Malva sp. (Mallow): In Vitro Culture and the Production of Secondary Metabolites
Although about 1000 species are designated with the common name of mallow, approximately 30 species belonging to the genus Malva (of the Malvaceae family) are known for their medicinal value, mostly in a traditional sense.
- PDF / 2,887,569 Bytes
- 19 Pages / 439 x 666 pts Page_size
- 20 Downloads / 208 Views
KINTZIOS 1
1 Introduction 1.1 Distribution and Importance of the Plant
Although about 1000 species are designated with the common name of mallow, approximately 30 species belonging to the genus Malva (of the Malvaceae family) are known for their medicinal value, mostly in a traditional sense. The common (blue or high) mallow (Malva sylvestris L.) is a biennial to short-lived perennial with prostrate to semi-erect stems (IO-SOcm long) and long-stalked rounded leaves with a heart-shaped base and five to seven broad shallow-toothed lobes (Fig. 1). The leaves of M. sylvestris var. incanescens Gris are hairy. The flowers (appearing from May to September) are pale lilac to bright mauve-purple and the seeds are flat button-like nutlets. The plant is found naturally in marginal or waste lands, hedgerows and roadsides and is approximately 1 m high, with stalked, roundish, five- to seven-lobed leaves (Grieve 1994; Podlech 1996). Plant parts abound with a mild mucilage. Malva aegyptia (Egyptian mallow) is an annual species, endemic in the Mediterranean countries, 20-S0cm high with purple-blue flowers. Malva cretica (Crecian mallow) is another Mediterranean species, which is an annual, 10-30 cm high with rose-coloured leaves. Malva ambigua Guss (M. sylvestris var. ambigua) is a perennial with hairy roots and purple leaves. Malva neglecta is also known as common mallow or 'cheeses'. It has white to pale lilac flowers (appearing from May to September) with five slightly notched petals. Leaves are wavy up and down, their edges having rounded teeth. Plants (I 0-100 cm high) are covered with hairs and are branched at the base (Gleason and Cronquist 1991). M. neglecta has similar pharmacological properties to common mallow. The dwarf mallow (Malva rotundifolia L.) is a similar but smaller species with prostrate stems and pale lilac flowers (Grieve 1994). Malva pussila is an annual weed with white-purple flowers.
I Agricultural University of Athens, Faculty of Agricultural Biotechnology, Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry, Vol. 51 Medicinal and Aromatic Plants XII (ed. by T. Nagata and Y. Ebizuka) © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2002
138
S.E. Kintzios
Fig. 1. Common mallow (Malva sylvestris 1.)
Malva parviflora is also an annual, with white-blue flowers. It is a poisonous plant for various animal species (Chopra and Badhwar 1940) The musk mallow (Malva moschata L.) is a related perennial species with light-green leaves and rose-coloured flowers, which are considerably larger than those of the common mallow. It is one of the few mallow species that are cultivated, even on a marginal level. Mallows are abundantly distributed in temperate and tropical regions and virtually worldwide. Common mallow has been traditionally used both as a food source and a remedy for various diseases. The young leaves and shoots of this plant (gathered in July and August) have been eaten since at least the 8th century B.C. Pliny called common mallow 'the food of the poor'
Data Loading...
