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Ethnobotanical Leaflets 13: 1232-39.
2009. Comparative
Morphological and Anatomical Studies on the Leaf and Stem of some Medicinal
Plants: Jatropha curcas L. and Jatropha tanjorensis J.L. Ellis
and Saroja (Euphorbiaceae) 1M. Idu*, 2 O.
Timothy, 3 H.I. Onyibe and 1A.O. Comor 1Department
of Botany, University of Benin, P.M.B. 1154, Benin City, Nigeria 2Department
of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, P.M.B. 10, Oghara, Delta State,
Nigeria 3Department
of Botany, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria *E-mail: macdonaldidu@hotmail.com Issued 01 October 2009 Abstract Morphological and anatomical
investigations were carried out on two species of Jatropha: J. curcas and J. tanjorensis. These studies
were carried out on the leaf and stem of these plants using the light
microscope fitted with a Nikkon digital camera. Trichomes were observed in the leaf section of J.
tanjorensis whereas these were lacking in J. curcas. The lower palisade
parenchyma of J. tanjorensis consists of fewer layers but is thicker
compared to that of J. curcas,
which possessed more but thinner palisade layer. Key words: Morphological, anatomical, medicinal plants, Jatropha curcas, J. tanjorensis. Introduction The family
Euphorbiaceae contains 290 genera and 750 species. They may be shrubs, trees
and herbs, but rarely lianas. Many are xerophytes and cactoid and produce
milky latex (Gill, 1988). The representatives Jatropha curcas and J.
tanjorensis are of considerable economic importance as they provide food,
drugs and may be cultivated as ornamentals. They are predominant in the
tropics and subtropics. J. curcas is a shrub or tree
dispersed and naturalized through the tropics, propagated by cuttings and
seeds (Okujagu et al., 2005). The latex of J. curcas obtained directly from the
stem of the plant can be applied directly to cuts, wounds and may be mixed
with salt to clean the teeth. J. tanjorensis is a
common weed of field crops, bush re-growth, roadside and disturbed places in
the higher rainfall forest zones of West Africa including Nigeria. It is
useful in herbal medicine, prepared locally in most parts of Southern Nigeria
by collecting the leaves and squeezing out the juice. This is taken to reduce
hypertension and also as malaria therapy. Anatomical study of medicinal
plants is significant in pharmacognosy and to prevent adulteration as well as
evolve the specific parameters for authenticity and quality control of raw
drugs (Bernerjee and Mukherjee, 2001; Gupta et al., 2001). Earlier contributors to similar studies include Edeoga (1991),
Ugborogho et al. (1992), Obute and Omotayo (1999), Edeoga and Eboka
(2000), Idu et al. (2000), Gill and Mensah (2001). There is however
a general dearth of information on J. tanjorensis, and
no documented report about its anatomical features. Also, the physiognomic
similarities between the two species under investigation require that further
parameters be investigated in order to adequately separate them. The present
study seeks to address some of these needs. Materials and MethodsA sample of J. curcas was collected from the botanical garden in University of Benin while J. tanjorensis was collected from a home garden in BDPA, Ugbowo, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. The corresponding author properly identified both species. Morphological study was by physical observation and measurement of their fresh leaf and stem specimens. For the anatomical studies, the fresh samples were fixed in Booing fixative and cross sections obtained using a microtome (Johansen, 1940). The slide preparations were independently stained with heamatoxyline and safranin. A light microscope was used to view the slides and adjusted to finest resolution. Microphotographs were obtained using a Nikkon digital camera focused through the microscope eyepiece. The terminology of Metcalfe and Chalk (1950) was used in this report. Results and Discussion The anatomical features among the Jatropha
species investigated were summarized in Table 1. While Figure 1 illustrates the transverse
and abaxial microscopic views of J. tanjorensis and J.
curcas leaves,
while Figure 2 represents the microscopic anatomy of their stems. Morphologically,
J. curcas are biennial or perennial herbs, woody at the base.
Stem is erect, 1.80-7.0m, branched at the top. Leaves 10.0-15.0 cm x 9.0-12.5
cm, digitately veined and serrate to palmately lobed. While J. tanjorensis
is an erect perennial herb 90-120m woody and branched at the base. Leaves
4.0-11.0 cm x 2.0-5.5 cm, palmately veined, palmately lobed, hastate and
pubescent. Table 1: Comparison of Anatomical
Characteristics between J. curcas and J. tanjorensis.
Fig. 1.
Photomicrographs of leaf sections (x40). A & B, Transverse section of J. tanjorensis and J. curcas respectively showing the structural arrangement of layers; C & D, Surface section (Abaxial) of J. tanjorensis and J. curcas respectively showing density of stomata and presence of trichomes: uep- Upper epidermis, upp- Upper palisade parenchyma, sp- Spongy parenchyma, lpp- Lower palisade parenchyma, lep- Lower epidermis, gh- Glandular hair, st- Stomata, ep- epidermis.
pa Fig. 2.
Photomicrographs of T.S. of stem (x40). A & B, S. jamaicensis and S. cayennensis respectively showing structural pattern: ep- Epidermis, co-
Collenchyma, pa- Parenchyma, ph- Phloem, x- Xylem. Morphologically, the representatives were erect, branched and woody. The leaf surface of J. tanjorensis was pubescent while J. curcas was glabrous. Trichomes were present on the adaxial and abaxial surfaces of the leaf of J. tanjorensis being more prominent on the abaxial surface. The stem of J. curcas consists
of thicker epidermal layer than that of J. tanjorensis whereas the
reverse is true in their leaf anatomy. Major differences
observed in the microscopic views included the following: The lower palisade
parenchyma of J. tanjorensis consists of fewer layers but is thicker,
while that of J. curcas are more but thinner (Table 1). Trichomes were
observed in the leaf section of J. tanjorensis whereas these were
lacking in J. curcas. There was also the presence of more stomata on
the abaxial surface of J. tanjorensis. ReferencesBanerjee, G. and Mukherjee, A. 2001. Pharmacognostic studies on Portulaca
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