Abstract
The present study was conducted to investigate the micromorphological structure and phytochemical constituents of Opuntia littoralis stem (cladodes) growing at the western Mediterranean coast of Egypt. The cladodes were collected during the wet season (February) and dry season (September) of 2015. The size of the cladode cells differ from wet to dry season, where both composed of thin cuticle covering the epidermis, hypodermis layer, parenchyma with storage cells and scattered bicollateral vascular bundles. The stem cells facing the sun contain pheloderm layer to protect the plant. The presence of high amounts of calcium oxalate crystals was also demonstrated. Phytochemical screening of Opuntia littoralis cladodes showed that it contains many of active phytochemical constituents such as; flavonoids, tannins, carbohydrates, glycosides, terpens and coumarines.
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