Bark anatomy in Croton draco var. draco (Euphorbiaceae)

Pharmacobotanical study of Croton floribundus stem bark

Abstract Croton floribundus, Euphorbiaceae, popularly known as “capixingui” is a native tree of the Atlantic Forest. In folk medicine, the tea of C. floribundus stem bark is used for the treatment of leukemia, tumors, and syphilis. The aim of this work was to describe the morphological and anatomical characteristics of C. floribundus stem bark and to establish parameters for its quality control. Accordingly, different analyses were performed, including organoleptic, morphological, anatomical, and histochemical analysis of the samples, plus the characterization of druse crystals by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The sample showed menthol and camphor odor, and bitter taste. The main macroscopic characteristic was the presence of a thin periderm with striations. The main distinctive microscopic features of the species were: dense gelatinous fibers, phenolic idioblasts, sclereids, numerous crystalline idioblasts with druses located in the cortex and abundantly in the parenchymal rays of the phloem, and absence of laticifers in the mature stem bark. These analyses made possible to describe the morpho-anatomy of that species, contributing to phytochemical and pharmacognostic future studies of C. floribundus.

Novel findings to the biosynthetic pathway of magnoflorine and taspine through transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of Croton draco (Euphorbiaceae)

BACKGROUND

Croton draco is an arboreal species and its latex as well as some other parts of the plant, are traditionally used in the treatment of a wide range of ailments and diseases. Alkaloids, such as magnoflorine, prevent early atherosclerosis progression while taspine, an abundant constituent of latex, has been described as a wound-healer and antitumor-agent. Despite the great interest for these and other secondary metabolites, no omics resources existed for the species and the biosynthetic pathways of these alkaloids remain largely unknown.

RESULTS

To gain insights into the pathways involved in magnoflorine and taspine biosynthesis by C. draco and identify the key enzymes in these processes, we performed an integrated analysis of the transcriptome and metabolome in the major organs (roots, stem, leaves, inflorescences, and flowers) of this species. Transcript profiles were generated through high-throughput RNA-sequencing analysis while targeted and high resolution untargeted metabolomic profiling was also performed. The biosynthesis of these compounds appears to occur in the plant organs examined, but intermediaries may be translocated from the cells in which they are produced to other cells in which they accumulate.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results provide a framework to better understand magnoflorine and taspine biosynthesis in C. draco. In addition, we demonstrate the potential of multi-omics approaches to identify candidate genes involved in the biosynthetic pathways of interest.

Dragon's blood secretion and its ecological significance

Dragon's blood is the name given to a red exudate produced by some plant species belonging to the genera Daemonorops, Dracaena, Croton and Pterocarpus. These are endemic to various parts of the globe. It is classified as a resin or latex depending on its mode of secretion and its chemical composition, which is species specific. This red substance functions in defence and is produced (a) constitutively and stored in preformed anatomical structures, or (b) by induction in response to traumatic events, such as mechanical injury, pathogen attack or invasion by insects. Apart from its defensive role in plants, dragon's blood is also a valuable natural resource renowned since antiquity for its diverse medicinal properties and uses in art. Despite the great importance of dragon's blood, our knowledge of the biological basis for its secretion is still incomplete. This review summarizes recent advances in the study of the anatomical basis for its secretion, and discusses its classification and ecological function. Bringing some clarity to these issues may also help in the commercial sourcing of dragon's blood.

Efficiency of the Polyethylene-Glycol (PEG) Embedding Medium for Plant Histochemistry

Histochemical analyses in plants are commonly performed on hand-made sections of fresh materials. The disadvantages of embedding in historesin, paraffin or paraplast® are the alterations to cellular contents, the high costs and few evident results, depending on the test. Polyethylene-glycol (PEG), as a low cost, hydrophilic medium that maintains most of the cellular features similar to fresh conditions, may be useful for obtaining good histochemical results in thinner and homogeneous sections. The current study aimed to compare the efficiency of PEG as an embedding medium for histochemical analyses of primary and secondary metabolites accumulation. Using hand-made sections of fresh samples (T1) as a comparison, we tested the influence of the use of Karnovsky's solution as a fixative (T2) versus embedding in PEG (T3). The samples herein analyzed comprise leaves, stems, seeds and insect galls of different plant species. Neither the Karnovsky's fixative nor the embedding in PEG altered the histochemical results for starch, lipids, terpenoids, proteins and reducing sugars in T1, T2, and T3. However, PEG binds to phenols, such as tannins, flavonoids and lignins, thereby presenting false negatives in T3.