부산대학교 도서관

Xanthium strumarium and Xanthium spinosum are found in many parts of the world and they are used in traditional medicine in many countries. Several studies have shown some medicinal effects for X. strumarium parts (leaves–seedlings–flowers–roots–fruits), and of the leaves of X. spinosum to treat some diseases. This paper is designed to set standards in determining the quality of the powders of these two plants. The standards include microscopic examinations and preliminary tests, which can be considered as identification tests for the purity of the powders. Contamination can occur during the collection of the plant, such as the presence of fruit elements among the powder of the leaves. Additionally, toxic substances in the fruits of the plant could be present that need special treatment before using them. Furthermore, these species of Xanthium are invasive to fields, so microscopic examination revealed the contamination of other plant powders with parts of these Xanthium species. The microscopic examination of X. strumarium leaves showed a distinctive nonglandular trichomes different from the ones in X. spinosum leaves. Seedling powder gives more glandular trichomes than the leaf powder, and the flower powder can be distinguished by the presence of distinctive pollen grains. The root powder is characterized by the presence of stone cells, while the presence of fibers indicates the elements of stems or fruits, depending on the shape of the fibers. The preliminary tests showed that all parts of X. strumarium contain alkaloids, but not in the leaves of X. spinosum. The type of flavonoids was different between the leaves of Xanthium species. The two species did not contain anthraquinones or saponins, while the leaves of X. spinosum contained tannins.Graphic abstract: