COMPARATIVE MICROSCOPIC STUDY OF CENTELLA ASIATICA LEAVES FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

Centella asiatica is a medicinal plant with proven antioxidant, nootropic and neuroprotective effects, used in traditional medicine and included in foreign pharmacopoeias. C. asiatica raw materials are imported to Russia from different countries. The high potential of this medicinal plant necessitates determining its authenticity, including by microscopic features. The article presents the results of a comparative microscopic study of C. asiatica leaves from India, Zimbabwe and Thailand. The study showed that all samples have common diagnostic features: striated cuticle, regular epidermal cell shape, simple trichomes and inclusion of starch grains and oil droplets. Differences were found in the type of stomatal complexes and the content of calcium oxalate druses.