Pharmacobotanical study of Baccharis singularis (Vell.) G.M. Barroso, Asteraceae

Abstract

Baccharis is an important genus of Asteraceae and it comprehends approximately 400 species, many of which are frequently used in folk medicine as analgesic, diuretic, spasmolytic, antidiabetic, antiseptic and stomachic. Baccharis singularis belongs to the Singularis group and is popularly known as cambará-de-praia and cambará-da-serra. It is a shrub which occurs in Brazil, from Bahia to Rio Grande do Sul. The present study has aimed to investigate the morpho-anatomy of the aerial vegetative parts of this species for pharmacognostic purposes. The plant material was processed according to standard methods of light and scanning electron microscopy. Non-glandular trichomes, flagelliform, simple and uniseriate, secretory ducts located near the phloem, calcium oxalate crystals in the perimedullary region of the stem and in the ground parenchyma of the petiole are valued characters which contribute to the species identification.