EFFECT OF WATER STRESS AND SALT STRESS ANATOMY OF BRYOPHYLLUM PINNATUM

Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lam.) Oken, a member of family Crassulaceae, is known to have multiple active compounds such as alkaloids, triterpenes, lipids, flavonoids, glycosides, bufadienolides, phenols and organic acids. Various parts of Bryophyllum pinnatum show antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, antihelmentic. anti inflammatory, anticancer, antioxidant, antihistaminic and antiallergic properties. It is a succulent that tolerates water stress and high salinity. In this paper the effect of salinity and water stress on internal morphology has been studied. It was found that under extreme conditions of salinity and water stress, the concentration of idioblast, i.e., the cells containing anthocyanin pigment, and starch grains increases in leaf, stem and petiole. Leaf anatomy exhibited that the mesophyll is not differentiated into palisade and spongy parenchyma. Instead, it has simple chlorenchyma.