Chemical and Antiviral Study on Alkaloids from Papaver pseudocanescens

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 isolation and identifi cation of 13 alkaloids of the promorphinane, proaporphine, protopine, and isopavine type, respectively (Philipov et al., 2007; Istatkova et al., 2008). As a continuation of our investigations on Mongolian alkaloidcontaining plants belonging to the genus Papaver, our attention turned to Papaver pseudocanescens M. Pop. This species is spread over the Khangai, Mongol Altai, and Gobi Altai regions of Central Mongolia (Grubov, 1982). There are data about the use of this species in Mongolian folk medicine as a sedative, antitussive, and respiratory regulative remedy, as well as against headache caused by nervous disorders, against painful menstruation, and acute and chronic infl ammation of the stomach (Ligaa, 1996). Chemical studies on this species have been reported, and several alkaloids of the retroprotoberberine, isopavine, protopine, rhoeadine, and papaverrubine type, respectively, have been isolated (Novák and Slavík, 1974; Preininger, 1986). To our knowledge no phytochemical investigations of P. pseudocanescens growing in Mongolia have been carried out till now. Alkaloids are a rich source of biologically active products and some of them have been tested for antiviral activity (Hudson, 1990). Isoquinoline alkaloids were found to inhibit selectively parainfl uenza virus 3 in vitro (Orhana et al., 2007). Some of the alkaloids, isolated from the plants of the Papaveraceae family, are very important in mediChemical and Antiviral Study on Alkaloids from Papaver pseudocanescens M. Pop. Ralitsa Istatkova, Lubomira Nikolaeva-Glomb, Angel Galabov, Gerelt-Od Yadamsuren, Javzan Samdan, Selenge Dangaa, and Stefan Philipov*