GA 2017

The wild pistachio (Pistachio atlantica Desf.) has multiple uses in Iranian folk medicine. The resin of P. atlantica is used as a natural chewing gum, and in the treatment of peptic ulcers and skin wounds. The traditional significance of P. atlantica oleoresin has recently been consolidated by reports on angiogenesis and skin burn wound healing in rat [1] , and by a clinical trial on the eradication of H.pylori [2]. Cyto/genotoxic effects of this gum were also reported on human and animal cells [3]. All the previous investigations have focused on the resin extracted from the tree bark. Therefore, the present research aimed to investigate the anatomical evidence of the resin in P.atlantica ssp mutica leaves .Samples, taken from male and female trees at successive developmental stages, w ere double fixed in glutaraldehyde and osmium tetroxide. After dehydration in acetone series and embedding in Spurr’s resin, semi-thin sections were stained with toluidine blue and viewed under the light microscope. Oleoresin secreting ducts were observed within the phloem tissue of both midvein and lateral veins, at all the developmental stages, and in male and female trees. The ducts consisted of 16 compactly arranged secretory cells surrounded by the bordering cells. Resin duct differentiation and activity were neither influenced by the leaf developmental stage, nor by the gender of the tree. This first report on the resin secreting ducts in the leaves of P.atlantica can lead to a novel approach and to an eventual therapeutic use of the wild pistachio leaves. References: [1] Haghdoost F, et al. Evidence based complementary and alternative medicine 2013; 1-8 [2] Afrasiabian H, et al. Global Journal of Health Sciences 2017; 9: 356-263 [3] Rahbar Saadat Y, et al. DNA and Cell Biology 2016; 35: 261-266.