Author(s):
Silva, I. Vieira da 
; Nogueira, Teresa ; Ascensão, Lia
Date: 2013
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.9/2238
Origin: Repositório do LNEG
Subject(s): Hypericaceae; Hypericum species
Document details
New reports on secretory structures of vegetative and floral organs of Hypericu...
Description
Hypericum elodes L. (Hypericaceae), commonly known as marsh St. John’s wort, is one of the fourteen species found spontaneously in Portugal and it is endemic of Europe. It occurs in acidic waterlogged grounds in the Norwest of Portugal and in the Azores islands, Pico and São Miguel [1]. In the last decades intense phytochemical and pharmacological research have been performed in Hypericum species, namely in H. perforatum, the most studied species of the genus and traditionally used as a medicinal plant. Its bioactive secondary metabolites, naphtodianthrones (e.g. hypericin and pseudohypericin), phloroglucinols (e.g. hyperforin), bioflavonoids and xanthones have been widely studied for their anti-depressant, anti-microbial, anti-viral and anti-proliferative properties [2]. Despite the abundant phytochemical reports available in Hypericum species, the morpho-anatomical studies are scarce and fragmented [3-6]. The present study, included in an ongoing project on Hypericum glands, aims to provide new data on the morphology and anatomy of the secretory structures of H. elodes. Although these glands were previously studied in specimens grown in Italy [5], in the current study we describe in detail their morphology, distribution and histochemistry on the vegetative and floral organs. Small branches of H. elodes were collected from populations occurring in Portugal and samples of leaves and flowers, at different stages of development, were fixed with glutaraldehyde and prepared for scanning electron microscopy or embedding in Leica Historesin®, following standard methods. Additionally, the main classes of compounds present in the secretion were histochemically characterized.
Hypericum elodes L. (Hypericaceae), commonly known as marsh St. John’s wort, is one of the fourteen species found spontaneously in Portugal and it is endemic of Europe. It occurs in acidic waterlogged grounds in the Norwest of Portugal and in the Azores islands, Pico and São Miguel [1]. In the last decades intense phytochemical and pharmacological research have been performed in Hypericum species, namely in H. perforatum, the most studied species of the genus and traditionally used as a medicinal plant. Its bioactive secondary metabolites, naphtodianthrones (e.g. hypericin and pseudohypericin), phloroglucinols (e.g. hyperforin), bioflavonoids and xanthones have been widely studied for their anti-depressant, anti-microbial, anti-viral and anti-proliferative properties [2]. Despite the abundant phytochemical reports available in Hypericum species, the morpho-anatomical studies are scarce and fragmented [3-6]. The present study, included in an ongoing project on Hypericum glands, aims to provide new data on the morphology and anatomy of the secretory structures of H. elodes. Although these glands were previously studied in specimens grown in Italy [5], in the current study we describe in detail their morphology, distribution and histochemistry on the vegetative and floral organs. Small branches of H. elodes were collected from populations occurring in Portugal and samples of leaves and flowers, at different stages of development, were fixed with glutaraldehyde and prepared for scanning electron microscopy or embedding in Leica Historesin®, following standard methods. Additionally, the main classes of compounds present in the secretion were histochemically characterized.
Document Type
Conference Object
Language English
Language English
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