Search

Abstract: The chemical composition of epicuticular waxes of Mandevilla guanabarica and Mandevilla moricandiana was comparatively analyzed by extraction in n-hexane and chloroform. The mean wax content per unit of leaf area in the n-hexane extract was about 13–30 μg cm−2 for M. guanabarica, containing 20–28% n-alkanes and 55–63% triterpenes; for M. mori-candiana, the mean content was 19 μg cm−2, containing 73% n-alkanes and 14% triterpenes. In the chloroform extract, the wax yield was 40–80 μg cm−2 for M. guanabarica, with about 9–11% n-alkanes and 75–82% triterpenes; while for M. moricandiana, the wax yield was 110 μg cm−2, with 52% n-alkanes and 14% triterpenes. The major compounds identified were lupeol, pentacyclic triterpenes of the α- and β-amyrin class, and n-alkanes such as nonacosane, hentriacontane and tritriacontane. These results indicate that the quantitative chemical profiles of epicuticular waxes of M. guanabarica and M. moricandiana are distinct and could be used as an additional feature in taxonomic identification. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Biology is the property of Instituto Internacional de Ecologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The morphological similarities among the species of Cissampelos are remarkable and the difficult to distinguish them as well. This article presents a comparative anatomical study of the leaves of common Northeastern Brazilian species of Cissampelos, carried out using light and scanning electron microscopy. The leaf epidermal was studied to obtain data on epidermal characteristics and to evaluate their taxonomic significance. As results, some micromorphological characters on the leaf epidermal like the cuticular waxes, the presence of papillae in epidermis and nonglandular trichomes, the anticlinal walls epidermal cells, the distribution, density and type of trichomes, and also the type and distribution of epicuticular wax proved to be the most useful characteristics to distinguish the species in taxonomic studies., (Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)