ANÁLISE MICROSCÓPICA FOLIAR DE MUTAMBA (Guazuma ulmifolia LAM., MALVACEAE)

Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. is a woody plant indigenous to America and included currently in Malvaceae. It is commonly known as West Indian elm or bastard cedar, and used in folk medicine as wound healing and for treating gastrointestinal and respiratory problems. Phytochemical investigations identied tannins and avonoids in the aerial vegetative parts. Pharmacological assays demonstrated gastroprotector and antibacterial effects. Studying the leaf anatomy of G. ulmifolia, this work aimed to establish structural characters, easily recognizable for the microscopic identication of this potential vegetal drug. The plant material was collected from grown specimens in the Brazilian savannah called Cerrado. It was studied the lower third of the blade and the