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Botanical Characterization of Guiera senegalensis Leaves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 September 2008

Olga Silva ,
Rita Serrano  and
Elsa Teixeira Gomes
Olga Silva*
Affiliation:
iMed.UL/CECF, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-019 Lisbon, Portugal
Rita Serrano
Affiliation:
iMed.UL/CECF, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-019 Lisbon, Portugal
Elsa Teixeira Gomes
Affiliation:
iMed.UL/CECF, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-019 Lisbon, Portugal
*
Corresponding author. E-mail: odsilva@ff.ul.pt
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Abstract

Guiera senegalensis J. F. Gmel. (Combretaceae) is one of the most important West African medicinal plants, often used to treat a variety of microbial infections. The most frequently used plant part is the leaf, its medicinal use being corroborated by several in vitro antimicrobial activity studies. However, quality criteria for pharmaceutical use, including botanical identification, are not yet determined. Aiming the establishment of such criteria, the present work deepens today's knowledge on G. senegalensis leaf morphology and anatomy, the anatomical characters of both leaf transversal section and powdered leaves being hereby presented for the first time. The most useful characters for identification purposes are leaf isobilateral organization, with similar upper and lower surfaces and a palisade parenchyma on both surfaces; trichome insertion points on both epidermis, surrounded by polar arrangements of cells; tomentose indumentum on the upper epidermis consisting of compartmented and uniseriated trichomes with long, curved, or straight terminal cells; brown scales, isolated or inserted into the epidermis, formed by radially arranged cells surrounding a central cell, with a more or less circular form and a conspicuous base; calcium oxalate cluster crystals, isolated or inserted into the palisade parenchyma and absent in lateral veins.

Keywords

African medicinal plantbotanical identificationCombretaceaeGuiera senegalensispharmacognostic charactersplant drug analysis
Type
Biological Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 14 , Issue 5 , October 2008 , pp. 398 - 404
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2008

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References

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