State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, People's Republic of China.
Microsc Res Tech. 2013 Mar;76(3):296-310. doi: 10.1002/jemt.22167. Epub 2013 Jan 7.
Many Swertia species are utilized as a traditional medicine under the name "Qingyedan" in China, but are easily confused with one another. To distinguish eight Swertia species (S. mileensis, S. cincta, S. patens, S. punicea, S. delavayi, S. nervosa, S. macrosperma, and S. yunnanensis) and to ensure their safety and efficacy, the microscopic and macroscopic characteristics of the roots, stems, leaves, and flowers of them were examined. The results showed that microscopic and macroscopic features helpful for authentication of the eight species were the sinuosity of the anticlinal walls of epidermal cells and presence or absence of hairs on the leaf lamina; presence or absence of V-shaped fibers and fibers with sinuous abaxial wall in the sepals; shape of epidermal cells and pattern of papillae on hairs on the margin of corolla nectary; distribution of stomata in leaf and sepal epidermises, stone cells in cortex and phloem of roots and in cortex and pith of stems, crystals in parenchymatous cells of mesophyll and stem, stomata size, stem diameter, and 4- or 5-merous flowers, and so on. Two keys to the eight Swertia species based on macroscopic and microscopic characteristics are presented. The study indicates that microscopy and related techniques are convenient, practicable, and can be unambiguously applied for authentication of Swertia species.
在中国，许多獐牙菜属植物被用作传统药物，名称为“青叶胆”，但它们很容易混淆。为了区分 8 种獐牙菜属植物（川西獐牙菜、长梗獐牙菜、沼生獐牙菜、美丽獐牙菜、多脉獐牙菜、西南獐牙菜、椭圆叶獐牙菜和云南獐牙菜），并确保它们的安全性和有效性，对它们的根、茎、叶和花的微观和宏观特征进行了检查。结果表明，有助于鉴定这 8 种植物的微观和宏观特征是表皮细胞的垂周壁的卷曲度以及叶片上是否有毛；萼片上是否存在 V 形纤维和具有扭曲背壁的纤维；花被管蜜腺边缘的表皮细胞形状和毛状乳头模式；叶片和萼片表皮中的气孔分布、根皮层和韧皮部及茎皮层和髓部中的石细胞、叶肉和茎的薄壁细胞中的晶体、气孔大小、茎直径以及 4 或 5 基数的花等等。基于宏观和微观特征，提出了 8 种獐牙菜属植物的 2 个检索表。研究表明，显微镜及相关技术方便、实用，可用于獐牙菜属植物的鉴定。
