National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA,
J Nat Med. 2014 Oct;68(4):686-98. doi: 10.1007/s11418-014-0849-5. Epub 2014 Jun 14.
The edible tubers from different species of Dioscorea are a major source of food and nutrition for millions of people. Some of the species are medicinally important but others are toxic. The genus consists of about 630 species of almost wholly dioecious plants, many of them poorly characterized. The taxonomy of Dioscorea is confusing and identification of the species is generally problematic. There are no adequate anatomical studies available for most of the species. This study is aimed to fill this gap and provides a detailed investigation of the anatomy and micro-morphology of the rhizomes and tubers of five different species of Dioscorea, namely D. balcanica, D. bulbifera, D. polystachya, D. rotundata and D. villosa. The primary features that can help in distinguishing the species include the nature of periderm, presence or absence of pericyclic sclereids, lignification in the phloem, types of calcium oxalate crystals and features of starch grains. The descriptions are supported with images of bright-field and scanning electron microscopy for better understanding of these species. The diagnostic key of anatomical features included in this paper can help distinguish the investigated species unambiguously. Additionally, HPTLC analyses of authentic and commercial samples of the five species are described.
不同品种的薯蓣属植物的可食用块茎是数百万人的主要食物和营养来源。一些品种具有药用价值，但其他品种则有毒。该属约有 630 种几乎完全雌雄异株的植物，其中许多特征描述较差。薯蓣属的分类学比较混乱，种的鉴定通常存在问题。大多数品种都没有足够的解剖学研究。本研究旨在填补这一空白，并对 5 种不同薯蓣属植物的根茎和块茎的解剖结构和微观形态进行详细研究，这 5 个种分别是 D. balcanica、D. bulbifera、D. polystachya、D. rotundata 和 D. villosa。有助于区分这些种的主要特征包括周皮的性质、是否存在周皮石细胞、韧皮部木质化、草酸钙晶体的类型以及淀粉粒的特征。描述附有明场和扫描电子显微镜的图像，以帮助更好地理解这些种。本文中包含的解剖学特征的鉴别特征可以帮助明确区分所研究的种。此外，还对 5 种薯蓣属植物的正宗和商业样本进行了 HPTLC 分析。
