Abstract

Massularia acuminata is a tropical plant used in ethnomedicine as a chewing stick and aphrodisiac. It is also used to treat mouth infections as well as dysentery. This study aims to establish micromorphological and micromeritic parameters as standards for the leaf, stem and root of the plant, such as microscopy, micromeritic, chemomicroscopy and fluorescence analysis. The leaf, stem and root of the plant were collected, dried under shade and pulverized. The microscopic evaluations were done on the fresh and powdered samples of the leaf. The micromeritic properties were determined for all the plant organs collected. Carr’s index, angle of repose and Hausner’s ratio were calculated. Chemomicroscopic and fluorescence evaluations were also done on the powders. The results obtained from the microscopy of the fresh leaf revealed that the leaf has an epistomatic stomatal distribution of the paracytic type. The stomatal number was found to be 70.20 ± 1.40 using an x10 objective lens. The stomatal index was 24.62 ± 0.44%. The flow properties of the leaf, stem and root were passable. The angle of repose for the leaf, stem and root powders were 31.04 ± 0.52, 43.16 ± 4.30 and 35.53 ± 1.44 respectively. The chemomicroscopic result revealed that the leaf, stem and root contained cellulose, mucilage, lignin and starch. The fluorescence analysis result indicated the presence of compounds in the plant parts. The results obtained from this study can be used to establish Pharmacopoeial standards for quality assurance of the medicinal plant as a dentifrice agent

Keywords: Massularia acuminata, dentifrice, pharmacognostic, rubiaceae