BACKGROUND AND AIMS Representatives from Papaver, Roemeria, Stylomecon and Meconopsis were studied to elucidate phylogenetic relationships between Papaver and these closely allied genera. METHODS Two molecular data sets were used individually and combined and included sequences from the internally transcribed spacer region (ITS) of 18S-26S nuclear ribosomal DNA and the trnL intron and the trn...

The Papaveraceae represent a large family divided into 23 genera with more than 300 species, distributed world-wide in subtropical and temperate regions (Reveal, 1999). The genus Papaver L. is represented by more than 120 species, rich in isoquinoline and morphinane alkaloids (Preininger, 1986). In our previous phytochemical studies on Papaver nudicaule L. growing in Mongolia, we reported the i...

This paper represents the phytochemical properties of Lebanese Papaver rhoeas, from which five protopine alkaloids are isolated, namely; stylopine (1), canadine (2), sinactine (3), berberine (4), and epiberberine (5). This is the first report for the isolation of epiberberine (5) from the genus Papaver and canadine (2) from Papaver rhoeas, suggesting a new chemotype of Papaver rhoeas growing in...

Background and objectives: Chromatography fingerprinting is considered as a comprehensive method for quality control, diagnosis and the nature of herbal drugs, and it is important to classify the different samples of medicinal plants and determine the chemical species present in them. Methods: In this research, a new strategy based on the combination of multiva...

BACKGROUND Papaver rhoeas possesses a gametophytic self-incompatibility (SI) system not homologous to any other SI mechanism characterized at the molecular level. Four previously published full length stigmatic S-alleles from the genus Papaver exhibited remarkable sequence divergence, but these studies failed to amplify additional S-alleles despite crossing evidence for more than 60 S-alleles i...

The plants belonging to many species in genus Papaver are very similar and have very small chromosomes that make identification very difficult. The study aimed to compare the effects of α-bromonaphtalene and ice cold water pretreatment to identify chromosomes of Papaver species collected from different areas of Iranian West Azerbaijan and Turkish Van, Agri and, Hakkari provinces. The seeds were...

The phytochemical investigation of the aerial parts of Papaver pseudocanescens M. Pop. of Mongolian origin resulted in the isolation and structural elucidation of 8 alkaloids of the isoquinoline and promorphinane type. 8,14-Dihydroamurine, 8,14-dihydroflavinantine, and flavinantine are promorphinanes. Alborine, mecambridine, and mecambridine methohydroxide are retroprotoberberines. Amurensinine...

The taxonomy and phylogeny of Asian Meconopsis (Himalayan blue poppy) remain largely unresolved. We used the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) and the chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) trnL-F region for phylogenetic reconstruction of Meconopsis and its close relatives Papaver, Roemeria, and Stylomecon. We identified five main clades, which were well-supported in th...

Based on sequence data from ITS rDNA, cox1 and cox2, six Peronospora species are recognised as phylogenetically distinct on various Papaver species. The host ranges of the four already described species P. arborescens, P. argemones, P. cristata and P. meconopsidis are clarified. Based on sequence data and morphology, two new species, P. apula and P. somniferi, are described from Papaver apulum ...

A study of somatic embryogenesis and rhizogenesis and their influence on production of morphinan alkaloids on two species of opium poppy is presented. We identified the ratios of auxin and cytokinin that caused somatic embryogenesis and rhizogenesis in hypocotyl and cotyledons of Papaver somniferum album and Papaver orientale splendidissimum. The hypocotyls and cotyledons both show somatic embr...