Morphological and anatomical study of leaves of common myrtle (Myrtus communis L.)

Aim – to carry out microscopic analysis of leaf petioles of common myrtle and to identify diagnostic features of luminescence of dominant biologically active substances and tissues of leaf petioles of this plant species. Material and methods. Leaves of common myrtle (Yalta, Russia), leaves of common myrtle (Oued-Rhiou, Algeria), leaves of eucalyptus (Abkhazia), standard samples of 1,8-cineole (SamSMU), euvimal-1 (VILAR, Moscow) and myricitrin (SamSMU) were objects of research. Essential oil was obtained from the leaves of the plant samples. Anatomical and histological study of substances and plant raw materials of common myrtle was carried out using light microscopes with a digital attachment in transmitted and reflected light, and a luminescent microscope. Results. Preliminary morphological analysis of the plant material showed similarity of leaves of common myrtle from different localities and low variability within each sample with respect to their size and shape. A comparative study of the luminescence of myrtle and eucalyptus essential oils and the studied standard samples was carried out. Microscopy of cross section, epidermis, schizogenic and essential oil receptacles, lenticels, xylem vessels of myrtle leaf petiole was performed and described. The following conclusions were made: the luminescent method of analysis allows diagnosing myrtle and eucalyptus essential oil by features of luminescence in the ultraviolet lamp; 1,8-cineole is not a diagnostic element in morphological and anatomical luminescence for common myrtle of different growing sites and admixed species to myrtle; euvimal-1 and myricitrin have diagnostically significant luminescence for identification of common myrtle leaves; the identified feature of pigmentation of the epithelium of the schizogenic leaf receptacle of common myrtle and characterization of its luminescence can be used as a diagnostic feature in contrast to the admixed raw material of eucalyptus. Conclusion. The results obtained in the course of the study can be further used in the development of regulatory documentation for a new type of medicinal plant raw material – “Common myrtle leaves”, as well as in fundamental botany in the study of species of the family Myrtaceae.