OBJECTIVETo investigate the influences of lightness and temperature on seeds germination of Salvia officinalis, and offer the basis for the standardized cultivation of S. officinalis.

METHODThe morphological characters, 1 000-grains weight and rate of water absorption of the seed were observed, the germination capacity, percent of germination power and germination index at the five different degrees: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 degrees C were also measared.

RESULT1 000-grains weight of the seeds was 8.03 g, the rate of water absorption is 49% within 24 h, the highest rate of germination capacity reached 85.33%, the germination index is 45.56.

CONCLUSIONThe lightness and 25 degrees C are the most suitable parameters for the seed germination of S. officinalis.

Germination ; Light ; Plants, Medicinal ; growth & development ; physiology ; Salvia officinalis ; growth & development ; physiology ; Seeds ; growth & development ; physiology ; Temperature ; Water

OBJECTIVETo determine the anticandidal activities of Salvia officinalis L. (S. officinalis) essential oil against Candida albicans (C. albicans) and the inhibitory effects on the adhesion of C. albicans to polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) resin surface.

METHODSDisc diffusion method was first used to test the anticandidal activities of the S. officinalis L. essential oil against the reference strain (ATCC 90028) and 2 clinical strains of C. albicans. Then the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal lethal concentration (MLC) were determined by modified membrane method. The adhesion of C. albicans to PMMA resin surface was assessed after immersion with S. officinalis L. essential oil at various concentrations of 1×MIC, 0.5×MIC and 0.25×MIC at room temperature for 30 min. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the Candida cell adhesion with the pretreatment agents and Tukey's test was used for multiple comparisons.

RESULTSS. officinalis L. essential oil exhibited anticandidal activity against all strains of C. albicans with inhibition zone ranging from 40.5 mm to 19.5 mm. The MIC and MLC of the oil were determined as 2.780 g/L against all test strains. According to the effects on C. albicans adhesion to PMMA resin surface, it was found that immersion in the essential oil at concentrations of 1×MIC (2.780 g/L), 0.5×MIC (1.390 g/L) and 0.25×MIC (0.695 g/L) for 30 min significantly reduced the adhesion of all 3 test strains to PMMA resin surface in a dose dependent manner (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSS. officinalis L. essential oil exhibited anticandidal activities against C. albicans and had inhibitory effects on the adhesion of the cells to PMMA resin surface. With further testing and development, S. officinalis essential oil may be used as an antifungal denture cleanser to prevent candidal adhesion and thus reduce the risk of candida-associated denture stomatitis.

Antifungal Agents ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Candida albicans ; drug effects ; Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Oils, Volatile ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Salvia officinalis ; chemistry

The present work evaluated the effects of alcoholic extracts of salvia (Salvia officinalis), thyme (Thymus vulgaris), and 2 pure compounds (thymol and menthol) on the viability of Echinococcus granulosus protoscolices in vitro. Four different concentrations of each extract (2,500, 1,500, 1,000, and 500 microg/ml) and 3 different concentrations each of thymol and menthol (50, 10, and 1 microg/ml) were used. Concentration of 2,500 microg/ml of both extracts showed a significant protoscolicidal activity on the 6th day. Complete loss of viability of protoscolices occurred with 500 microg/ml concentration of both extracts at day 6 and day 7 post-treatment (PT), respectively. Pure compounds, i.e., menthol and thymol, showed potent effects with 50 microg/ml concentration at day 2 and day 5 PT, respectively. These effects were compared with those of albendazole sulfoxide (800 microg/ml), a commonly used treatment drug for hydatidosis. Krebs-Ringer solution and the hydatid cystic fluid at a ratio of 4:1 was a good preservative solution which kept the protoscolices viable for 15 days.
Animals ; Anthelmintics/isolation & purification/*pharmacology ; Camels ; Cell Survival/drug effects ; Echinococcosis, Pulmonary/*parasitology ; Echinococcus granulosus/*drug effects/isolation & purification ; Lung/parasitology ; Medicine, Traditional/methods ; Plant Extracts/isolation & purification/*pharmacology ; Plants, Medicinal/*chemistry ; Salvia officinalis/chemistry ; Thymus Plant/chemistry ; Time Factors

AIM: The anti-leishmanial activity of methanolic extracts of Calendula officinalis flowers, Datura stramonium seeds, and Salvia officinalis leaves against extracellular (promastigote) and intracellular (amastigote) forms of Leishmania major were evaluated in this study. METHOD: In the first stage, promastigote forms of L. major, were treated with different doses of the plant extracts in a 96-well tissue-culture microplate and IC50 values for each extract were measured with colorimetric MTT assay. In the second stage, macrophage cells were infected with L. major promastigotes. Infected macrophages were treated with plant extracts. Then the macrophages were stained with Gimsa and the number of infected macrophages and amastigotes were counted with a light microscope. RESULTS: The results indicated that the plant extracts inhibited the growth of promastigotes and amastigotes of L. major. Inhibitory concentrations (IC50) for promastigote assay were 108.19, 155.15, and 184.32 μgmL(-1) for C. officinalis flowers, D. stramonium seeds and S. officinalis, respectively. The extracts also reduced the number of amastigotes in macrophage cells from 264 for control group to 88, 97, and 102 for test groups. Although the anti-leishmanial activity of the extracts were not comparable with the standard drug, miltefosine; but they showed significant efficiency in reducing the number of amastigotes in macrophages, in comparison with the control group (P < 0.001). These plant extracts had lower toxicity compared with miltefosine. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates the potential efficacy of the methanolic extracts of C. officinalis flowers, D. stramonium seeds, and S. officinalis leaves to control of cutaneous leishmaniasis.
Antiparasitic Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Calendula ; Cell Line ; Datura stramonium ; Flowers ; In Vitro Techniques ; Leishmania major ; drug effects ; Leishmaniasis ; drug therapy ; parasitology ; Macrophages ; drug effects ; parasitology ; Phytotherapy ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Plant Leaves ; Salvia officinalis ; Seeds