Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Abdulrahman Dogara Mahmoud ¹
• Saber W. Hamad ^{2, 1}
• Aisha Abdullahi Mahmud ³
• Talar K Anwar ⁴
• Umar Umar Uwais ⁵
• Musa Daniel Danladi ⁶

¹ Department of Biology Education, Tishk International University, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

² Department of Field Crops and Medicinal Plants, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, Salahaddin University- Erbil, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

³ Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Science, Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State, Nigeria

⁴ Department of Plant Protection, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, Salahaddin University- Erbil, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

⁵ Department of Biological Science, Kaduna State University, Kaduna

⁶ Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Science, Federal University Dutsen-Ma, Katsina State, Nigeria

Abstract

The genus Eugenia, including over 1100 species, is the largest genus within the Myrtaceae family. It is the second richest genus of trees in the world. In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in interest in the usage of medicinal herbs. It is essential to identify each species individually to guarantee proper medications, standardization, and quality control. In view of this, the study aimed at the identification of Eugenia uniflora and E. punicifolia based on anatomical features and multivariate discrimination based on the chemical composition. The plant samples were bleached with commercial sodium hypochlorite (Clorox) for three to twenty-four hours to better view the vascular bundles. After that, they were dehydrated in a succession of ethanol. Essential oil compositions from the leaves were used to carry out unsupervised multivariate analysis using SIMCA-P program (V.14.1). The vascular bundles in the plant E. punicifolia are arranged cyclically. In contrast, E. uniflora vascular bundle is more randomly arranged into a U shape, which will act as a biomarker for identification. They show a great deal of variation when subjected to multivariate analysis, particularly regarding the anatomy of the vascular bundle in the midrib and petiole. The recorded data will serve as a roadmap for quality assurance of natural products in Nigeria and the world at large.

Keywords

• Anatomy
• Traditional plants
• Taxonomy
• Vascular bundle

Main Subjects

• Biology