Normal light and fluorescence microscopy for authentication of Delphinii Brunoniani Herba of Tibet

Dried herb of Delphinium brunonianum Royle (Ranunculaceae) has long been used under the herbal name “Xiaguobei” (Delphinii Brunoniani Herba) in traditional Tibetan medicine and prescribed for the treatment of influenza, itchy skin rash and snake bites.  In order to find a useful and convenient method for the identification of microscopic features, the technique of fluorescence microscopy was applied to authenticate “Xiaguobei” of Tibet.  The transverse sections of stem and leaf, as well as the powder of “Xiaguobei” were observed to seek for typical microscopic features by normal light and fluorescence microscopy.  A style-like, single-cell glandular hair containing yellow secretions on the leaf, young stem and sepal of “Xiaguobei” was found.  Under the fluorescence microscope, the xylem and pericycle fiber group emitted significant fluorescence.  This work indicated that fluorescence microscopy could be an useful additional method for the authentication work.  Without the traditional dyeing methods, the main microscopic features could be easily found by fluorescence microscopy.  The results provided reliable references for the authentication of “Xiaguobei”.