Leaf Anatomy of the Medicinal Plant Citrus aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle

Many Malay Medical Manuscripts (MMM) contain information of local materials that are commonly used as medicine by the Malay community. Families of medicinal plants mentioned in the MMM include Rutaceae, Asteraceae and Acanthaceae. One of the Rutaceae family members, Citrus aurantifolia, known as key lime (limau nipis) had been mentioned in at least four MMM namely MSS 2515, MSS 3140, MS 174 and MSS 2999. MSS 2515 described the use of C. aurantifolia juice to remove sputum. In MSS 3140, the leaves of C. aurantifolia are said to be beneficial in treating headache and the juice of the fruit is consumed to treat wounds which are caused by insect biting as well as neutralise venomous stung by snakes, scorpions and centipedes. In MS 174, C. aurantifolia juice is also a remedy for sinusitis, when taken together with the roots of Jasminum sambac, Zingiber officinale and Allium cepa. In MSS 2999, the whole fruit is used for dyspepsia and its juice can heal allergic conjunctivitis, parturition and hematometra. In addition, the seed of C. aurantifolia is said to be useful to remove insects in the ear. Due to numerous benefits of different parts of C. aurantifolia plant and the similarities it has with various citrus plants, it is crucial to identify the plant correctly in order to make use of its medicinal parts. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine anatomical and micromorphological characteristics of the leaves of C. aurantifolia. Methods in this study involved cross section of petiole and midrib using sliding microtome, leaf peeling observation under light microscope and scanning electron microscope. The findings of these studies have demonstrated the characteristic of leaf anatomy and micromorphology for C. aurantifolia that could be used in its identification and classification, such as based on the type of its vascular bundle, stomata, wax and trichome. In conclusion, results of this study have shown that the anatomical and micromorphological data can be useful in the classification and identification of plant species, and this would be useful for further research on C. aurantifolia