Anatomy, histochemistry and phytochemical profile of leaf and stem bark of Bathysa cuspidata (Rubiaceae)

Abstract

Bathysa cuspidata (A. St. Hil.) Hook. f. ex K. Schum. is a species native to the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil, with stem bark currently used in folk medicine. Uncontrolled bark collections cause problems of environmental sustainability, making it necessary to evaluate more abundant and renewable new sources of raw plant material, such as leaves. This work evaluated the anatomy, histochemistry and phytochemistry of leaves and stem bark of B. cuspidata, aiming to find similarities in the chemical composition between these plant parts and to provide anatomical data to supplement the quality control of this plant drug. Common light and scanning electron microscopy techniques were used in the anatomical and histochemical studies. Thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography were used for the phytochemistry analysis. The concentration of total phenolics was determined using the Folin–Ciocalteau method and the contents of proanthocyanidins using the vanillin reagent. The leaves and bark of B. cuspidata display morphoanatomical characters common to the family Rubiaceae. The histochemical and phytochemical results reveal similarities and differences between the leaves and bark of B. cuspidata, suggesting that the extracts of both parts should be considered and subjected to pharmacological studies in order to investigate the effectiveness of the therapeutic actions reported in folk medicine.

Leaf anatomy of Cordiera sessilis (Vell.) Kuntze (RUBIACEAE)

“…Hypostomatic leaves, paracytic stomata, dorsiventral mesophyll and collateral bundles in C. sessilis leaves agree with the general anatomical characters described for Rubiaceae family (Coelho et al, 2012;Moraes et al, 2011;Erbano & Duarte, 2010;Bremer, 2009). However, other characteristics may have diagnostic value being useful for recognition of C. sessilis leaves like the micromorphological organization of blade leaves, the pattern of the petiole, presence of druses and clusters of single calcium oxalate crystals and alkaloids in the mesophyll and absence of raphids.…”

“…According to Melo, Nascimento, Amorim, Lima, and Albuquerque (2004), this fact may lead to inaccurate or dangerous use of plant drugs. The leaf anatomy studies are important for the Rubiaceae taxonomy (Campbell, Rabelo, & Cunha, 2016;Coelho, Leite, Nunes, & Ventrella, 2012;Moraes, Rabelo, Alexandrino, Silva Neto, & Cunha, 2011). Hypostomatic leaves, paracytic stomata, straight-walled epidermal cells, dorsiventral mesophyll and the collateral vascular system are usual characters of Rubiaceae family (Solereder, 1908;Metcalfe & Chalk, 1950).…”

Análise comparativa da anatomia da madeira de 41 espécies de Rubiaceae sob enfoque taxonômico.

“…), e Cinchonoideae (13 sp. ), disponíveis em periódicos científicos (Tabela 1), em publicações de Marchiori (1987), Callado & Silva Neto (2003), Pollito & Tomazello (2006), Coelho et al (2012), Léon (2011), Siegloch et al (2011) e Baldin & Marchiori (2015, 2015a.…”

Pharmacognostic Profile of Root and Stem of Indigofera Tirunelvelica Sanjappa

“…8 The structural analysis pinpoints idiosyncratic aspects that can be effective in determining the accuracy of medicinal plant species. [9][10][11] Apart from anatomical study Histochemical localisation of secondary metabolites were also performed in this study. Secondary metabolites present in a plant can be considered as its chemical individuality as their composition differ from species to species.…”