STUDY OF PETEOLAR ANATOMY OF AESCULUS HIPPOCASTANUM L. LEAVES AS A PERSPEOTIVE SOUROE OF BIOLOGIOALLY AOTIVE COMPOUNDS

Topicality. Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) leaves are a perspective source of biologically active compounds. A number of authors have reliably proved the anti-inflammatory and venotonic activity of horse chestnut leaves-based extracts. The lack of regulatory documentation hinders the process of development and implementation of medicines made of horse chestnut leaves. One of the problem of standardization is the confirmation of medicinal plant materials authenticity, in particular, the petiolar signs of leaves should be given in the section “Microscopy”. However, at present, anatomy of the stalks of chestnut leaves has not been studied. Objective. The aim is to investigate the morphological and anatomical structure of the rachises of the finger-complex leaf of horse chestnut and identify the diagnostic features of this medicinal plant materials. Materials and methods. The horse chestnut leaves collected in the period of flowering in June 2018 in the Botanical Garden of Samara University were investigated. The experiment was carried out by the method of light microscopy in transmitted and reflected light on a light field that met the requirements of State Pharmacopoeia of Russia, XIV edition. Results. The analysis made it possible to reveal the structural features of the horse chestnut leaf rachis: the outlines of the cross sections in the basal, medial and apical parts of the rachis, the beam type of the structure; the presence of a central group of beams in the core; collenchim-like parenchyma of the bark; pigmented pith cells, simple starch grains. Conclusion. The obtained data will allow to further development of the section “Microscopy” of the Pharmacopoeial monograph “Aesculus hippocastanum L. leaves”.