Histochemistry and Cell Wall Specialization of Oil Cells related to the Essential Oil Accumulation in the Bark of Cinnamomum cassia Presl. (Lauraceae)

Chinese cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia) has economic value as an aromatic and medicinal plant, and its bark oil has a very high trans-cinnamaldehyde content. To gain insight into the accumulation of bark oil and the biological mechanisms which permit the accumulation of a high level of aldehydes in C....

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPlant production science Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 1 - 9
Main Authors Geng, Shi-Lei, Cui, Zhao-Xue, Shu, Bin, Zhao, Sheng, Yu, Xin-Hua
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Kyoto Taylor & Francis 01.01.2012
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Taylor & Francis Group
Subjects
Accumulation
Aldehydes
Bark
Bioaccumulation
Cell walls
Cinnamaldehyde
Cinnamomum cassia
Cytotoxicity
Essential oil
Essential oils
Fluorescence microscopy
Herbal medicine
Histochemistry
Histology
Lignifi ed wall
Lipid metabolism
Lipids
Medicinal plants
Metabolites
Oil cells
Oils & fats
Protective structures
Suberized wall
Terpenes
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Summary:Chinese cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia) has economic value as an aromatic and medicinal plant, and its bark oil has a very high trans-cinnamaldehyde content. To gain insight into the accumulation of bark oil and the biological mechanisms which permit the accumulation of a high level of aldehydes in C. cassia bark, the morphology and histochemistry of oil cells and the specialization in its walls were assessed by light and fluorescence microscopy. The histochemical tests localized in situ the main chemical classes of metabolites in oil cells, which included aldehydes, lipids and terpenoids. In oil cells the aldehydes distributed in the area surrounding the oil sac were compartmentalized from lipid compounds in the center; the oil sac in an oil cell was attached by multiple cupules rather than one cupule. The autofluorescence of oil-cell walls was attributed to the presence of suberin and lignin, and was confirmed by different methods. The lignified and suberized walls probably serve as protective barriers against the cytotoxicity of high contents of trans-cinnamaldehyde to the surrounding active cells. These results contribute to our knowledge of the structure of oil cells and accumulation of essential oil in Chinese cinnamon bark.
ISSN:1343-943X
1349-1008
DOI:10.1626/pps.15.1