MICROSTRUCTURAL FEATURES OF THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF DELPHIUM FLEXUOSUM BIEB. COMMON IN GEORGIA

Abstract

The genus Delphinium L. is rich in diterpene alkaloids, which exhibit a pronounced curare-like, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antidote and insecticidal action. The content of diterpene alkaloids in the aboveground and unde-ground vegetative organs of Delphinium flexuosum Bieb., a promising medicinal plant of the flora of Georgia, and diagnostic features of the internal structure were studied in order to determine the identity of the experimental raw material.GC/MS analysis revealed that the dominant alkaloid obtained from the vegetative organs of the plant is the pharmacologically active methyllicaconitine.  Other alkaloids have been identified as anthranoillocytonine, delcosine, lycotonine. As well, the underground organs contain also zongorine, delectine and norzongoramine. A set of diagnostic features of the internal structure of D. flexuosum was determined using the methods adopted in microtechnics. The leaf of D. flexuosum is bifacial, hypostomatic and has dorsoventral structure. It is very rarely covered with long conical trichomes, the underlying cells of the lower and upper epidermis of the leaf are non-wrinkled and curved. The differential stomatal apparatus in leaf-covering tissue is anomocytic.  Stomata are lenticular, and structure of the stomata is chaotic, in terms of the reciprocal location of the locking cells. The leaf pulp is differentiated into open, reverse-collateral conductive cones. The aboveground organs of D. flexuosum are characterized by an orderly aligned structural elements of the epidermal tissue, with linear and straight-walled stem cells and orderly arranged anomocytic stomata. Collenchymal and fibrous cells of the mechanical type and open-collateral type conducting cones with a thickening of the spiral and reticular membrane are actively reflected in the organs of the plant axis. The conductive tissue of the root system of D. flexuosum contains a number of polar rays of the wood with differentiated stepwise, spiral and ring-shaped tracheal elements.