Anatomical Study of Garden Nasturtium (Tropaeolum Majus L.) Growing under the Climatic Conditions of Annaba (Eastern Algeria)

Abstract

Tropaeolum majus L. (garden nasturtium) is a fast growing climbing annual plant characterized by its leaf venation. It is known for
its medicinal, ornamental and culinary utility. The aim of this work was to study the anatomy of the garden nasturtium growing
under the climatic conditions of Annaba (eastern Algeria). Garden nasturtium stem, petiole, leaf and root were harvested during
the month of November (2016). Microscopic observation of the different organs revealed that the anatomy of this plant contains
much more hydrophilic cellulosic tissues (parenchyma and collenchymas) than hydrophobic lignified tissues. We can deduce that
garden nasturtium requires a high humidity which explains the great growth of this species under the climatic conditions of the
region of Annaba, characterized by Mediterranean climate (high rainfall, high atmospheric humidity and mild temperature)..

Full text

International Journal of Innovative Approaches in Agricultural Research
Volume 3, Issue 2 June 2019
ijiaar.penpublishing.net
ISSN: 2602-4772 (Online)
Anatomical Study of Garden Nasturtium (Tropaeolum Majus L.) Growing under the Climatic
Conditions of Annaba (Eastern Algeria)
Ailane Leila, Ati Samira, Aouadi Ghozlène, Bennadja Salima & Karima Ounaissia
To cite this article
Leila, A., Samira, A., Ghozlène, A., Salima, B. & Ounaissia, K. (2019). Anatomical Study of Garden Nasturtium (Tropaeolum Majus L.)
Growing under the Climatic Conditions of Annaba (Eastern Algeria). International Journal of Innovative Approaches in Agricultural Research,
3(2), 257-266. doi: 10.29329/ijiaar.2019.194.11
Published Online June 30, 2019
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DOI https://doi.org/10.29329/ijiaar.2019.194.11
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Uluslararası Tarım Araştırmalarında Yenilikçi Yaklaşımlar Dergisi
International Journal of Innovative Approaches in Agricultural Research 2019, Vol. 3 (2), 256-266
https://doi.org/10.29329/ijiaar.2019.194.11
Copyright © 2019. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND
257
Original article
Anatomical Study of Garden Nasturtium (Tropaeolum Majus L.)
Growing under the Climatic Conditions of Annaba
(Eastern Algeria) 1
Leila Ailane a,
*
, Salima Bennadja a, b, Karima Ounaissia b , Samira Ati a & Ghozlène Aouadi a
a Laboratory of Biochemistry and Environmental Toxicology. Faculty of Sciences. University of Annaba. Algeria
b Laboratory of Plant Biology. Faculty of Medicine. University of Annaba. Algeria
Abstract
Tropaeolum majus L. (garden nasturtium) is a fast growing climbing annual plant characterized by its leaf venation. It is known for
its medicinal, ornamental and culinary utility. The aim of this work was to study the anatomy of the garden nasturtium growing
under the climatic conditions of Annaba (eastern Algeria). Garden nasturtium stem, petiole, leaf and root were harvested during
the month of November (2016). Microscopic observation of the different organs revealed that the anatomy of this plant contains
much more hydrophilic cellulosic tissues (parenchyma and collenchymas) than hydrophobic lignified tissues. We can deduce that
garden nasturtium requires a high humidity which explains the great growth of this species under the climatic conditions of the
region of Annaba, characterized by Mediterranean climate (high rainfall, high atmospheric humidity and mild temperature)..
Keywords: Tropaeolum majus L., Anatomy, Region of Annaba.
Received: 30 August 2018 * Accepted: 19 May 2019 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.29329/ijiaar.2019.194.11
*
Corresponding author:
Leila Ailane, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Environmental Toxicology. Faculty of Sciences. University of Annaba. Algeria .
Email: leila.mohammed.ailane@gmail.com
1 A part of this study was presented at the International Agricultural, Biological and Life Science Conference, Edirne, Turkey, September 2-5, 2018.
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International Journal of Innovative Approaches in Agricultural Research, 2019, Vol. 3 (2), 256-266
258
INTRODUCTION
Tropaeolum majus L. (garden nasturtium) is a succulent fast growing climbing annual herb which
is indigenous to the Andes Mountains in South America, mainly in Peru, Ecuador and Colombia (Small
& Deutsch, 2001). It was introduced into Europe in the sixteenth century and elsewhere subsequently
(Wilson, 2007).
This species that belongs to the Tropaeolaceae family is known for its ornamental, culinary and
medicinal utility. It is characterized by a fleshy trailing stem, veined green orbicular leaves with slightly
wavy edges peltated on a long petiole (Beloued, 2014) as well as yellow, red or orange beautiful flowers
in the form of an open funnels that carries a spur (Al-Shehbaz & al.,2009). However, all the parts of this
herb are edible (Wilson, 2007), the leaves and the flowers remain the most used parts because of their
pungent peppery flavor and can be consumed alone, added in salads, in sandwiches or any other raw
vegetables (Gray AM, 2009; Al-Shehbaz & al.,2009; Baba Aissa F, 2000).
Due to its important therapeutic properties, T. majus has always been used in folk medicine to
treat several diseases. It is used externally as disinfectant (Garzón & Wrolstad, 2009) or in dermatology
and cosmetology for the treatment of appendages diseases (Bazylko & al., 2014), superficial and limited
burns and diaper rash (Bruneton, 1999). As for internaly, This herb has proven its efficiency as a good
remedy for the treatement of cancer, upper respiratory tract such as bronchitis, tuberculosis and asthma
(Duke & al., 2009), genitourinary tract infections (Lourenço & al., 2012), urinary tract diseases (Junior
& al., 2009) and many other conditions. Furthermore, various studies in experimental pharmacology
have been carried out on T. majus L or compounds isolated from this herb. These studies have revealed
the presence of many biologically active compounds such as benzyl isothiocyanate which possesses
antimicrobial, anticancer as well as anti-inflammatory activities (Binet, 1964; Pintão & al. 1995; Aires
et al. 2009; Dufour et al. 2012; Lee et al. 2009). Antineoplastic and antifeeding activities have been
attributed to the tetracyclic triterpene cucurbitacins (Picciarelli & al. 1984; Picciarelli and Alpi 1987).
The aim of this work is to study the anatomy of the garden nasturtium growing under the climatic
conditions of Annaba (eastern Algeria) because a little data is available on its anatomical structure in
relation to the climatic characteristics of the biotopes in which it develops.
Materials and Methods
Site characteristics description
Annaba is a town located in the East of Algeria between latitudes 36'30N and 37'03N and the
longitudes 07'20E and 08'40E.The climate is of Mediterranean type, characterized by a rainy season
going from September to May and a dry and sunny summer. The duration of the dry period is 03 months
(June, July, and August). The wettest month is January (77.7%); while the least humid month coincides
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259
with the month of July (70.58%). T. majus develops on a substrate on a very steep slope, so that retains
very little moisture.
Plant Materials
Garden nasturtium stem, petiole, leaves and root, were harvested in November (2016). Some of
fresh samples of the plant were used to determine the moister content; a second part was fixed in 70%
alcohol for anatomical study.
Moisture content of T.majus
It was determined by desiccation of the plant material at temperature of 105 ± 2 ° C under vacuum
until a constant mass. The amount of water contained in the plant or organ is obtained by making the
difference in mass between the fresh material and the dry matter after desiccation. This difference is
expressed as a percentage of the fresh matter according to the formula determined by the relation:
MC in% = (FW -DW) x100 / PF.
MC: water content (in %)
FW: fresh weight (in g)
DW: dry weight after drying in an oven (in g).
Anatomy
Thin histological sections of garden nasturtium organs were prepared according to the double
staining method (Congo red and methyl green) then observed under microscope “Optika” (x10 and
x40).
Results
Moisture content of T.majus (Fig 1)
All T.majus organs are rich in water, especially the stem (74%), the root (64%) and the flower
(61%). The leaf with 44% is the least succulent organ because of the thinness of the limb.
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Figure 1. Moisture content of the different organs of the nasturtium
Anatomical structure
The histological sections made on the stem, petiole, leaf and root of the nasturtium allowed the
observation of the structures represented in the figures below:
Leaf
It is bifacial., typical of Dicotyledons with several ribs arranged in a webbed manner (since the
leaf is of peltate venation). Collenchymatic cells are located under the upper and lower epidermis; in the
median region of the leaf there is a vascular bundle (Fig 2). Epidermis is single layered provided with
glandular and eglandular hairs. Eglandular hairs are more common than glandular ones (Fig 3). Indeed,
the epidermis is endowed with long pluricellular uniseriate hairs, difficult to detect even under a
microscope because they are transparent. Small secretory hairs are also found.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
ORGAN ROOT LEAF STEM FLOWER
MOISTURE (%)
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Figure 2. Cross-section of the main vein of garden nasturtium leaf seen under an optical microscope
(x10).
A B
Figure 3. Structure of the eglandular hair (A) and the glandular hair (B) of garden nasturtium seen
under an optical microscope (x40).
Stem
It has a very simple structure. The epidermis is single layered followed by a collenchyma of three
cell layers and a much reduced cortical parenchyma. The Vascular bundles are arranged on a single
concentric circle, on the periphery of a highly developed marrow. The epidermal cells are rectangular,
collenchyma, of the angular type, is formed by two layers of cells, underlying the epidermis. Cortical
parenchyma is formed by five layers of cells (Fig 4). The medullar parenchyma occupies most of the
stem (Fig 5). For the stem, the angular collenchyme and the large area occupied by the parenchymal
marrow, is consistent with the work of Dickson (2000)
Lower epidermis
Collenchyma
Vascular bundle
Upper epidermis
Lacuneous parenchyma
Palisade parenchyma
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Figure 4. Cross-section of the stem, seen under an optical microscope (x10).
Figure 5. Detail of the cortex of the cross section of T. majus stem, seen under an optical microscope
(x40).
Petiole
Its structure is very similar to that of the stem. It’s very rich in parenchyma (Fig 6). Each vascular
bundle (Fig 7) irrigates a rib in the mesophyll, the vascular bundle are are arranged on a circle, because
the leaf has a pelted venation.
Epidermis
Cortex
Secondary phloem
Secondary xylem
Marrow
Stomata
Collenchyma
Cortical parenchyma
Cuticular layer
Epidermis
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Figure 6. Cross section of the petiole, seen under an optical microscope (x10).
Figure 7. Detail of the Vascular bundle of the petiole, seen under an optical microscope (x40).
Root
The root presents a suber of three layers of suberous cells, a cortical small parenchyma. The
marrow that was occupied by a cellulosic parenchyma disappears and is occupied by the secondary
xylem surrounded by the cambium then by the phloem. Unlike the usual anatomical structure, the root
of Nasturtium presents a very developed central cylinder (Fig 8).
Epidermis
Cortex
Vascular bunder
Marrow
Xylem
Phloem
Parenchymatic cell
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Figure 8. Cross section of the root of the nasturtium seen under an optical microscope (x10).
Discussion
According to the anatomical characteristics, T. majus is of the xerophytic type. Xerophytic plants
are adapted to drought because, on the one hand, they optimize their ability to absorb water as developing
water-saving mechanisms by accumulating water reserves in organs called succulent (David & al.,
2014). On the other hand, they limit as much as possible the loss due to transpiration. We can note the
two strategies at T.majus
T. majus has succulent organs. The presence of cuticle over the leaves increases the cuticular
resistance, thus reducing water loss. In addition to that T. majus presents xerophytic stomata of
anisocytic type which are sunk in the epidermis marking the xerophytic type for T. majus (Zanetti & al.,
2004). Long, transparent, eglandular hairs are also a sign of xerophytism. The eglandular hairs have
long been considered to have a significant contribution to blocking the free circulation of water vapor
from stomata (sweating), as well as to reduce overheating of leaves (Kintzios, 2002).
Conclusion
In Algeria, Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus L) is mainly considered as a decorative plant, but in
reality this plant has several therapeutic properties. Indeed it is antimicrobial, antioxidant and especially
rich in ascorbic acid.
The aim of this work is to study the anatomy of the garden nasturtium growing under the climatic
conditions of Annaba (Eastern Algeria).
Microscopic observation of the leaf, petiole, stem and root of the nasturtium harvested in
November 2016, revealed that the anatomy of this plant contains many more hydrophilic cellulosic
Suber
Secondary xylem
ssesecondaireFaissauxliberol
igneux
Secondary Phloem
Cortex
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tissues (parenchyma, collenchyma and liber) than hydrophobic lignified tissues. This deduced that the
nasturtium requires a high humidity. This explains the great growth of this species under the climatic
conditions of the region of Annaba. Despite that, T. majus present several characters of xerophytism as
the presence of cuticle, long and transparent eglandular hairs and the succulence of all its organs.
These characters allow this species to withstand the long dry season that characterizes the
Mediterranean climate in the city of Annaba.
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