Annals of RSCB Vol.

XVII, Issue 1/2012

265
COMPARATIVE HISTOANATOMICAL ASPECTS OF THE FRUIT OF
SOME APIACEAE LINDL. FRUIT USED FOR THERAPEUTIC
PURPOSES

Rodica Bercu, Livia Broasc

FACULTY OF NATURAL AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES OVIDIUS
UNIVERSITY, CONSTANTZA, ROUMANIA

Summary
The present paper discloses histoanatomical aspects, comparatively to some Apiaceae
species fruits such as Anethum graveolens L. (dill), Carum carvi L. (cumin), Daucus
carota L. subsp. sativus (Hoffm) Arc. (carrot), Foeniculum vulgare Mill. (fennel), and
Pimpinela anisum L. (anise), all of them considered food value but are used for
therapeutic purposes as well.
The fruits, of all studied Apiaceae species have the same structural plan of organization
(epicarp, mesocarp and endocarp), all fruit parts being closely united among themselves
and with the seed. Epicarp is one-layered with isodiametric cells (all species), mesocarp
is many-layered and parenchimatous in nature (all species), differences arise in terms of
number of layers and size of cells that compose it. In mesocarp the fruits of all 5 studied
species possess pore developed vascular bundles in the ribs being more developed to
cumin and fennel. Secretive ducts, present in mesocarp, are similar in all studied species
differences arise in particular as regards their size (the larger in cumin and the smaller in
anise fruit) and their number (30-31 in anise fruit and 6 the other species). The
mechanical tissue is represnted by few sclerenchymatous elements, accompanying the
vascular bundles. The fruit of carrot possesses emerging (thorns) and simple unicellular
protective hairs, the latter present in the fruit of anise as well. All studied species are
considered food value but are used for therapeutic purposes as well.
Key words: histoanatomy, Anethum graveolens, Carum carvi, Foeniculum vulgare,
Daucus carota. subsp. sativus, Pimpinela anisum

rodicabercu@yahoo.com; broascalivia@yahoo.com


Introduction
The Apiaceae or Umbelliferae,
commonly known as carrot or parsley family,
is a group of mostly aromatic plants with
hollow stems (French, 1971), fruits are non-
fleshy schizocarp of two mericarps, each with
a single seed; they separate at maturity and are
dispersed by wind. Some fruit segments (like
those in Daucus ssp. are covered in bristles
and spread via external transport. The seeds
have an oily endosperm (Watson & Dallwitz,
2011) and generally contain large quantities of
fatty oils, with the fatty acid petroselinic acid
occurring universally throughout the family
while rarely being found outside of the
Apiaceae (She et al., 2005). The family is
large, with more than 3,700 species spread
across 434 genera, it is the sixteenth largest
family of flowering plants (Stevens, 2008).
Anethum graveolens L. originated
in the Mediterranean regions, southern
central and southern Asia. Nowadays it is
cultivated throughout Europe and North and
South America. Dill is a perenial plant, it has a
tap root like a carrot, with one long, hollow
stalk coming from the root.
The dill plant grows up to 75 cm. It
has a feathery stalk which produces umbels of
tiny yellow flowers. The seeds are numerous,
they are oval, about 1/6" long, flattish with five
ribs, lightweight and pungent. Fruits contain
volatile oil (carvone and limonene), are used
for colic, also a combination of dill and fennel,
both herbs contain stomach-soothing oils.
Carum carvi L. (Caraway) also known
as meridian fennel or Persian cumin is a
biennial plant, native to western Asia, Europe
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and Northern Africa. The plant is similar in
appearance to a carrot plant, with finely
divided, feathery leaves with thread-like
divisions, growing on 2030 cm stems. The
main flower stem is 4060 cm tall, with small
white or pink flowers in umbels. Caraway
fruits (erroneously called seeds) are crescent-
shaped achenes, around 2 mm long, with five
pale ridges. The fruits contain essential oils
(carvone, limonene, etc.), it has carminative
effect, also is used in digestive problems.
Daucus carota subsp. sativus is a
flowering plant, native to temperate regions of
Europe, southwest Asia and naturalized to
northeast North America and Australia;
domesticated carrots are cultivars of a
subspecies, Daucus carota subsp. sativus.
Daucus carota is a variable biennial plant,
usually growing up to 1 m tall and flowering
from June to August. The umbels are claret-
colored or pale pink before they open, then
bright white and rounded when in full flower,
measuring 37 cm wide with a festoon of
bracts beneath; finally, as they turn to seed,
they contract and become concave like a bird's
nest. The dried umbels detach from the plant,
becoming tumbleweeds. Similar in appearance
to the deadly poison hemlock, Daucus carota
is distinguished by a mix of bi-pinnate and tri-
pinnate leaves, fine hairs on its stems and
leaves, a root that smells like carrots, and
occasionally a single dark red flower in its
center. The fruits used in hair and skin
problems, also contain essential oils.
Foeniculum vulgare is a perennial
herb. It is erect, glaucous green, and grows to
heights of up to 2.5 m, with hollow stems. The
leaves grow up to 40 cm long; they are finely
dissected, with the ultimate segments filiform
(threadlike), about 0.5 mm wide. Its leaves are
similar to those of dill, but thinner. The
flowers are produced in terminal compound
umbels 5-15 cm wide, each umbel section
having 20-50 tiny yellow flowers on short
pedicels. The fruit is a dry seed from 4-10 mm
long, half as wide or less, and grooved. The
fruits comes contain anethole, polymers,
volatile oils, etc. Carminative properties of
fennel are known from ancient times.
Pimpinela anisum also called aniseed
is a flowering plant, native to the eastern
Mediterranean region and Southwest. Anise is
an herbaceous annual plant growing to 0.91 m
tall. The leaves at the base of the plant are
simple, 3-5.1 cm long and shallowly lobed,
while leaves higher on the stems are feathery
pinnate, divided into numerous leaves. The
flowers are white, approximately 3 mm
diameter, produced in dense umbels. The fruit
is an oblong dry schizocarp, 3-5 mm long. It is
these seed pods that are referred to as
"aniseed". Is one of the earliest aromatics
mentioned in literature (Stern, 1994). The
main use of anise was for its carminative and
pectoral effect, like fennel, contains anethole, a
phytoestrogen, volatile oil and has been used
to treat menstrual cramps (Albert-Puleo, 1980).
Little information is available about
fruit anatomy of studied species, while the
comparative studies lack almost entirely. The
present paper on fruit features of this 5 species
may contribute to the better knowledge of this
group of plants.

Material and methods
The mature fruits were collected from
field crops of the studied species and were
fixed in FAA (formalin:glacial acetic
acid:alcohol 5:5:90). For the anatomical study,
freehand sections were made (Bercu & Jianu
2003). The samples were stained with
alumcarmine and iodine green. Anatomical
observations and micrographs were performed
with a BIOROMT brightfield microscope,
equipped with a TOPICA 6001A video
camera. The microphotographs were obtained
from the video camera through a computer.

Results and discussion
The fruit shape in cross sections is
different from some of the species. Thus, it is
trapezoidal-coasted like (dill, carrot and
fennel) (Fig. 1, A, C; Fig. 2, A), with three
projections main ribs, and two lateral (lateral
wings), nearly circular-coasted like (cumin)
with five ribs, 3 on the dorsal and

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Fig. 1. Cross sections of the fruit of Anethum graveolens (A), Carum carvi (B) and Foeniculum
vulgare (C) - ensemble: Ed- endocarp, Ep- epicarp, LW- lateral wings, Ms- mesocarp, S- seed, SD-
secretive ducts, VB- vascular bundle.




Fig. 2. Fruit of Daucus carota subsp. sativus (A), and Pimpinela anisum (B) - ensemble observed in
cross sections: LW- lateral wings, S- seed, Scl- sclerenchyma, SD- secretive ducts, VB- vascular
bundle.



A

A

B

B

C
VB
S
S
S

LW

LW

SD

Ep

Ed

Ms
VB

LW

SD

Scl
S
S

SD

VB

x 46

x 43

x 35

x 55

x 35
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268
2 to the underside (Fig. 1, B). The
mericarps are almost kidney-shaped to
anise due to the reduced pericarp (Fig. 2,
B).
The pericarp (epicarp, mezocarp and
endocarp) (Andrei & Predan, 2001) is
closely linked together (all species). The
unistratose epicarp consists of almost
isodiametric cells, slightly tangentially
elongated, with straight side walls (all
species).






Fig. 3. Cross sections of the fruit of Anethum graveolens (A), Carum carvi (B) and Foeniculum
vulgare (C) - details: Es- endosperm, Scl- sclerenchyma, SD- secretive ducts, T- tegument, VB-
vascular bundle.


Fig. 4. Fruit of Daucus carota subsp. sativus (A), and Pimpinela anisum (B) in cross section - details:
PH- protective hairs, SD- secretive ducts, Th- thorn, VB- vascular bundle.

The many-layered mesocarp is
parenchymatous in nature, with large cells,
and thin cellulosic walls. In the mezocarp
right main ribs, the vascular collateral
bundles are present. In valecule are present
secreting elongated and septum ducts as
well (all species) (Batanouny, 1992) (Fig. 3,
A-C, Fig. 4, A, B).
The ventral face contour (adaxial) of
the dill fruit is slightly sinuous, almost
plane and waved those of the carrot, fennel
and cumin. Adaxial vascular bundles and
either the two secretive ducts are present

A

A

B

B

C

Scl

VB

SD

SD

Es

T

SD

SD

PH

PH

x 95

x 85

x 117

x 125

x 330

VB

Th
Annals of RSCB Vol. XVII, Issue 1/2012

269
(all species). Adaxial are alternating
secretive ducts with as many vascular
bundles in all fruits mesocarps.
In the lateral wings, the dill and
fennel fruit vascular bundles are more
developed than the rest. Those of carrot
wings possess thorns (Fig. 4, A), with
sclerenchymatous basal elements.
The cumin fruit vascular bundles are
placed in the 5 ribs but the valecule
secreting ducts are larger and slightly
elongated, located one in a latero-abaxial
position and 2 adaxial (on the ventral side).
Each vascular bundle is accompanied by
some sclerenchymatous elements (Fig. 3,
B).
These mechanical tissue elements of
dill and fennel fruits are more represented
in the lateral wings than the rest, while the
fruit of cumin sclerenchymatous elements
are uniformly arranged right to the vascular
bundles. The exception is the carrot fruit
whose sclerenchymatous elements reinforce
the lateral side thorns. These mechanical
elements appear sporadically in anise fruit,
discontinuous being weak compared to the
rest of the species (Fig. 4, B).
Unlike other fruit species,
remarkable is, in the carrot fruit, the
presence of thorns placed right to the
secretive ducts (including the lateral wings)
the mesocarp cells taking part in their
formation. The vascular bundles are placed
right to the protective short unicellular hairs
(Bavaru & Bercu, 2002) with a sharp point,
arising from a massive epidermal socle
slightly sclerified at the base.
Anise fruit has several
histoanatomical features that distinguish it
from other four studied species. Thus each
of kidney-shaped mericarps has five slashed
ribs and less obvious valecule. The
mesocarp is composed of fewer cell layers.
The secretive ducts are small, highly
elongated and numerous (30-31 per
mericarp), some of them located just below
the vascular bundles. The epicarp possesses
numerous one-celled simple protective
hairs, shorter than that of carrots, but in a
large number, willing the mericarps almost
all around.
Endocarp in all species is composed
of tangentially elongated cells with straight
thicken walls, anise less to that of the radial
walls of cells are slightly curled.
The seed shows, on the outside, a
one-layered tegument with many flattened
cells, closely united among themselves and
with the endocarp. Anise semen tegument is
much more difficult to reveal almost
connate with the pericarp.
The endosperm consists of large
parenchymatous cells (Raven et al., 1992),
rich in aleuronal crystals and lipid droplets
in all species seeds occupying almost the
entire mericarp. The endosperm is well
developed in anise fruit, occupying almost
the entire mericarp. Compared with the
thickness of pericarp, endosperm is most
developed in anise fruit, histological being
similar to that of other species studied.

Conclusions
The 5 considered species, fruits, in
histoanatomic terms, follow the same
structural plan of organization. In all
studied species epicarp and endocarp are
similar structured, except for radial walls
slightly wavy to fennels. Even if the
mesocarp is many-layered in all species,
differences arise in terms of number of
layers and size of cells that compose it. It is
well developed in dill, cumin, carrot and
fennel and reduced to anise. The fruits of all
5 studied species possess pore developed
vascular bundles in the ribs being more
developed to cumin and fennel.
Secretive ducts are similar in all
studied species differences arise in
particular as regards their size (the larger in
cumin and the smaller in anise fruit) and
their number (30-31 in anise fruit and 6 the
other species).
The mechanical tissue is represnted
by few sclerenchymatous elements,
accompanying the vascular bundles. In
some of trapezoidal coasted-shaped fruits
such as dill and fennel it is present in the
lateral wings as well.
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270
Epidermal formations meet only the
fruit of carrots, represented by emerging
(thorns) and simple unicellular protective
hairs, the latter present in the fruit of anise
as well, being shorter comparatively those
of carrot.
All studied species are considered
food value but are used for therapeutic
purposes as well.

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