Abstract
Backgound: B. monnieri (Linn.) Pennell is a slender, creeping and mat forming herb well adapted to grow in both terrestrial and submersed conditions. It is an important medicinal plant belongs to the family Plantaginaceae and espoused as a source for the Ayurvedic drug brahmi. Objectives: The present study aims to delineate the morphological and histomorpho diagnostic profile of the stem, root and leaves of brahmi and analyze their qualitative and quantitative anatomical peculiarities to support the pharmacobotanical characterizations using digital, stereo and polarized microscopic techniques. Results: Cross section of lamina had shown a homogeneous mesophyll fails to differentiate into palisade and spongy tissues. Lamina was amphistomatic which contained three different types of stomatal complexes vz., diacytic, anisocytic and anomoteracytic. The mean number of stoma per square millimeter of leaf area was found to be higher in adaxial surface (656.9/mm2) than abaxial (433.3/mm2) with a corresponding stomatal index of 15.2 and 9.4 respectively. Adventitious root in cross section gave ‘spokes in a wheel’ appearance and shoot cortex architecture had shown honey-comb pattern of aerenchyma chambers. Vascular bundles were many, conjoint and closed, where a centra solid core of xylem encircled by phloem. Crystal ideoblasts of calcium oxalate were observed in characteristic tissues of epidermis of the leaves, mesophyll, cortical tissues of stem, and intervening walls of the file of cells of diaphragms in stem and adventitious roots. Conclusion: The above delineated anatomical characteristics in conjunction with aerenchyma in root and shoot tissues as an effective water tolerance mechanism to thrive prolonged submergence in water logged conditions could provide valuable tags as useful markers for pharmacological identification of the taxon.
Highlights
The genus Bacopa was first described by Aublet in 17751 and he coined the term bacopa from a Latinized form of the aboriginal name called for these plants indigenous caribe (AmericanIndian) people of the French Guiana and the type specimen for species was named as Bacopa aquatica.[2]
Crystal ideoblasts of calcium oxalate were observed in characteristic tissues of epidermis of the leaves, mesophyll, cortical tissues of stem, and intervening walls of the file of cells of diaphragms in stem and adventitious roots
Water repellent cuticle layer avoid the wetting of leaf surfaces and help in gas exchange between stomata and outer atmosphere, especially when the plant is in submerged condition
Summary
The genus Bacopa was first described by Aublet in 17751 and he coined the term bacopa from a Latinized form of the aboriginal name called for these plants indigenous caribe (AmericanIndian) people of the French Guiana and the type specimen for species was named as Bacopa aquatica.[2] In the earlier morphology-based taxonomic classification[3] the genus Bacopa was included under the family Scrophulariaceae, but the DNA- based molecular phylogenetic analyses have currently circumscribed it along with foxglove (Digitalis), hedge hyssop (Gratiola), snapdragon (Antirrhinum), and pysllium (Plantago psyllium) which were all formerly in the Figwort family (Scrophulariaceae) are included under Plantaginaceae family.[4] The genus Bacopa comprises about 60 species of aquatic plants distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, most of which are native to America.[5,6] B. monnierioides, B. paraguariensis, B. congesta, B. dubia, B. hassleriana, B. pedersenii, B.ranaria, B. simulans, B. monniera and B. floribunda are some of the important species of the genus. Bacopa monnieri is the most widely distributed species amongst the genus, reported to have present in almost all the continents, and being the most diverse species with the greatest number of representatives worldwide.
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