Microscopy and Histochemistry in Plant Structural and Functional Analysis

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Structural Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 425

Special Issue Editors


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School of Life Sciences, Westville Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000, South Africa
Interests: plant sciences; ethnobotany; stress ecophysiology; microscopy
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Guest Editor
Biological Sciences, University of Kwa Zulu Natal, Durban, South Africa
Interests: asphodelaceae; biogeography; floristics; haworthia; kniphofia; schotia

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microscopy, histochemistry, and phytochemistry are foundational disciplines in medicinal plant research and botanical sciences. Together, these approaches offer a powerful toolkit for exploring plant structure, chemistry, and biological function from the cellular to the molecular level.

Microscopy enables the detailed visualization of plant tissues and cellular structures, supporting species identification, quality control of herbal materials, and studies of plant development and stress responses. Histochemical techniques further allow for the localization of specific bioactive compounds within plant tissues, helping to link anatomical features with metabolic functions. Phytochemistry, on the other hand, delves into the identification and characterization of plant-derived secondary metabolites, providing the chemical basis for therapeutic applications and facilitating the development of evidence-based phytomedicines.

This Special Issue invites original research articles and reviews that utilize microscopy, histochemistry, and phytochemical methods to advance our understanding of medicinal plants. Contributions that integrate these disciplines or apply innovative techniques for plant analysis are especially encouraged. Topics may include, but are not limited to, structural analysis, metabolite localization, chemical profiling, and the interface between traditional knowledge and modern pharmacognosy.

Prof. Dr. Yougasphree Naidoo
Dr. Syd Ramdhani
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • medicinal plants
  • microscopy
  • histochemistry
  • phytochemistry
  • plant anatomy
  • bioactive compounds
  • herbal medicine
  • secondary metabolites
  • plant identification
  • natural products

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 17214 KiB  
Article
Histological Features Detected for Separation of the Edible Leaves of Allium ursinum L. from the Poisonous Leaves of Convallaria majalis L. and Colchicum autumnale L.
by Márta M-Hamvas, Angéla Tótik, Csongor Freytag, Attila Gáspár, Amina Nouar, Tamás Garda and Csaba Máthé
Plants 2025, 14(15), 2377; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14152377 - 1 Aug 2025
Viewed by 298
Abstract
Allium ursinum (wild garlic) has long been collected and consumed as food and medicine in the north temperate zone, where its popularity is growing. Colchicum autumnale and Convallaria majalis contain toxic alkaloids. Their habitats overlap, and without flowers, their vegetative organs are similar. [...] Read more.
Allium ursinum (wild garlic) has long been collected and consumed as food and medicine in the north temperate zone, where its popularity is growing. Colchicum autumnale and Convallaria majalis contain toxic alkaloids. Their habitats overlap, and without flowers, their vegetative organs are similar. Confusing the leaves of Colchicum or Convallaria with the leaves of wild garlic has repeatedly led to serious human and animal poisonings. Our goal was to find a histological characteristic that makes the separation of these leaves clear. We compared the anatomy of foliage leaves of these three species grown in the same garden (Debrecen, Hungary, Central Europe). We used a bright-field microscope to characterize the transversal sections of leaves. Cell types of epidermises were compared based on peels and different impressions. We established some significant differences in the histology of leaves. The adaxial peels of Allium consist of only “long” cells without stomata, but the abaxial ones show “long”, “short” and “T” cells with wavy cell walls as a peculiarity, and stomata. Convallaria and Colchicum leaves are amphystomatic, but in the case of Allium, they are hypostomatic. These traits were confirmed with herbarium specimens. Our results help to clearly identify these species even in mixed, dried plant material and may be used for diagnostic purposes. Full article
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