Morfologi trikom pada petal dan sepal spesies terpilih Acanthaceae di Semenanjung Malaysia

Acanthaceae merupakan famili tumbuhan angiosperma di bawah order Lamiales yang terdiri daripada sekurang-kurangnya 4000 spesies sama ada spesies tropika atau subtropika. Spesies daripada famili ini ditemui di pelbagai habitat dan mempunyai pelbagai morfologi serta corak taburan geografi. Walau bagaimanapun, maklumat mengenai ciri anatomi bagi Acanthaceae masih dangkal sehingga ke hari ini. Objektif kajian ini ialah untuk mengenal pasti jenis trikom yang hadir pada permukaan epidermis adaksial dan abaksial sepal dan juga petal bunga bagi beberapa spesies terpilih daripada Acanthaceae di Semenanjung Malaysia. Kajian ini melibatkan pengumpulan sampel di lapangan, penyediaan spesimen baucer, teknik kajian epidermis petal, cerapan di bawah mikroskop cahaya dan juga cerapan di bawah mikroskop imbasan elektron. Tiga puluh jenis trikom dicerap dalam kajian ini dan daripada jumlah tersebut, 23 jenis trikom dicerap hadir pada permukaan epidermis petal manakala 17 jenis trikom dicerap hadir pada permukaan epidermis sepal. Jenis trikom yang direkodkan ialah trikom ringkas unisel dan ringkas multisel, trikom kelenjar kapitat dan kelenjar peltat serta juga trikom berlengan. Keputusan kajian ini menunjukkan kehadiran dan jenis trikom pada permukaan sepal dan petal mempunyai nilai taksonomi yang berguna untuk tujuan pembezaan dan pengecaman spesies. Maklumat ciri morfologi trikom yang diperoleh daripada kajian ini merupakan maklumat baharu ciri anatomi bunga bagi Acanthaceae

Pollen characters of Firmiana Malayana Kostem. (Malvaceae: Sterculoideae) in Malaysia

Firmiana malayana also known as "Bullocks eye or Mata Lembu" in Malaysia and can be found along riverbanks and open forests in Peninsular Malaysia and seldom planted in populated areas. The flowers of the Firmiana malayana are vivid orange in colour, on tassels up to 12?cm long. Usually this species will shed its leaves after a dry period and remains bare for six to eight weeks. The objective of this study is to determine the pollen morphological characteristics of the Firmiana malayana in order to add more information on the species under the family of Sterculiaceae in Malaysia. Methods for this study includes acetolysis technique for the pollens and viewed under light microscope and scanning electron microscope. Results shown that the pollens of the species Firmiana malayana appeared to be monad and dyad with tricolporate class with both porate and colpus present. The shape of this species is prolate with P/E index of 1.49. This species was considered as medium-size pollens as the pollens ranges from 26-36?μm. The ornamentation of the pollen is reticulate where the ornamentation is network-like pattern formed by exine elements of lumen and murus. Based on the results obtained, pollen morphology is a great tool that can aid in plant identification and classification as well having taxonomic values

Ciri morfologi diagnosis debunga Bruguiera, Ceriops, Kandelia dan Rhizophora (Rhizophoraceae)di Semenanjung Malaysia=Diagnostic Morphological Characteristics of Bruguiera, Ceriops, Kandelia and Rhizophora Pollen (Rhizophoraceae) in Peninsular Malaysia)

Famili Rhizophoraceae ialah famili tumbuhan utama di hutan paya bakau dengan 16 genus dan 120 spesies dan di Semenanjung Malaysia terdapat tujuh genus dan 17 spesies. Kajian palinologi masih kurang dijalankan di hutan paya bakau untuk melihat kepentingan ciri morfologi debunga dan adaptasinya terhadap persekitaran. Objektif kajian ini ialah untuk menyenaraikan ciri umum, variasi dan ciri diagnosis morfologi debunga antara spesies dan genus dalam famili Rhizophoraceae di Semenanjung Malaysia. Kaedah kajian melibatkan teknik asetolisis, pencerapan di bawah mikroskop cahaya dan mikroskop imbasan elektron. Keputusan kajian menunjukkan terdapat dua kelas debunga iaitu tri-zono-kolpat dan tri-zono-kolporat. Kesemua spesies kajian mempunyai debunga bersaiz kecil (10-25 µm) dan mempunyai debunga bentuk sferoid kecuali Rhizophora x lamarckii dengan bentuk subprolat. Dua corak hiasan eksin ditemui pada genus Bruguiera iaitu skabrat-perforat (B. cylindrica, B. parviflora. B. hainesii dan B. sexangula) dan psilat-skabrat (B. gymnorhiza). Genus Ceriops dan Rhizophora stylosa mempunyai hiasan eksin perforat manakala R. apiculata dan R. mucronata mempunyai corak eksin perforat-retikulat. Kekunci dikotomi pengecaman spesies dan genus telah dibina berdasarkan keputusan kajian. Secara kesimpulan, ciri morfologi debunga mempunyai nilai taksonomi terutamanya untuk pembezaan dan pengecaman spesies dan genus bagi famili Rhizophoraceae.************************************************************ Rhizophoraceae is a plant family in mangrove forest with approximately 16 genera and 120 species and seven genera and 17 species are found in Peninsular Malaysia. Palynology study in mangroves to investigate the importance of pollen morphological characteristics and adaptation to its environment is still meagre. The objectives of this study were to list the common features, variations and diagnostic features of pollen morphology among species and genera in the Rhizophoraceae family. The methods involved acetolysis techniques and observation under light and scanning electron microscopes. The results showed that there are two pollen classes which are tri-zono-colpate and tri-zono-colporate. All the species studied have small size (10-25 μm) and spheroidial shaped pollen except Rhizophora x lamarckii with subprolate pollen. Two types of exine ornamentation were found in Bruguiera, i.e. scabrate-perforate (B. cylindrica, B. parviflora. B. hainesii and B. sexangula) and psilate-scabrate (B. gymnorhiza). On the other hand, the genus Ceriops and Rhizophora stylosa have perforate exine ornamentation and R. apiculata and R. mucronata have exine ornamentation perforate-reticulate. Dichotomy key for species and genus identification has been constructed based on the findings. As a conclusion pollen morphological characteristics have taxonomic value especially for the genus and species differentiation and identification in the family Rhizophoraceae

Pollen morphology of selected species of Ruellioideae (Acanthaceae) in Peninsular Malaysia

The pollen morphology of eight species in subfamily Ruellioideae (Acanthaceae) from Peninsular Malaysia were investigated using light and scanning electron microscopes. Species studied are Hemigraphis alternata (Burm. f) T. Anderson, Hemigraphis reptans (G. Forst.) T. Anderson ex Hemsl., Hygrophila pusilla Blume ex Steud., Ruellia repens L., Ruellia simplex C. Wright, Ruellia tuberosa, L., Sanchezia speciosa Leonard and Strobilanthes crispa T. Anderson. The objective of this study is to assess the taxonomic value of pollen morphological characteristics. Findings in this study have shown some variations in the pollen morphology that can be used in species identification and classification. Pollen description includes pollen classes, shape, apertures, exine thickness and ornamentation. The results have demonstrated that pollen morphology characteristics have taxonomic significance and useful as additional data especially in species identification and classification in subfamily Ruellioidea

Pollen Morphology of selected Heritiera Aiton. (Sterculioideae - Malvaceae s.l) species in Malaysia and its taxonomic significance

Heritiera is a tropical and subtropical African, Asian and Pacific islands genus in the subfamily Sterculioideae (Malvaceae s.l). Its species are mainly trees of forests and mangroves at altitudes below 1000 m. This talk presents a palynological study of five species of Heritiera (H. littoralis Aiton, H. elata Ridl., H. simplicifolia (Mast.) Kosterm., H. sumatrana (Miq.) Kosterm., H. borneensis (Merr.) Kosterm.) by light microscopy (LM) and a scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Quantitative and qualitative data on pollen micromorphological characteristics were evaluated for taxonomic identification and species relationship using acetolysis single-grain technique. The effects of different types of coating and accelerating voltages during electron microscopy were also investigated. Pollen morphological features studied in this work included pollen ornamentation, echini arrangement, echini density, size, number and ornamentation of pores, polar and equatorial diameter, P/E ratio, exine thickness, colpus width and dimensions of lumen and murusPollen grains of all five species were colporate with tricolporate apertures and had rounded to lobate outlines. All species were monads and belonged to the same pollen class. Nevertheless, variations were observed in these features: ratio of exine thickness, pollen size, pore width and height, shape, colpus width and length, polar region index, exine ornamentation and size of lumen and murus. For example, Heritiera sumatrana can be differentiated from other species by its subprolate pollen shape, H. littoralis by its granulate ornamentation on the exine and small polar region index, and H. simplicifolia by its large polar region index. These diagnostic characteristics, specifically pollen surface, structure, size, shape, morphology, and texture, are valuable for the identification of taxa and can be used for delimitation of species. Hence, we developed a taxonomic key for a quick and accurate identification of Heritiera species. However, it was observed that different interpretations of pollen characteristics are possible based on the types of coating and accelerating voltage used. We found that gold coating was the best agent compared to others

Leaf anatomy and micromorphology of potential medicinal weed ruellia repens L. (Acanthaceae) from Tasik Chini, Pahang

Weeds are commonly known as unwanted plants that grow in wild and human�controlled areas such as farms, gardens, and fields. However, these undesirable plants might benefit humans, especially as a traditional medicine in some rural areas. Ruellia repens belongs to the family Acanthaceae, one of the common weeds in Peninsular Malaysia. This species is believed to become a potential medicinal weed due to its several potent chemical constituents that might be useful in the pharmaceutical industry. But, a lack of research attempts is reported in the taxonomic study of this species. By keeping this point, the present study was carried out to provide the leaf anatomical and micromorphological characteristics of R. repens obtained from Tasik Chini, Pahang. This detailed information will be helpful for the botanist and pharmacologist to avoid misidentification of the species. Several methods were involved such as cross-sectioning on petiole, midrib, lamina and marginal parts, leaf epidermal peeling, leaf clearing, observation under a light microscope and observation under a scanning electron microscope. Results revealed some important leaf anatomical and micromorphological structures such as petiole, midrib and marginal outlines, presence and type of cystoliths, presence and type of trichomes, type of stomata, and presence and types of waxes. The leaf anatomical and micromorphological structures in R. repens are taxonomic significance and might be used as additional data to identify and classify the species. Also, the present study might be a good starting point that leads to extensive future works on the medicinal weeds, especially from Tasik Chini, Pahang

Potential health benefits of Nigella sativa on diabetes mellitus and its complications : A review from laboratory studies to clinical trials

This review aims to gather and summarize up-to-date information on the potential health benefits of Nigella sativa (NS) on diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications from different animal models, clinical trials and in vitro studies. DM is one of the most prevalent metabolic disorders resulting from chronic hyperglycaemia due to problems in insulin secretion, insulin action or both. It affects people regardless of age, gender and race. The main consequence of DM development is the metabolic dysregulation of glucose homeostasis. Current treatments for DM include pharmacological therapy, insulin and diabetic therapy targeting β cells. Some of these therapeutic approaches are promising; however, their safety and effectiveness remain elusive. Since ancient times, medicinal plants have been used and proven effective against diseases. These plants are believed to be effective and benefit physiological and pathological processes, as they can be used to prevent, reduce or treat multiple diseases. Nigella sativa Linn. is an annual indigenous herbaceous plant belonging to Ranunculaceae, the buttercup family. NS exhibits multifactorial activities; it could ameliorate oxidative, inflammatory, apoptotic and insulinotropic effects and inhibit carbohydrate digestive enzymes. Thus, this review demonstrates the therapeutic potential of NS that could be used as a complement or adjuvant for the management of DM and its complications. However, future research should be able to replicate and fill in the gaps of the study conducted to introduce NS safely to patients with DM

Comparative leaf anatomy and micromorphology of thunbergia erecta (benth.) t. anderson and thunbergia laurifolia lindl. in peninsular Malaysia

Comparative leaf anatomy and micromorphology study was carried out on two selected species from the genus Thunbergia Retz. of Acanthaceae subfamily Thunbergioideae. These two investigated species were T. erecta and T. laurifolia from Peninsular Malaysia. The leaf anatomical study involve several methods such as cross- section using sliding microtome on the petioles, midribs, lamina and marginal, leaf epidermal peeling, leaf clearing and observation under a light microscope. The leaf micromorphology method involve the observation under a scanning electron microscope (SEM). This study aimed to investigate the taxonomic value of leaf anatomy and micromorphology characteristics of genus Thunbergia. The results have shown that there were five common characteristics present in both species studied and several variable characters that might be useful for species differentiation of T. erecta and T. laurifolia. The five common characteristics recorded were the presence of raphide, sinuous anticlinal walls, diacytic stomata, majority opened and minority closed venation in lamina and the presence of peltate glandular (unicellular terminal) trichome. The variable characteristics included were petiole, and marginal outlines, types of vascular bundles, the presence of druse, marginal venation, stomata occurrence, types of wax, cuticular sculpturing and types of trichomes. In conclusion, findings in this study showed that leaf anatomical micromorphological characteristics possessed taxonomic value that can be used in the species identification for the genus Thunbergia specifically for T. erecta and T. laurifolia