Comparative Morphological and Anatomical Studies of Artemisia absinthium and Artemisia austriaca

Introduction

Artemisia L. (Family: Asteraceae) has long been used as an anti-inflammatory, antihelminthic, antifungal, bactericidal, choleretic, appetite-stimulating agent. Preparations of Artemisia absinthium L. (Family: Asteraceae) and preparations of A. absinthium L. (Family: Asteraceae) (infusion, tincture, herbal infusion for appetite, gastric herbal infusion, thick extract, complex bitter tincture) are used as appetite-stimulating classic bitter-spicy agents.

There are many species of Artemisia L. (Family: Asteraceae), among them A. absinthium L. (Family: Asteraceae), A. austriaca Jacq. (Family: Asteraceae) and other species, that are growing on the territory of the Orenburg region. In fact A. absinthium L. (Family: Asteraceae) can be found in the European part of Russia, in the territory of the CIS countries, in the Caucasus, in South-Western Siberia, in Eastern Siberia, in Kazakhstan. This plant is naturalized in North America. A. absinthium L. (Family: Asteraceae) is a weed plant which may grow mainly of steppes and forest-steppes. A. austriaca Jacq. (Family: Asteraceae) grows in the territory from South-Western Europe to North-West China. This plant prefers dry meadows, steppes, forest edges, saline areas. These plants are closely related species, but they have different morphological and anatomical features [1-7]. Due to the fact that currently the official is raw material from A. absinthium L. (Family: Asteraceae) relevant is the question of diagnosis of this type of medicinal plant. Now the State Pharmacopoeia of Russia, XIV edition contains the Pharmacopoeia article on herb of A. absinthium L. (Family: Asteraceae). This article contains anatomical and histological features of raw materials of A. absinthium L. (Family: Asteraceae). However this article has no information about impurities of closely related plants [8].

Purpose of the study is comparative anatomical and histological research for herb of A. absinthium L. (Family: Asteraceae) and herb of A. austriaca Jacq. (Family: Asteraceae).

Materials and Methods

An object of the study was raw materials which had been prepared on June 2018 in Orenburg, Orenburg region. We used a light microscope (digital microscope «Motic DM111» with the possibility of increasing 4×10; 10×10; 40×10; 100×10) for anatomical and histological research.
We used this technique to prepare micropreparations of plant material samples. Herb was placed in a flask or in a test-tube, then a solution of Natrii hydroxydum 5% diluted with water (1: 1) was added, then this mixture was boiled for 2 min. Contents of the glass were transferred with the small amount of water to a Petri dish. The pieces were removed from the water with a scalpel or spatula and placed on a glass slide in a drop of the solution of chloral hydrate or the solution of glycerin 33% [8].

Conclusion

1. Morphological, anatomical and histological features of the herb of A. absinthium L. (Family: Asteraceae), the herb of A. austriaca Jacq. (Family: Asteraceae) were studied.

2. As a result of morphological and anatomical and histological studies of the leaves of A. absinthium L. (Family: Asteraceae) the classical structure of the leaf was confirmed and the structural features of the leaves of this species were determined

3. A. austriaca Jacq. (Family: Asteraceae) is characterized by the following distinguishing features: an abundance of T-shaped filaments of characteristic shape, structural features of the essential oil glands and inclusions.

4. A. absinthium L. (Family: Asteraceae) is characterized by the following distinguishing features: the cuticle tortuosity, the characteristic structure of the essential oil glands, the abundance of not only T-shaped but also simple filaments.

5. On the basis of the results of morphological and anatomical and histological studies, developed the criteria of differential diagnosis of the herb of A. absinthium L. (Family: Asteraceae) and the herb of A. austriaca Jacq. (Family: Asteraceae) which allow to identify the corresponding medicinal raw materials reliably.

References

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