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

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

TRICHOMES MORPHOLOGY ON PETALS OF SOME ACANTHACEAE SPECIES

A preliminary taxonomic study was carried out on seven Acanthaceae species namely as Andrographis paniculata,Pseuderanthemum graciliflorum,P. carruthersii, Asystasia gangetica ssp. micrantha, Ruellia repens, Justicia comata and J. betonica.The study was undertaken to investigate the morphology of trichomes present on the surfaces of flower petal. The variations found in this study are in their types and density. Based on observation, two forms of trichomes are present in all species studies which are glandular and non-glandular trichomes. There are seven types of trichomes found in this study. Trichomes types are shown to have systematic significance that can be used to differentiate and identify certain Acanthaceae species studied

Morfologi trikom pada petal dan sepal spesies terpilih Acanthaceae di Semenanjung Malaysia (Trichome Morphology on Petal and Sepal of Selected Species of Acanthaceae in Peninsular Malaysia)=Trichome morphology on petal and sepal of selected species of Acanthaceae in Peninsular Malaysia

Acanthaceae merupakan famili tumbuhan angiosperma di bawah order Lamiales yang terdiri daripada sekurangkurangnya 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. ******************************************************************************************* Acanthaceae is an angiosperm plant family under the order Lamiales, comprising at least 4000 species of either tropical or subtropical. Species of Acanthaceae can be found in various habitats and they have various morphological characteristics and geographical distribution patterns. However, the information on the anatomy of Acanthaceae is still meagre till to date. The objective of this study was to identify the type of trichomes present on both adaxial and abaxial epidermal surfaces of sepals and petals of some selected Acanthaceae species in Peninsular Malaysia. The study involved fresh samples collected from the field, preparation of voucher specimens, epidermal peel techniques with observation under light and scanning electron microscopes. Thirty types of trichomes were found in this study, 23 types were present on the petal epidermal surface and 17 types were observed on the sepal epidermal surface. Types of trichomes found included simple unicellular and multicellular, capitate and peltate glandular and armed trichomes. The presence of trichomes on sepal and petal surfaces proven to have taxonomic value to differentiate and identify species in Acanthaceae. Information on the morphological trichome characteristics found in the study is a new finding in anatomical features of Acanthaceae

Trichomes morphology in petals of some acanthaceae species

Trichomes morphology in petals of some Acanthaceae species. Reinwardtia 14(1): 79 – 83. ― A preliminary taxonomic study was carried out on seven Acanthaceae species namely as Andrographis paniculata, Pseuderanthemum graciliflorum, P. carruthersii, Asystasia gangetica ssp micrantha, Ruellia repens, Justicia comata and J. betonica. The study was undertaken to investigate the morphology of trichomes present on the surfaces of flower petal. The variations found in this study are in their types and density. Based on observation, two forms of trichomes are present in all species studies which are glandular and non-glandular trichomes. There are seven types of trichomes found in this study. Trichomes types are shown to have systematic significance that can be used to differentiate and identify certain Acanthaceae species studied