An Investigation of the Vegetative Anatomy of Piper sarmentosum, and a Comparison with the Anatomy of Piper betle (Piperaceae)

Vijayasankar Raman, Ahmed M. Galal, Ikhlas A. Khan

Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA.
National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/ajps.2012.38137                

Abstract

This paper describes the detailed anatomy and micromorphology of the vegetative parts of Piper sarmentosum Roxb. (synonym, P. lolot C.DC.), which is a southeast Asian medicinal plant valued for its medicinal and culinary uses. The study also compares the anatomy of the leaf, petiole, stem and root of P. sarmentosum with those of the well-characterized P. betle L. The leaves of both the species are morphologically comparable and have similar culinary uses. The present study showed that the leaves of both the species possess more or less comparable anatomical features with a few differences; whereas, the microscopic features of the petiole, stem, and root of the two species are distinctive.

Keywords

Piper sarmentosum; Piper lolot; Piper betle; Piperaceae; Anatomy; Light and Scanning Electron Microscopy

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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