Cytological Studies of Selected Medicinal Plants: Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotz., Moringa oliefera Lam., Chatharanthus roseus (L.) Don and Chrysanthemum indicum Linn.
Merlyn S. Mendioro*, Maria Genaleen Q. Diaz, Maria Theresa B. Alcantara,
Oscar J. Hilario, Patrocinio Mateo and Reycel D.M. Maghirang
Genetics and Molecular Biology Division, Institute of Biological Sciences College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna, Philippines
corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ABSTRACT
Meioses I and II in young flower buds of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotz. (poinsettia), Moringa oleifera Lam. (malunggay), and Catharanthus roseus (L.) Don. (periwinkle) were studied using iron-acetocarmine squash technique. The chromosome number of C. roseus is 2n=16 while both M. oleifera and E. pulcherrima have 2n=28. Although late disjunction and presence of laggards were noted at Metaphase I, Anaphase I and II, Telophase I and II were 100% normal. These would indicate that lagging chromosomes were able to catch up, reached the opposite poles, and were included in daughter nuclei. Highly normal meiosis I and II resulted to high pollen fertility (90.62 to 91.91%). On the other hand, acetocarmine squash preparations of root tip cells of Chrysanthemum indicum Linn. (manzanilla) pre-treated with 0.5% colchicine for 2 hours revealed that the diploid chromosome number ranged from 44 to 48. The chromosomes were monocentric. Based on the position of the centromeres, the chromosomes were categorized into three groups, namely; Group I-median, Group II-submedian, and Group III-subterminal. Relative lengths of the chromosomes ranged from 0.40 to 1.00.
INTRODUCTION
Plant products are widely used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food industries. Many pharmaceutical companies in the Western World depend on many plants for their medicinal properties. Pharmacopoeias have developed from. . . .
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