Pharmacognostic Investigation of the Leaves of Mentha cordifolia and Its DNA Fingerprints

Abstract

Objective: To perform microscopic investigation of Mentha cordifolia leaf and determine DNA fingerprint of the plant.Methods: Tissues of M. cordifolia, M. arvensis var piperascens and M. spicata were investigated under light microscope. DNA marker for M. cordifolia was established by amplification of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal RNA gene using conserved plant sequences as primers and fragmentation with the restriction enzyme Bsm1.Results: The results showed the presence of uniseriate epidermal cells covered by a fine cuticle layer, glandular trichomes of multicellular type, capitate and peltate, and non-glandular trichomes. The fragmentation pattern of ITS of nuclear ribosomal RNA gene was applied as DNA marker for discrimination of M. cordifolia from M. arvensis var piperascens and M. spicata.Conclusion: Pharmacognostic investigation of M. cordifolia leaf exhibited the characteristic of Mentha species and the plant is distinguishable from M. arvensis var piperascens and M. spicata by DNA fingerprint pattern.Keywords: Mentha cordifolia, microscopic investigation, DNA marker, internal transcribed spacer