Pharmacognostic Identification for Ethnomedicine Polygonum capitata with Confusing Drugs like Persicaria runcinata var. sinensis, Persicaria chinensis and Persicaria chinensis var. paradoxa

In order to explore the pharmacognostic identification methods of Polygonum like Polygonum capitata with confusing medicines such as Persicaria runcinata var. sinensis, Persicaria chinensis and Persicaria chinensis var. paradoxa. Morphological identification, trait identification and microscopic identification were used to compare the original plants and characteristics of these four medicinal materials. The microscopic structures of stems and leaves were observed by optical microscope and comprehensively identified by thin-layer chromatography. The results showed that there were significant differences in the sources, characters, microscopies and TLC between Polygonum capitatam and confusing drugs like Persicaria runcinata var. sinensis, Persicaria chinensis and Persicaria chinensis var. paradoxa. The results of this study could be used as the basis for the identification of Polygonum capitata and confusing drugs like Persicaria runcinata var. sinensis, Persicaria chinensis and Persicaria chinensis var. paradoxa.