Morphology of Pollen Grains of the Genus Mentha L. (Lamiaceae)

Utvrđeno je da su polenova zrna vrsta Mentha arven- sis L., M. aquatica L., M. \u27longifolia (L.) Huđs., M. spicata L. i M. pulegium L. istog tipa: meridionalno šestobrazdna, prolatna, dugoosa, eliptična. Ekzina je s mrežastom skulpturom. Polenova zrna biljaka vrste M. longifolia uočljivo su manjih dimenzija od polenovih zrna biljaka ostalih istraživanih vrsta.Pollen grains of the species M. arvensis L., M. aquatica L., M. longifolia (L.) Huds., M. spicata L. and M. pulegium L. are of the same type: six creases meridionally, prolate, a long axis, and elliptical (K = 1.26— 1.53—1.73). The exine is netlike. The size of pollen grains in the populations investigated showed little variability (CV = 3—10D/o) and differences between populations of the same species were small. Pollen grains of the species M. longifolia were notably smaller (P = 25 pm) than the pollen grains of other species investigated (P = 29— —30 μm). The considerable difference in pollen grain size between species of the Spicata series (M. longifolia and M. spicata) can be used to differentiate between these two taxa which are often hard to separate

Anatomical observations on Thymus bracteosus Vis. Ex Bentham (Lamiaceae).

Thymus bracleosus Vis. ex Bentham, endemic to the Mediterranean and submediterranean mountain of Croatia, Herzegovina and Montenegro, has been analyzed as regards the anatomy or stem, leaves and bracts. Its structure shows xero-mesomorphic characteristics. The quantity of essential oil extractable for commerciai purposes is comparatively low

Kvalitet odabranih aromatičnih biljnih droga dostupnih na beogradskim pijacama

Herbal drugs are often administered in the form of monocomponent teas or herbal tea mixtures (tea blends). In order to assess the quality of herbal drugs that are components of the monocomponent teas commercially available on marketplaces in Belgrade, we analyzed 4 samples of Melissa leaf (Melissae folium), 6 samples of Wild thyme, (Serpylli herba), 6 samples of Yarrow (Millefolii herba), 4 samples of Wormwood (Absinthii herba) and 6 samples of Juniper (Juniperi pseudo-fructus), according to the procedures given in European Pharmacopoea. Macroscopic and microscopic features of investigated herbal drugs, as well as their TLC profiles, were in agreement with corresponding data described in Ph. Eur. One sample of Melissa leaf, one sample of Wild thyme and two samples of Juniper, did not fullfil the requirements of general tests. Due to inappropriate size of cut, test on foreign matter could not be performed for some samples. Concerning specific quality, all samples of Melissa leaf, Wild thyme, Wormwood and Juniper were in accordance with Ph. Eur. Regarding the content of essential oil, Yarrow samples met the requirements of Ph. Eur., but the proazulenes content in five samples was lower than required. In conlcusion, the results of these analyses point to high medicinal potential of the most herbal drugs studied. On the other hand, unsatisfying general quality and inappropriate size of cut of several samples could be related to inadequate processing and handling of plant material.Biljne droge se vrlo često koriste u obliku monokomponentnih i višekomponentnih čajeva. U cilju ispitivanja kvaliteta biljnih droga koje se mogu naći na pijacama Beograda u obliku monokomponentnih čajeva, analizirana su po četiri uzorka lista matičnjaka (Melissae folium) i herbe belog pelena (Absinthii herba), i po šest uzoraka herbe majčine dušice (Serpylli herba), herbe hajdučke trave (Millefolii herba) i šišarica kleke (Juniperi pseudo-fructus), prema propisu Ph. Eur. 7.0. Makroskopske i mikroskopske karakteristike ispitivanih droga, kao i rezultati TLC analize bili su u skladu sa odgovarajućim podacima datim u monografijama Farmakopeje. U pogledu opšteg kvaliteta, zahteve nisu ispunili jedan uzorak lista matičnjaka, jedan uzorak herbe majčine dušice i dva uzorka šišarica kleke. Zbog neodgovarajućeg stepena usitnjenosti pojedine uzorke nije bilo moguće ispitati u pogledu stranih primesa. Zahteve za specifični kvalitet ispunili su svi uzorci lista matičnjaka, herbe majčine dušice, herbe belog pelena i šišarica kleke. Uzorci herbe hajdučke trave sadržali su odgovarajuću količinu etarskog ulja, ali je sadržaj proazulena u pet uzoraka bio niži od propisanog. Rezultati ispitivanja specifičnog kvaliteta ukazuju na visok lekoviti potencijal većine ispitivanih biljnih droga. Sa druge strane, neispravnost u pogledu opšteg kvaliteta i neodgovarajući stepen usitnjenosti pojedinih uzoraka može se dovesti u vezu sa neadekvatnim rukovanjem biljnim materijalom

Essential oil of Acinos mayoranifolius (Mill.) Šilić (Lamiaceae) from Montenegro

Acinos mayoranifolius (Mill.) Silic is endemic, spread across the western border area of Croatia and Herzegovina and the western part of Montenegro. It is a distinctly Mediterranean mountainous species. It inhabits open limestone rocky terrains, rims of karst forests, on heights between 20 and 1400m (Silic, 1979, 1984). A. majoranifolius is distinguished from the rest of the Acinos species by its aroma, and therefore the composition of its essential oil is presented in this work. We have studied the essential oils of three populations of A. majoranifolius collected from different localities in Western Montenegro: mountain Orjen, Njegusi and Lijeva Rijeka. The samples were gathered in the flowering period. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation from the dried aerial parts of the plants. The analyses of the oils were carried out using GC/MS. The identification of the compounds was based on comparison of their Kovats indices (KI), their retention times (RT) and mass spectra with those obtained from authentic samples and/or the MS library (Adams, 1995). The yield of the essential oils was between 0.5% and 0.6%. Pulegone was the main component of all the oils (65.4%-81.3%). The Mt. Orjen and Njegusi populations had a high content of isomenthone (11.4% and 15.4%), while this compound was detected only in traces in the Lijeva Rijeka population.Isopulegone and caryophyllene oxide were found in similar concentrations in all populations

A Mediterranean medicinal plant in the continental Balkans: A plastid DNA-based phylogeographic survey of Salvia officinalis (Lamiaceae) and its conservation implications

Salvia officinalis (Lamiaceae), common or Dalmatian sage, is a Mediterranean aromatic and medicinal plant used in medicine since ancient times. Knowledge on current genetic patterns and genealogical history of its natural populations is required for both breeding efforts and species conservation. We used sequences of two chloroplast intergenic spacers, 3'rps16-5'trnK and rp132-trnL, from 83 individuals from eight natural populations to distinguish between anthropogenic vs natural origin of four disjunct inland populations found outside of the main Adriatic range of the species. We found seven haplotypes, high total gene diversity (H-r = 0.695) and genetic differentiation (G(ST) = 0.682), as well as a phylogeographic structure with two lineages, a sub-structured inland-Adriatic lineage (IAL, comprising inland and Adriatic sub-lineages) and a purely Adriatic lineage (PAL). All four inland and disjunct populations, which comprised the inland sub-lineage of IAL, were almost fixed for a distinct haplotype genealogically closely related to the ancestral haplotype and displayed other features of relict populations. Along with previous biogeographic data and other lines of evidence, assumptions on their anthropogenic origin were rejected. At present, a less diverse IAL (Hd = 0.426, pi = 0.00106) and a more diverse PAL (Hd = 0.403, pi = 0.00257), whose divergence was dated to the Pliocene (3.267 Mya), do not exhibit signs of recent demographic expansions and overlap on the SE Adriatic coast, a region delineated as the main glacial refugium of S. officinalis. Conservation measures accounting for the historical distinctiveness of populations and focusing on currently the most threatened populations are recommended

Leaf and stem anatomy of Micromeria species from the Central part of the Balkan Peninsula

The anatomical structure of the leaf and stem of nine Micromeria species from the Balkan Peninsula was investigated with the aim to establish the adaptive characteristics and traits that could be useful in the identification of species and subgeneric classification. The species included in the anatomical analysis were: Micromeria albanica (Griseb. ex K. Maly) Silic, M. thymifolia (Scop.) Fritch, M. pulegium (Rochel) Bentham, M. dalmatica Bentham of section Pseudomelissa and M. cristata (Hampe) Griseb., M. kosaninii Silic, M. juliana (L.) Bentham ex Reichenb., M. croatica (Pers.) Schott M. parviflora (Vis.) Reichenb. of section Micromeria. Variability of 17 quantitative characters of the leaf (thickness, height of adaxial and abaxial epidermis, thickness of the palisade and spongy tissue) and stem (radius, cortex thickness, thickness of the vascular cylinder, phloem, xylem, pith radius) was examined. Multivariate analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal component analysis (PCA), canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) and UPGMA clustering method based on Mahalanobis' distances were used to determine the variability structure and level of importance of the anatomical differentiation of the investigated taxa. Qualitative characters were also included in the consideration of the anatomical variability, such as leaf shape, leaf margin, position of sclerenchyma fibers in the leaf and stem. The results showed that investigated Micromeria species posses a xeromorphic general structure plan, but each species has achieved distinctive adaptations according to its specific genetic potential. The results have shown a clear difference between the species belonging to the different sections of genus Micromeria, so they have a potential diagnostic and systematic value

Habitat-related adaptations in morphology and anatomy of Teucrium (Lamiaceae) species from the Balkan peninsula (Serbia and Montenegro)

In this paper adaptive morpho-anatomical traits are described of the species Teucrium fruticans, T. arduini, T. scordium, T. botrys,T. chamaedrys, T.flavum, T. montanum and T. polium in Serbia and Montenegro (Balkan peninsula). These characters of leaves and stems were related with chorology and ecology of the species. The research is based on 63 populations sampled across the region, from Eu-Mediterranean coastal areas up to the mountains and to temperate deciduous forest regions of Serbia. Descriptive statistics were calculated for 22 quantitative characters and multivariate analyses were performed to describe the structure of variability (PCA), to identify the significance of differences between the species studied (MANOVA), and to measure distances between them (CDA). In contrast to the widely distributed species Teucrium chamaedrys, T. montanum and T. polium, the species T. fruticans, T. arduini, T. scordium, T. botrys and T. flavum have narrow ecological ranges. Morpho-anatomical analysis gives evidence that all species except T. scordium are xerophytes with distinctly xeromorphic structures. But each of them is characterized by specific structural adaptations to the more or less arid environmental conditions. The perennial herbaceous T. scordium, from the humid habitats, belongs to the mesophytic plant type. The results show that structures of the analyzed species are only partially related with the phylogenetic position of the respective taxa. Multivariate analysis indicates that the morpho-anatomical similarity of some species with each other can be characterized as convergently developed rather in adaptation to xeric ecological conditions that as based on phylogenetic relations

Morpho-anatomical differentiation of the balkan populations of the species Teucrium flavum L. (Lamiaceae)

Ecological plasticity, i.e., inter-population differentiation of the species Teucrium flavum was analyzed on the basis of morpho-anatomical variability of its five populations from the maquis (Cisto-Ericetea and Cisto-Micromerietea), rocky grounds (Festuco-Brometea) and rocky crevices (Asplenietea rupestris) in the Eumediterranean and sub-Mediterranean region. Univariate statistic analysis included 22 quantitative characters related to the leaf and stem anatomy and morphology. In order to establish the variability and significance of morpho-anatomical differentiation, principal component analyses (PCA), multivariate analyses of variances (MANOVA), discriminant components analysis (DCA) and clustering, according to the UPMGA method based on Mahalanobius' distances, have been done. The morpho-anatomical analysis of plants from the five distant populations confirmed that the species T flavum belongs to malacophyllous xeromorphic species. It was established that the plants from all the five populations analyzed are distinguished by stable conservative xeromorphic characteristics. There is a difference between the pronounced xeromorphic plants belonging to Eumediterranean populations and the subxeromorphic sub-Mediterranean ones

Variability of the essential oil composition of the species Satureja montana L. (Lamiaceae)

The chemical composition of the oils of one population of Satureja montana L. subsp. pisidica (Wettst.) Silic and two populations of S. montana subsp. montana were investigated on the intrapopulational and interpopulational level by GC and GC/MS. All samples of the populations were grouped according to dominant constituents in the oils and chemotype. The results showed a significant individual variability of the oil composition. In all oil samples, the quantity of sesquiterpene compounds was smaller than the quantity of Monoterpene compounds; with the oxygenated monoterpenes being greater than the Monoterpene hydrocarbons. The main constituents of S. montana ssp. pisidica oils were found to be p-cymene (22.4–75.5%), linalool (22.5–68.0%) and carvacrol (26.2–70.5%). The main components of S. montana ssp. montana oils were shown to be p-cymene (14.5–47.7%), trans-sabinene hydrate (14.2–27.1%), linalool (14.4–74.0%), borneol (18.1–29.6%) and p-cymen-8-ol (11.3–27.0%). The domination of the plants of the aromatic chemotype was determined in all of the investigated populations. By comparing the oils of the examined plant populations, it was found that there was more similarity, in quAlltative and quantitative composition of essential oils, the presence of chemo-types and their frequency, than between populations that belonged to the same subspecies and which have habitats similar in basic climatic factors

Anatomija višecvetne žalfije Salvia officinalis L. subsp. multiflora Gajić (Lamiaceae)

The multifloral sage (Salvia officinalis L. subsp. multiflora Gajić), the subspecies of the common sage, grows only at termophylus limestone in Southeast of Serbia (Gajić, 1973). According to its endemic character, it has being included in the group of Yugoslav taxa of international significance (Stevanović et al. 1995). The research of the structural attributes of leaves and steams of multifloral sage was performed on material collected from Sićevo gorge in S.E. Serbia. The stem and leaves are covered with the dense indumentum, comprised of different, specifically located glandular and non-glandular trichomes. The anatomic structure of the stem and leaves, along with the specific indumentum features indicate xero-mesomorphic nature of multifloral sage.Salvia officinalis L. subsp. multiflora Gajić, je endemit jugoistočne Srbije i usled toga uvrštena u listu jugoslovenskih taksona od međunarodnog značaja. Istraživanje strukturnih odlika listova i stabla višecvetne žalfije urađeno je na materijalu prikupljenom sa lokaliteta Sićevačka klisura, odakle je takson i opisan. Stablo i listovi su pokriveni gustim indumentumom sačinjenim od različitih, specifično raspoređenih mehaničkih i žlezdanih trihoma. Anatomska građa stabla i listova, zajedno sa karakterističnim osobinama indumentuma ukazuju na kseromezomorfnu prirodu višecvetne žalfije