Some observations have been made by means of the light and the scanning electron microscopes
on leaves and underground parts of Rheum compactum (Sectio Rhapontica A. Los.) cultivated in Messina. Quantitative determinations of
total hydroxyanthracene glycosides, anthraquinone glycosides and free agly-cones have
been carried out on various parts of the plant. In the fresh rhizome the anthraquinone
glycosides represent 76 % of total anthracene glycosides and in the above-ground parts
of the plant this proportion is higher.
Rheum compactum - Polygonaceae.
