaceae) seed extract on rats made diabetic by streptozotocin (STZ) was investigated. The methanol extract of the seed at doses of 300 and 600 mg/kg, and chlorpropamide 200 mg/kg was administered to STZ diabetic rats. The seed extract (150, 300 and 600 mg/kg, orally) caused a significant reduction of blood glucose levels in STZ induced diabetic rats by 47% and 52%, respectively, at the end of 12 h.

The Architecture of the Punica: A Hypothesis

The Architecture of the Punica: A Hypothesis

Regulus and the Serpent in the Punica

Regulus and the Serpent in the Punica