Atefeh Amirahmadi

Chromosome numbers were determined in ten accessions of Phlomis olivieri Benth. (Lamiaceae). The seeds were collected from natural habitats in the west of Iran. Chromosome numbers of all accessions were 2n=2x=20. The chromosomes of accessions were metacentric or submetacentric, ranging in length from 2.66 to 8.604 μm. According to the average values of ten accessions, the karyotype of this species consists of 10 pairs of metacentric chromosomes. An ideogram was depicted for the species. This is the first report on the chromosome number and karyotype analysis of P. olivieri from Iran. © 2018 University of Zagreb. All arights reserved.

Onobrychis sect. Heliobrychis with ca. 30 species is one of the most species-rich sections of Onobrychis. It comprises predominantly perennials mainly distributed in Iran, Turkey, and Transcaucasia. In order to test the monophyly of the section and as well as its subsections and to clarify interspecific relationships, three non-coding chloroplast sequences and the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer were employed. Phylogenetic analyses were performed by maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference. Based on the combined data set, O. sect. Heliobrychis was retrieved as a well-supported monophyletic group sister to O. sect. Hymenobrychis. The annuals traditionally united in subsect. Persicae formed a paraphyletic group, whereas all perennials (the monotypic subsect. Szovitsianae nested within subsect. Boissierianae) assembled in a monophyletic group. Ancestral state reconstruction of morphological characters: life history, the absence/presence of stem, and the number of seed, indicated that annuality is plesiomorphic, whereas the absence of a stem and two-seeded pods is homoplasious in the section. Based on molecular phylogeny and morphological evidence, the taxonomy of some species of sect. Heliobrychis was re-examined. Therewith, O. aucheri subsp. aucheri was synonymized with O. heliocarpa, O. aucheri subsp. psammophila and O. aucheri subsp. teheranica were raised to species rank as O. psammophila and O. teheranica, respectively, and O. semnanensis was resurrected. Also as a complementary taxonomic treatment, a diagnostic key to the species of O. sect. Heliobrychis is supplied. © 2018, Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.

Drymocallis damghanensis Naderi and Faghir (Rosaceae) is described as a new species. The specimens were collected during a floristic study of an unexplored area on the rocky slopes of the Eastern Alborz Mountains (Damghan, Iran). Drymocallis damghanensis can be distinguished by its hairy carpels and rounded-obtuse teeth in leaflets. Here it is compared with the morphologically most closest taxa D. poteriifolia and D. schiraziana. © 2017 Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board.

The present study was conducted to analyze the phylogenetic status of the genus Onobrychis and to evaluate the monophyly of its subgenera and sections and relationship among them. We sequenced the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (nrDNA ITS) and three chloroplast regions trnL-F, rpl32/rpl32-trnL(UAG) and ndhF-rlp32 for phylogenetic reconstruction of 51 species of Onobrychis. In all of our analyses, Eversmannia subspinosa, Corethrodendron scoparium, Greuteria membranacea and G. argyrea were chosen as outgroups. Phylogenetic analyses were performed by maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. Our molecular data indicate that Onobrychis is monophyletic and composed of two main clades, each corresponding to the redefined subgenus Onobrychis (including sections Onobrychis and Hemicyclobrychis) and subgenus Sisyrosema (including sections Afghanicae, Laxiflorae, Heliobrychis, Hymenobrychis, Insignes, Lipskyanae and Litvinovianae), respectively. Sections Lipskyanae and Litvinovianae are newly established and described, representing distinct lineages within the genus. Onobrychis splendida, a species hitherto without a sectional position, along with some members of sect. Anthyllium were retrieved representatives of section Lipskyanae. Sections Afghanicae, Insignes, Heliobrychis and Hymenobrychis (with the inclusion of two species of section Anthyllium) are monophyletic. Sections Dendrobrychis and Lophobrychis are reduced to synonymy of section Onobrychis and Anthyllium to synonymy of section Hymenobrychis. A taxonomic treatment for the genus is presented. © 2016, Springer-Verlag Wien.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Complementary and alternative medicine has been increasingly used to treat chronic illnesses, such as diabetes mellitus. However, various limitations in terms of their application and efficacies exist. Furthermore, there is still much to be done to discover the right herbal medicine for diabetes. Aim of the study This paper aims to evaluate previous herbal studies on the management of diabetes mellitus, to address their strengths and weaknesses and propose a general framework for future studies. Approach and methods Data sources such as PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, SpringerLink, and Wiley were searched, limited to Iran, using 36 search terms such as herbal, traditional, medicine, and phytopharmacy in combination with diabetes and related complications. Reviewed articles were evaluated regarding the use of botanical nomenclature and included information on (1) identity of plants and plant parts used, (2) the processing procedure, and (3) the extraction process. The main outcomes were extracted and then surveyed in terms of the efficacies of herbs in the management of diabetes mellitus. Then a comparative study was performed between Iranian and non-Iranian studies with respect to herbs best studied in Iran. Results Of the 82 herbs studied in Iran, only six herbs were endemic and 19 were studied in detail. Although most of the reviewed herbs were found to decrease the level of blood glucose (BG) and/or glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) in both Iranian and non-Iranian studies, information on their pharmacological mechanisms is scarce. However, the level of HbA1C was measured in a limited number of clinical trials or animal studies. Available information on both short- and long-term use of studied herbs on diabetes related complications and functions of involved organs as well as comorbid depression and/or simultaneous changes in lifesyle is also insufficient. Furthermore, little or no information on their phytochemical, toxicological, and herb-drug interaction properties is available. It is worth noting that the efficacy of the reviewed herbs has been studied scarcely in both humans and animals regarding both Iranian and non-Iranian studies. A significant number of reviewed articles failed to cite the scientific name of herbs and include information on the processing procedure and the extraction process. Conclusions Treatment of diabetes mellitus as a multifactorial disease using herbal medicines requires a comprehensive approach. In order to discover the right herbal medicine for the management of diabetes many other important factors than the levels of BG, HbA1C and insulin should be considered. According to our criteria, all the reviewed herbs suffered from inadequate investigation in human, animal and in vitro models in this respect, whereas they are worth investigating further. However, more research on endemic plants and the traditional history of herbal medicine is warranted. In our opinion, the pharmacological, toxicological, and phytochemical information should be obtained before clinical trials. Furthermore, information such as botanical scientific nomenclature, side effects, and toxicity will improve the quality and validity of publications in herbal research. In particular, designing a database covering all valid information about herbs and/or diseases will decrease unnecessary costs and increase the efficiency of research. © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Background: More than 60 species of the genus Lathyrus are distributed in Southwest Asia. It is the second largest genus of the tribe Fabeae, after Vicia, in the region (and in Iran with 23 species). In the regional Flora (Flora of Turkey, Flora Iranica and flora of Iran), the genus has been divided into 9-10 sections. Here we analyzed the phylogeny of Lathyrus and its relationship with Pisum based on plastid gene matK sequences. Objectives: The present study utilized several approaches including maximum parsimony, Bayesian and maximum likelihood methods to evaluate the monophyly and relationship within the genus Lathyrus, both at the sectional level and species level, mainly based on the taxa growing in Iran. Materials and Methods: A total of 52 accessions, representing 38 species of Lathyrus, three species of Pisum and four species of Vicia and Lens as out-groups, were analyzed for reconstructing the phylogenetic relationship using chloroplast gene matK sequences. Maximum parsimony, Bayesian and maximum likelihood methods were used to construct phylogenetic trees. Results: The present study indicated that Pisum was nested among Lathyrus species. Two members of the Lathyrus section, Clymenum (Lathyrus ochrus and L. Clymenum) with Pisum, formed a weakly supported clade as sister to the larger polytomy comprising the remainder of the Lathyrus species. Several sections of Lathyrus including Lathyrostylis, Lathyrus and Clymenum were monophyletic. Lathyrus roseus (of the monotypic section Orobon) were nested among the members of section Lathyrus. The newly taxon described species L. alamutensis, endemic to Iran, were nested among other species of Lathyrostylis. Linearicarpus, Orobus and Pratensis were not monophyletic sections. Pratensis and the monotypic section Aphaca were the closest taxa. In our analysis, L. Pratensis formed a sister group relationship with the Aphaca clade, not its own section. Conclusions: Shimodaira-Hasegawa (SH) test of the matK data set showed that all of the analyzed Lathyrus species formed their own clade and Pisum was sister to them. Furthermore, when we removed the two above-mentioned Lathyrus species, the analysis retrieved Pisum, as a well-supported clade being sister to the Lathyrus calde. © 2014, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology; Published by Kowsar Corp.

Phylogenetic relationships among species of Astragalus sect. Ammodendron were reconstructed using nrDNA ITS and two cpDNAs trnT. trnY and psbA. trnH, separately and in combination. The present analyses do not support the monophyly of section Ammodendron at the current status. A stragalus griffithii and A stragalus ovalis were nested in separate clades apart from the well supported Ammodendron s. str. clade. The members of Ammodendron s. str. are characterized by shrubby/sub-shrubby habit and imparipinnate leaves of mostly 1-3 pairs of leaflets. Two molecular synapomorphies for this clade are a deletion of 36-bp in ITS1 and a 6-bp deletion in psbA. trnH regions. Resolution within the sect. Ammodendron s. str. is very poor due to the low rate of evolutionary change in nucleotides. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

A selection of Boraginaceae genera was used to obtain a framework for the phylogenetic position of some tribes belong to subfamily Boraginoideae and genera within tribe Eritrichieae (Heterocaryum, Rochelia, Eritrichium, Lappula, Lepechiniella, and Asperugo) and related species. Our results were produced on the basis of nrDNA ITS and cpDNAtrnL-F sequences. The combined nrDNA ITS trnL-F data confirm four main clades of Boraginoideae comprising Echiochileae, Boragineae, Lithospermeae, and Cynoglosseae s. l. (including Eritrichieae, Cynoglosseae s. str., and Myosotideae). The tribe Eritrichieae itself at the current status is paraphyletic; some members, for example Asperugo procumbens, Lepechiniella inconspicua, Myosotidium hortensia, and Cryptantha flavoculata are placed out of the core tribe Eritrichieae. The genus Heterocaryum is monophyletic and allied with a subclade of genera Lappula, Lepechiniella, Eritrichium, and Rochelia. Rochelia is monophyletic, but Eritrichium and Lappula are non-monophyletic. Lepechiniella is nested among a group of Lappula species. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Wien.