Microscopic analysis and histochemical observations of the medicinal root of Iostephane heterophylla (Cav.) Benth. ex Hemsl. (Asteraceae)

The roots of Iostephane heterophylla are popular in Mexican traditional medicine and as such are a good candidate to develop herbal drug preparations to be used as phytomedicine. International criteria for validation and standardization of a herbal product as phytomedicine include, among others, the integration of microscopic and histochemical characteristics of the raw material, as in this case the herbal drug, to guarantee its authenticity. As an original contribution to the knowledge of the root structure of this species, fresh roots fixed in FAA, were processed with conventional histological techniques (paraffin embedment and subsequent transversal and longitudinal sections that were stained with safranin-fast green) and stained with histochemical markers for identification of cellular contents. The root description includes dermic, fundamental and vascular tissues as well as cellular contents (proteins, polysaccharides, polyphenols, condensed and hydrolyzed tannins, starches and lipids, some of which have been isolated in previous phytochemical studies). These characteristics are compared to those of other species of Asteraceae as an initial comparative study to contribute to identify medicinal plants based upon their underground parts.

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