Abstract

Ipomoea pes-tigridis is an annual herbaceous twining vine which belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Each part of the plant is used for multitude biological uses. The current work is oriented towards exploring the microanatomical, physicochemical and phytochemical aspects of the plant. The transverse section (TS) of the leaf and TS and longitudinal section (LS) of the stem were studied. The powdered microscopical studies of leaf, stem and fruits were observed. The chemo microscopical studies using various staining reagents like toluidine blue, safranin, schules reagent and sudan III were performed. The physicochemical parameters performed were determination of ash values, extractive values and fluorescence analysis. The aerial parts of the plant was dried and powdered and then after defatting with petroleum ether was extracted with methanol and then subjected to phytochemical screening. The thin layer chromatographic (TLC) analysis was carried out for the methanolic extract followed by the high performance thin layer chromatographic (HPTLC) standardization. The anatomy of the leaf, stem and fruits showed abundant long, slender, uniseriate covering trichomes and sessile glandular trichomes. The main tissue of diagnostic tissue of the stem was found to be spiral shaped vessels. The vascular bundles were bicollateral which was considered to be a typical character of Convulvulaceae family. The chemomicroscopical studies revealed the presence of suberin, cutin, lignin and cellulose in the cell walls. Stomatal number was determined to be high in the upper epidermis than the lower one. Microscopic measurements revealed the length of trichomes to be high in the stem region. Fluorescence analysis showed wide range of fluorescence colours and all the three parts showed similar colours with slight changes in intensity. Water soluble extractive values were found to be high which shows that most of the phytoconstituents may be polar soluble. The aerial part after defatting with petroleum ether was extracted with methanol and the percentage yield obtained was found to be 12.55% w/w. The preliminary phytochemical chemical tests performed showed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins and cardiac glycosides. The TLC studies foe flavonoids showed five prominent spots with yellow and blue colour fluorescence. The HPTLC standardization revealed the presence of scopoletin, flavonoid I and flavonoids glycoside and six unknown compounds. The pharmacognostical studies performed has identification of the significant features and standards for the proper identification of the plant from its related species as well as in the detection of adulteration/substitution. Hence, the matter embodied in this article will be helpful in establishment of suitable monograph for the plant.

Key words: Trichomes, sessile, chemomicroscopy, Schulzes, fluorescence, toluidine.