WHO monographs on selected medicinal plants - travolekar.ru

<strong>WHO</strong> <strong>monographs</strong> on selected medicinal plants
Plant material of interest: dried ripe fruit
General appearance
The dried berry is dark red to almost black, 7.0–11.5 mm in width and
10–15 mm in length, with a smooth but deeply wrinkled, slightly lustrous
surface. At the fruit apex is the dried, slightly raised nectariferous disc,
1.5–2 mm across, with a shallow depression in its centre inside which is a
small protuberance from the remains of the style. At the fruit base is a
small scar where the berry was attached to the pedicel. The texture is
spongy. In cross-section, the mesocarp and endocarp are a dull red. The
mesocarp has large air pockets, and varies in thickness when dried from
0.1–2 mm. In cross-section, the fruit is divided into 4 chambers (carpels),
each running the entire length of the fruit. The chambers are separated by
dull red, thin, translucent septa and each chamber contains 1–5 seeds.
Each seed is narrowly ovoid with an acute apex, 1–2.7 mm long and approximately
1 mm wide, with a lustrous rose to red testa that is longitudinally
wrinkled. The endosperm is an opaque white (1).
Organoleptic properties
Odour: slightly fruity and sweet; taste: very acidic and tart (1).
Microscopic characteristics
Fruit: the exocarp consists of anthocyanin-coloured polygonal cells covered
by a thick cuticle. Groups of cells are separated by fairly thick,
colourless walls, whereas the walls within the groups are very thin. The
mesocarp consists of large, spherical, thin-walled cells in which small
bundles of spirally thickened vessels are embedded.
Seed (cross-section): the epidermis of the testa is composed of radially
elongated rectangular cells filled with mucilage. The walls are thickened in
a U-shape, the thickest wall being the exterior one; the mucilage is radially
striated, and in the centre of the cell is a small lumen. Below the epidermis
are several layers of polygonal cells with thick, brown, occasionally reticulately
thickened walls. These cells are 250–350 m long and approximately
80 m broad. The innermost layer of the testa consists of compressed, rectangular
cells with sinuous longitudinal walls. The voluminous endosperm
is made up of small polygonal and oil-containing cells (1).
Powdered plant material
Numerous fragments of the exocarp with colourless cell walls and violet
contents; thin-walled parenchyma of the mesocarp; thickened and pitted
cells of the testa; oil droplets (1).
150