Scanning electron microscopy leads to identification of novel nonedible oil seeds as energy crops

Mamoona Munir; Mushtaq Ahmad; Amir Waseem; Muhammad Zafar; Muhammad Saeed; Aneela Wakeel; Moona Nazish; Shazia Sultana

doi:10.1002/jemt.23265

Scanning electron microscopy leads to identification of novel nonedible oil seeds as energy crops

Microsc Res Tech. 2019 Jul;82(7):1165-1173. doi: 10.1002/jemt.23265. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

Authors

Mamoona Munir¹, Mushtaq Ahmad¹, Amir Waseem², Muhammad Zafar¹, Muhammad Saeed², Aneela Wakeel³, Moona Nazish¹, Shazia Sultana¹

Affiliations

¹ Biodiesel Lab, Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
² Analytical Lab, Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
³ Department of Metallurgy and Material Engineering, University of Engineering & Technology, Taxila, Pakistan.

PMID: 30950570
DOI: 10.1002/jemt.23265

Abstract

Currently, exploration of alternative energy resources is hotly debated among the scientific community owing to rising energy crises and environmental issues. Biodiesel, as renewable energy source proves to be a better option and substitute to petro diesel. In this regard, nonedible seeds could be a better feedstock for synthesizing biodiesel due to their cost effectiveness and environmental friendly attributes. The present study, therefore, deals with the exploration and identification of micromorphologic features among eight novel nonedible oil yielding seeds via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as potential feedstock for biodiesel industry. Light microscopic studies revealed that seeds size vary from 0.1-2.9 cm in length to 0.1-3 cm in width. Moreover, a great variation in seed color from black, green, and different shades of brown was also observed. Seeds ultra-structure examination by SEM exhibit great variation in seed shape, size, color, sculpturing and periclinal wall shape and arrangement and so on. All the understudy seeds vary from rounded, irregular, subspherical, ellipsoidal, reniform, flattened, polygonal, ovate, pyriform, oblong, and globose shape. Seeds wall structure exhibits great variation from entire, angular, straight, irregular, polygonal, smooth, and elongated. The periclinal wall pattern exhibits variation from flat to slightly concave-convex with straight, angular, undulate, or dentate seeds margin. Among the studied species only Argemone ochroleuca Linn. (Papaveraceae) possess micropylar peak, ridged raphe, and basal helium. The obtained results from the present study would therefore, suggest that SEM could be a useful tool in refreshing the veiled micromorphological features among different oil yielding seeds which in turn helps the researchers for their correct identification, exploration, authentication, and seeds classification in future.

Keywords: energy crises; identification; nonedible oil yielding seeds; scanning electron microscopy; seed micromorphology.