Anatomical and Histochemical Characterization of Leaves of Luffa cylindrica (L.) M. Roem

Abstract

The Cucurbitaceae family have 134 genera and encompass over 965 species. The principal genera about to the family are Bryonopsis, Citrullus, Corallocarpus, Cucumis, Cucurbita, Lagenaria, Luffa, Momordica and Trichosanthes and they can be cultivated in the tropics, subtropics, arid and temperate regions. 1-3 The cucurbits are herbaceous. The most species having large leaves, the foliage is whole or in deep lobes and they can be climbing or creeping plants. The flowers are having differences sexes and a large inferior ovary. After fertilization, the ovary develops into a fruit processing hard exocarp, fleshy mesocarp and endocarp. 4-5 Many cucurbits' fruits have been an ingredient for the culinary and are eaten when immature or mature by salads, sweets, desserts or pickled. 6-7 Besides being food, some species are often used in popular medicine throughout the world, such as in America, 8-9 Africa 10-11 and Asia. 12-13 The principal parts of the plant used to treat icterus, gastric diseases, diabetes, sinusitis, lung diseases, fever, cancer, inflammation, skin infections, pain, among others, are roots, leaves, fruits and seeds. 8-13 Many plants of the Cucurbitaceae family contain cucurbitanes, which is a type of triterpene. 14 Brazil has some cucurbit genera. Around 28 genera and 160 species occur in all states in the country. Among them, Luffa is a genus it has had two species: Luffa cylindrica (L.) M. Roem. moreover, Luffa operculata Anatomical and Histochemical Characterization of Leaves of Luffa cylindrica (L.) M. Roem ABSTRACT Background: Luffa cylindrica (L.) M. Roem. (Cucurbitaceae) is an herbaceous plant used for food as compose salads and do sweets and also used in traditional medicine as treat parasitic infections and intestinal diseases. Although this information, there are not many relates about anatomic characters for use in your quality control. Objective: The aim was investigating the anatomical characters of petiole and leaf blade and characterizing the metabolites in the leaf blade of L. cylindrica. Materials and Methods: Semipermanent histological slides were prepared for analysis of petiole and leaf blade in optical microscopy. Histochemical tests were also performed in the leaf blade. Results: The anatomical study revealed information about the type of trichomes, cuticle, vascular bundles and arrangement of the tissues that determine the botanical identity of this species. It was also identifying, for the first time, the presence of two types of trichomes in both of leaf blades faces. The histochemistry allowed determining which metabolites are in the leaf blade and also their location. Conclusion: The study described new characters for L. cylindrica and the results provide support to quality control of the species.

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“…Botanically, it is classified as vegetable, less used for culinary purposes by Brazilians, but widely consumed in Asia. As a typical family farming plant, is cultivated in various Brazilian regions, predominantly in smaller production areas in small commercial scale Larger scales are found in the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo for its climate, favorable to development (Vieira et al, 2019).…”