Anatomical and Ultrastructure Differences Between Some Species of the Genus Elsholtzia Willd. of Flora of Ukraine

Introduction: Elsholtzia species are very popular in Chinese, Tibetan and Vietnamese folk medicine to treat several diseases. Despite the wide range of biological activity and the study of the chemical composition of individual species, the microscopic characteristics of plants of this genus are insufficiently studied. In the article the anatomical structure of two species Elsholtzia Willd. of flora of Ukraine is represented. The sources of literature provide only a morphological description of Elsholtzia stauntonii and Elsholtzia ciliate. We analyzed crosssections and ultrastructure of leaf blade, petiole, petal and stem, determined their anatomical features, and investigated the ultrastructure of seeds. We have compared the obtained data between this two species of this genus that grow on the territory of Ukraine under similar conditions. Methods: Microscopic analysis was carried out by the well-known methods using the microscope XSP-146TR and ImageJ program. Anatomical structure of Elsholtzia stauntonii Benth. and Elsholtzia ciliate Thun. are studied and main diagnostic features are highlighted. The ultrastructure of the surface of the epidermal tissue of leaves, stems and seeds were studied additionally, using scanning microscopy methods. Results: The diagnostic microscopic distinguishing features of E. ciliate raw material from E. stauntonii are: the presence of small glandular triсhomes, singly placed on the veins and the presence of long non glandular triсhomes on the central vein of abaxial side. Non glandular triсhomes of E. ciliate are three times longer compared to another investigated species. The presence of numerous triсhomes and massive clusters of stem sclerenchyma E. stauntonii can be considered additional taxonomic criteria for comparing the studied species. Conclusion: The practical significance of our research will use to develop of quality control methods for medicinal herbal raw material – «Herba Elsholtziae Stauntonii», «Herba Elsholtziae ciliate».