Abstract: Curculigo orchioides is a highly medicinal plant. The present study provides detailed microscopic studies of the plant. The rhizome, root and leaves were cut and fixed in FAA. After 24 hrs. of fixing, the specimens were dehydrated with a graded series of tertiary Butyl alcohol as per the schedule. Infiltration of the specimens was carried by gradual addition of paraffin wax until TBA solution attained super saturation. The paraffin-embedded specimens were sectioned with the help of Rotary Microtome. The thickness of the section was 10-12 µm. The section was stained with Toluidine blue. For normal observations bright field was used. Crystals, starch grains and lignified cells, the polarized light was employed. The leaf exhibits circinate vernation of the lamina where the leaf is folded longitudinally into deep grooves and thick ridges; the grooves and ridges are alternate in the horizontal plane. The rhizome which is deep in the soil exhibits certain characteristic features. There is a well-developed periderm all around the rhizome. The periderm is uniformly 150µm thick, comprising six or seven layers of rectangular, thin-walled, homogeneous and suberized phellem cells. The vascular bundles are scanty in this region. The raphide bundles are 25 µm thick and 80 µm long. The variation in the thickness of the midrib, lateral veins, lamina, and vascular strands may be attributed to the difference in the nutrient in the substratum where the plants grow. This anatomical character should be helpful to authentication of the C. orchioides sample.
Keywords: Curculigo orchioides, Anatomy, Rhizome, Crystals, Starch grains.
Title: Pharmacognosy of an ethnomedicinal plant- Curculigo orchioides Gaertn
Author: Rajanikanth Garapati, Rajesh Govindan, Babu Rao Karasala, Ramesh Narayanaperumal
International Journal of Life Sciences Research
ISSN 2348-313X (Print), ISSN 2348-3148 (online)
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