Detection and quantity of vascular bundles in oil palm trunk using cell wall birefringence on exposure to polarized light

油棕榈树干的维管束(VB)由于其细胞壁成分的极化取向而表现出双折射，而树干的另一种成分薄壁组织(PT)则没有。双折射的强度取决于VB的组成；因此，可以使用连接到图像分析仪的偏光显微镜容易地估计VB的含量。这篇手稿中提出的方法应该比使用X射线衍射法更容易对油棕榈树干中的VBS进行定量。VBS和PT都含有纤维素、半纤维素、木质素和淀粉，但PT的纤维素含量不到VBS的一半。Vb和PT的这种纤维素含量的差异可以解释为什么Vb在偏振光下被检测到。

Vascular bundles (VBs) of oil palm trunks exhibited birefringence due to polarized orientation of their cell wall components, although another component of the trunks, parenchyma tissue (PT), did not. The intensity of the birefringence depended on the VB composition; therefore, it was possible to estimate the VB content readily using a polarizing microscope connected to an image analyzer. The method proposed in this manuscript should allow easier quantification of VBs in oil palm trunks than methods using X-ray diffraction. Both VBs and PT contained cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, and starch; however, the cellulose content of PT was less than half that of VBs. This difference in cellulose content between VB and PT may explain why VBs were detected under polarizing light.