Research on Morphological, Anatomic, and Diagnostic Signs of the Portulaca oleracea L herb

Nasser R.A.¹, Potanina O.G.¹, Bobkova N.V.², Bokov D.O.^2,3*, Nikulin A.V.¹,

Bessonov V.V.^1,3, Luferov A. N.², Abramovich R.A.¹

¹Рeoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University),

6 Miklukho-Maklaya Street, Moscow, 117198, Russian Federation.

²Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University,

8 Trubetskaya St., bldg. 2, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation.

³Federal Research Center of Nutrition, Biotechnology and Food Safety,

2/14 Ustyinsky pr., Moscow, 109240, Russian Federation.

*Corresponding Author E-mail: bokov_d_o@staff.sechenov.ru

ABSTRACT:

The herb of Portulaca oleracea L. is perspective medicinal raw material. However, it is registered as an official medicinal raw material just in China. To introduce the P. oleracea herb into medical practice, it is necessary to standardize it as well as to analyze its macro- and micro-diagnostic identity signs. This paper presents the results of research on macro- and microscopic signs of the P. oleracea herb. The results of research on the P. oleracea leaves, stems, and flowers establish morphological, anatomic, and diagnostic signs of this kind of raw material.

KEYWORDS: Portulaca oleracea L., Herb, Identity signs, Morphological, Anatomic, and Diagnostic signs, and Microscopy.

INTRODUCTION: 

The medicinal plants used in folk medicine are always of a great interest for researchers. Often, the plant objects of pharmacological action as well as plant food objects belong to such raw materials, which makes it possible to suggest that the plant objects intake is safe. One of such kinds of raw material is the Portulaca oleracea L. The Portulaca oleracea L. is worldwide food and medicinal raw material during many millenia. In recent years, there is significant amount of the scientific papers on studying the composition of biologically active substances (BAS) of aboveground part of the P. oleracea as well as on their various pharmacological actions.

It is established that there are many various substances such as natural flavonoids, polysaccharides, vitamins, organic acids, and trace elements in raw materials.^1-7 However, this kind of medicinal plant raw material is not standardized, there is no description of morphological and anatomic signs of the P. oleracea herb. Comparative description of microscopic leaf structure of the P. oleracea herb and the Portulaca quaudrifida L.² is found in literature but the data is not enough to determine anatomic and diagnostic signs of the herb.

Microscopic analysis of anatomical and diagnostic signs is one of the main pharmacopoeial methods for assessing the authenticity of medicinal plant raw materials.^8-13

For that matter, we have aimed to study the morphological, anatomical, and diagnostical signs of the P. oleracea herb to standardize and to introduce it into medical practice.

A

B

C

Fig.1. The P. oleracea L., herb: A – whole; B – crushed; С – powder.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

External signs of the P. oleracea herb were analyzed by examining herb with the analytical samples and a 10x lens and visually in accordance with an article of the SPRF XIV ed. “Herbs”.¹⁴

Microscopic signs were analyzed in accordance with articles of the SPRF XIV ed. “Technics of microscopic and microchemical study of medicinal plant raw materials and herbal drug” and “Herbs”.¹⁴ The slides were studied with the microscope MBI-3 (increasing scales were ×40, ×75, ×100; ×150; ×200; ×250; ×300; ×400). The results were fixed as microphotographies made by the camera adapter MFN-12 and the digital camera Canon AOS 350D. During microscopic analysis, the anatomic and diagnostic signs and their frequencies were estimated in accordancee with the SPRF XIV.¹⁴

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

Research of external diagnostic signs of the P. oleracea herb:

Whole raw material. The whole P. oleracea herb is (Fig.1 A) a mixture of foliated stems and their pieces and sometimes flowers and seeds of various stages of maturity and granular or rare whole leaves and flowers.

Stems have longitudinal-grooved surface, they are round, bald, up to 25 cm long, with small, oblong, wedge-shaped, and pressed together leaves. Leaves are alternating, without stocks (they are sessile), smooth edged, with round tops, naked, up to 2 cm long, and up to 1.5 cm wide; there are also the leaves with very short stocks, which are about 1-1.5 mm long and 0.5 mm thick. Flowers are small (6-7 mm diameter), single-flowering or two-three flowers grow in the stem branches or in leaf axils. Perianth is simple a calyciform, calyx and corolla are regular-shaped with five petals. The fruit is an ovate or globular capsule, opened with the cross split (pyxidium). Seeds are oval and small (about 0.05-0.07 cm). Range of colors of stems is from light-brown to deep-brown; that of leaves is from deep-green to olive-green; flowers are fallow, fruits are deep-brown; seeds are black. Odor is characteristic. Taste of aqueous extract is slightliy acidic and slimy.

Crushed raw material. Crushed P. oleracea herb is mixed (Fig. 1 B) pieces of stems (range of colors is from light to deep brown), leaves (range of colors is from deep-green to olive-green), flowers (fallow), fruit, and seeds (black) passing through the sieve, which holes are 7 mm in size. Odor is characteristic. Taste of aqueous extract is slightly acidic and slimy.

Powder: The P. oleracea herb powder is (Fig. 1 C) a mixture of parts of stems, leaves, flowers, and seeds passing through the sieve, which holes are 2mm in size. Color is olive-brown. Odor is characteristic. Taste of aqueous extract is slightly acidic and slimy.

Research of microscopic anatomo-diagnostic signs of the P. oleracea herb:

Whole raw material. If looking at the leaf surface, we can see epidermis cells of upper (Fig. 2A) and lower (Fig. 2B) leaf surfacμmes with gyrose and weak-twisted cells. Upper and lower epidermis cells are practically identive. They are of 77-335μm long and of 51-104μm wide. Cuticle is smooth. The stomatas of both leaf sides (of 20-30μm long and of 12-18μm wide) are equally frequent on 1mm² on both sides 8-59. Paracytic stomatas and three peristome cells are in paralleil to the stomatas closing cells. On the first side, there is one cell, on the other side, there are two cells. The smallest peristome cell fits on the one stomata side; on the second stomata side, peristome cell is 2-3 times larger then the first one; the third peristome cell is near the first one and in paralleil to the stomata crack, which is 3-5 times larger then the second peristome cell. The stomatas are on the same epidermis surface or they a bit overhang epidermis. In the leaf mesophyll cells, there are a lot of druses (Fig. 3A) of 4-56μm diameter as well as mucilage cells (idioblasts). Druses are often plunged into idioblasts. The homogenous mesophyll is on the cross section. There are 2-3 ranges of parenchymal cells under epidermis on the cross section on the midrib. From there, there is a range of closed collateral fibrovascular bundles, under which, there are often slimy cells. The conductive bundles tracheas have tenidium (Fig. 3A, 3B).

×250	×150	×200	×150
A		B

Fig.2. Leaf epidermis microslides. Paracytic stomata complexes. A – Upper leaf epidermis. B – Lower leaf epidermis.

A

B

Fig.3. Leaf microslides: A – Squash leaf preparation. Druses, slimy cells, and spiral tracheas, (×200); B – Cross leaf section. Conductive bundles of the longitudinal section, druses, and slimy cells (×250).

Squared or fusiform stem epidermis cells (Fig. 4A) are oblong along the straight-walled stem of 21-340μm long and of 56-113μm wide. Cuticle is smooth. Paracytic stomata (rounded by 3-4 peristome cells placed paralleil to the cells closing the stomata); like leaf peristome cells, stem peristome cells differ in in sizes. As they are away from the stomata, they are larger. The stomatas are of 25-30μm long and of 12-20μm wide, on the epidermis surface, frequency of stomatas is 0-5 by 1 mm². In stem parenchyma, there are slimy cells and oxalate calcium druses. Often, the idioblasts include druses (Fig. 4B). On the cross stem section (Fig. 5A) under epidermis, there are some parenchymal ranges, futher, there is opened collateral fibrovascular bundles ring where the vessels and the tracheas have annular, spiral, and nettled thickening (Fig. 5B). In the centre, there is core parenchyma expressed by friable large cells.

×125	×250	×125	×250
A		B

Fig.4. Stem microslides: A – Fig.10. Stem epidermis (Right ×250; left ×125); В – Fig.11. Squash stem preparation. Slimy idioblasts, which consist of calcium oxalate druses, and vessels (Left ×125; centre and right – ×250).

A

B

Fig.5. Stem microslides: A – Cross section of the stem. Epidermis, conductive bundles, slime cells, and parenchyma druses (×125); B – Squash stem preparation. Druses and spiral vessels (×250).

Upper and lower cells of sepal epidermis (Fig. 6A) have straight, low wave-shaped, wave-shaped, and high wave-shaped walls on both sides. Upper and lower epidermis cells are practically identive. They are of 83-171μm long and of 17-51μm wide. Paracytic and anisocytic stomata are rounded by three peristome cells in various sizes, which are parallel to the cells closing the stomata, both on a leaf and around a stomata as well as perpendicular to the stomata crack. The stomata are of 17-22μm long and of 10-15μm wide, on the epidermis surface, frequency of stomatas is 0-86 by 1 mm². Cuticle is smooth. There are many druses and slime cells in mesophyll.

A

B

Fig.6. Flower microslides: A – Sepal epidermis. Paracytic and anysocytic stomatas (×200); B – Petal epidermis. Paracytic and anysocytic stomatas. Wave-shaped cell walls (×200).

Upper and lower petal epidermis cells (Fig. 6B) are oblong, square, and square-fusiform; near the base, the cell walls are straight or low wave-shaped, near the petal top, the cell walls are wave-shaped and high wave-shaped. Upper and lower epidermis cells are of 169-374 μm long and of 33-114μm wide. In the petal epidermis, there are paracytic and anisocytic stomatas of 25-35 μm long and of 12-20μm wide; frequency of stomatas is 0-3 by 1mm². The petal epidermis cuticle is smooth. Mesophyll of a petal consists of slime cells and druses (Fig. 8A) as well as spiral tracheas (Fig. 7A). The nipple-shaped excrescences are near the bases of stamen threads (Fig. 7B). Parenchyma of all morphological parts of the flower content druses and slimy cells (Fig. 8A).

A

B

Fig.7. Flower microslides: A – Petal epidermis. Low wave-shaped cell walls and spiral tracheas (×200); B – Nipple-shaped excrescences near the bases of stamen threads (×200).

×200		×250
A	B

Fig.8. Flower microslides: A – Squash flower preparation. Druses placed in various morphological parts of flower (×200); B – left is pollen in anther (×200), right is pollen (×250).

Pollen is round, rough, and polysulcate (of 34-56 μm diameter) (Fig. 8B).

Crushed raw material. When studying the large herb parts slides, there are anatomic and diagnostic signs similar to the signs of the whole raw material.

When making and studying the powder slides sieved out the crushed herb, there are anatomic and diagnostic signs typical for the P. oleracea powder.

Powder: When studying the powder with a microscope, which is various mixed parts, the following is observed:

- the leaf epidermis parts with weak-twisted and gyrose cells and paracytic stomata (or without them);

- the leaf parts with gauzy mesophyll with druses and/or slimy cells;

- the stem epidermis parts with straight-walled cells and paracytic stomata (or without them);

- the stem parenchyma parts with druses and/or slimy cells;

- the parenchyma and fibrovascular stem bundle parts, including the parts of annular and spiral vessels as well as tracheas, often with druses and/or slimy cells (or without them);

- the sepal epidermis parts with straight-walled, low wave-shaped, and high wave-shaped cells and paracytic and anisocytic stomata (or without them);

- the sepal parts with gauzy mesophyll, containing of calcium oxalate druses and/or slimy cells;

- the petal parts with straight, low wave-shaped, wave-shaped, and high wave-shaped walls and paracytic stomata (and without them);

- round, rough, and polysulcate pollen is separate or on herbal parts.

CONCLUSION:

1.   Based on the morphological and anatomic research of the P. oleracea herb, morphological and diagnostic as well as anatomic and diagnostic signs are established.

2.   The herb and external diagnostic signs of the whole herb, of granular herb, and of the P. oleracea herb powder are described. The description may be included into the Regular Documentation to characterize identity of the P. oleracea herb.

3.   The anatomic and diagnostic signs of the whole herb, of granular herb, and of the P. oleracea herb powder are described and specification of quantity of anatomic and diagnostic signs and their frequency are included. All anatomic and diagnostic signs are illustrated in photography. The recieved data may be included into the Regular Documentation to characterize identity of the herb to be studied.

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Received on 30.03.2021      Revised on 22.09.2023

Accepted on 08.03.2025 Published on 02.08.2025

Available online from August 08, 2025

Research J. Pharmacy and Technology. 2025;18(8):3593-3598.

DOI: 10.52711/0974-360X.2025.00517

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