**1. Introduction**

Plants are the storehouses of multifunctional components with nourishing, healing, refreshing, curing and replenishing qualities. Such chemical constituents are distributed in various parts of plants and their localization is indicative of their therapeutic properties. Even though plants can be classified into medicinal and non-medicinal there is no such distinction in traditional systems such as Ayurveda, which denote that the whole earth with its living and nonliving entities have curative properties. Among the vast combination of phytochemicals that are useful for the consumer world there are certain deleterious chemicals or its combinations. The undesirable component in phytochemicals requires to be eliminated either by chemical treatments or simply avoiding its usage. Several of the plant resources are being used as

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

raw materials for medicinal drugs. Therefore the knowledge of ergastic crystals in food and medicinal raw materials and in finished products is expected to bring out furnished products for longevity.

wall that are encrusted with Calcium Carbonate or impregnated with minerals. They occur in ground parenchyma and epidermis. In epidermis, they may be formed in hairs, or in special

Ergastic Crystal Studies for Raw Drug Analysis http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.74278 33

Silica is deposited mostly in cell walls, but sometimes it forms bodies in the lumen of the cells. Poaceae the grass family is a well-known example of the plant group having silica in both the

For the temporary mount preparation of free hand sections fresh or preserved materials can be used for light microscopic study that reveals large sized crystals. Russell classifies the light microscopic study for the calcium determination in two groups [9]. They are metal substitution technology and dye lake reactions. Calcium oxalate identification is done by various methods including light microscope, polarizing optics and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies. Yasue histochemical method is highly efficient as it can localize calcium oxalate even in plant trichomes [10, 11]. SEM studies reveals crystals of very small size. The application of X-ray diffraction technology and infrared spectra in determination of calcium oxalate reveals both monohydrate and dehydrate forms. The techniques for precipitation in the specimen by reaction procedure methods also contributed in histological identification

Ergastic crystals and related substances have well defined economic importance that includes protective, defensive and remedial properties. Applying ergastic substances in taxonomic consideration can be of considerable importance for review of existing taxonomic delimitation for clearer circumscription and evolutionary history of the taxa [12]. Diversity relationship of five genuses in the family Polygonaceae based on ergastic evidences has been worked

Inulin as a carbohydrate is considered indigestible, which necessitates extensive processing (i.e., roasting) prior to consumption, hence the above effect if unprocessed or form a large percentage of diet [14]. Tannins are usually non-bioavailable and like inulin show some degree of anti-nutritive properties as they can bind and precipitate proteins and carbohydrates [15]. Raphide crystals play a role in reducing metal toxicity. This suggestion has largely been based on the observation that such crystals can have many other divalents [16–18]. Quantity of oxalic acid content in plants is different in different parts i.e. in many cases rhizomes are observed to with higher content than in leaves or tender parts [19]. Oxaloacetic acid is component in functioning of guard cells in plants, which follow Hatch and Slack pathway Oxalates provide tolerance to aluminum toxicity. According to Rajendra and Shivay, oxalates have involvement in phytoremediation of soils rendered toxic by heavy metals like lead, cadmium and

**4. Histochemical methods for observation of ergastic crystals**

and confirmation for the presence of ergastic crystals [9].

**5. Economic importance of ergastic substances**

enlarged cells, the lithocytes.

walls and cell lumen [3].

out by Conrad and Idu [13].
