Zebi XIE Zining LIANG Yiyuan ZHOU

Abstract [Objectives] This study was conducted to identify the microscopic characteristics of Chenopodium album L.

[Methods]The microscopic identification method was adopted.

[Results] The xylem vessels and fiber bundles of the roots are arranged into 3-4 intermittent ring belts in a concave-convex pattern， alternately with the parenchymal cell ring belts; and the xylem rays vary in width. The cross section of the stems is polygonal; there are parenchyma cells at the corners of the cortex; there are many vascular bundles of varying sizes; and calcium oxalate clusters are common in the medulla and cortex. There are 2 to 4 vascular bundles in the main leaf vein， peltate; and fiber bundles exist below the phloem. The powder is characterized by numerous clusters of calcium oxalate， which are uniform in size， sharp at edges and corners.

[Conclusions]This study can provide reference for the identification and quality standard of the crude drug.

Key words Chenopodium album L.; Microscopic identification; Cross section; Pharmacognosy

Received： March 5， 2021  Accepted： May 6， 2021

Supported by General Project of Guangxi Science and Technology Department （2020GXNSFAA259043）; Yao Medicine Quality Standard Project （MZY2017001）; First-class Discipline in Guangxi of Traditional Chinese Pharmacology （GJKY [2018] 12）; Fund of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine （05018028F2）.

Zebi XIE （1995-）， female， P. R. China， master， devoted to research about identification and quality evaluation of ethnic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine.

*Corresponding author. Zining LIANG， E-mail： 381668307@qq.com.

Chenopodium album L. refers to its whole plant， also known as Li， Hedingcao， Hongluoli， Shunmanggu， Luoli， Yanzhicai， Feiyangcao， Huixiancai， Huili， Luicai， and Huitiao[1]. The whole plant can be used as a medicine， which is sweet in taste， neutral in nature and has low toxicity. It has the effects of clearing heat and expelling damp， removing toxicity for detumescence， and killing parasites to relieve itching[2-4].

According to literature search， people have reported on the conventional nutrient components， picking and processing， artificial cultivation， antibacterial component extraction and antibacterial experiments of C. album as a health-care wild vegetable in recent years[5-14]， while there have been no reports in microscopic research. Therefore， this study aimed to study the microscopic characteristics of C. album， hoping to provide references for the identification and quality standards of its crude drugs.

Materials and Methods

Instruments and reagents

DMB-1223 Motic biological microscrope was produced by Motic China Group Co.， Ltd. C. album was collected from the suburbs of Nanning， Guangxi， and was identified as the dried whole plant of C. album by Professor Zhu. All reagents were analytically pure.

Experimental methods

The microscopic characteristics of C. album were studied.

Results and Analysis

Microscopic characteristics of root cross section

The cross section of the roots is almost circular. The epidermis has 1 row of rectangular-like parenchyma cells， and is suberified in the outer layer. The cortex has 3 to 8 rows of elongated parenchyma cells， and the boundary with the phloem is not obvious. The vascular bundles are ductile outside. The phloem occupies a narrow proportion， and the cells are small， polygonal， and tightly arranged. The cambium is not obvious. The xylem occupies a large proportion， and the vessels are scattered and quasi-circular. There are many fiber bundles， which are arranged in a concave-convex pattern into 3-4 intermittent ring belts， which are arranged alternately with the parenchyma cell ring belts. The fiber cells are polygonal， with thick walls. The xylem rays vary in width. The microscopic characteristics are shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2.

Microscopic characteristics of stem cross section

The cross section of the stems is polygonal， and some edges and corners are not obvious. There is 1 row of epidermal cells， rectangular-like， surrounded by cuticles. There are 1 to 2 rows of square-like parenchyma cells outside the cortex， which are closely arranged， and are smaller in size， and several rows of collenchyma are arranged at the corners. The inner side of the cortex is 3 to 10 layers of fiber cells， which are arranged in a continuous ring. The vascular bundles are ductile outside， and there are 22-27 vascular bundles， which are not equal in size. The fascicular cambium is not obvious， and the xylem vessels are round. The medulla is broad and consists of larger parenchyma cells. Calcium oxalate clusters are common in parenchyma cells in various parts of the stems. The microscopic characteristics are shown in Fig. 3.

Microscopic characteristics of leaf cross section

The upper and lower epidermis have one row each， and are distributed with many stomata. The palisade tissue cells in the mesophyll are 2 to 3 rows， long cylindrical， and the spongy tissue cells are round， 4 to 5 rows， loosely arranged. There are 3 to 5 rows of collenchyma cells at the inner side of the epidermis of the main vein and 2 to 4 peltate vascular bundles of the main vein. The phloem is on the dorsal stem surface， and the xylem is on the stem surface. The cambium is not obvious， and there are fiber bundles under the phloem. The microscopic characteristics are shown in Fig. 4.

Microscopic characteristics of leaf surface

The upper epidermal cells on the upper surface are polygonal， and the anticlinal wall is relatively straight. And there are fewer stomata， which are mostly indefinite. The epidermal cells on the lower surface are polygonal， and the anticlinal wall is wavy and curved. And there are more stomata， mostly indefinite， minimal inequality. The microscopic characteristics are shown in Fig. 5.

Microscopic characteristics of whole herb powder

The powder is gray green. The non-glandular hair is composed of 3 to 7 cells， straight or slightly curved at the tip， and is about 110 to 283 μm long. The vessels are spiral vessels and reticulate vessels with a diameter of 15-28 μm. There are many clusters of calcium oxalate with uniform size， sharp edges and corners， with a diameter of 15 to 18 μm. The parenchyma cells contain calcium oxalate sand crystals with a diameter of 1-3 μm. There are few calcium oxalate square crystals with a diameter of 13-17 μm.  There are a lot of wood fibers， which are mostly broken， single or in a form that a few are bundled， and the diameter is in the range of 9-13 μm. There are a few stone cells， some of which are juxtaposed in rows， 23-30 μm in diameter. The microscopic characteristics are shown in Fig. 6.

Conclusions

The main microscopic characteristics of C. album were observed. The phloem of the roots is narrow; the cambium is not obvious; the xylem vessels and fiber bundles are arranged into 3-4 intermittent ring belts in a concave-convex pattern， alternately with the parenchymal cell ring belts; and the xylem rays vary in width. The cross section of the stems is polygonal; there are parenchyma cells at the corners of the cortex; fiber rings are arranged outside the phloem; there are many vascular bundles of varying sizes; and calcium oxalate clusters are common in the medulla and cortex. There are 2 to 4 vascular bundles in the main leaf vein， peltate; and fiber bundles exist below the phloem. The powder is characterized by numerous clusters of calcium oxalate， which are uniform in size， sharp at edges and corners; vessels are spiral vessels and reticulate vessels; and there are many fibers. The above-mentioned characteristics are stable and reliable， and can be used for the microscopic identification of C. album.

Zebi XIE et al. Study on the Microscopic Identification of Chenopodium album L.

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