The significance of opium alkaloids in the classification of Papaveraceae in Iraq

Abstract

The Papaveraceae family includes over 40 genera and 760 species in the world, of that 5 genera, namely Papaver L. with 15 species, Glaucium Mill with 5 species, Hypecoum L. with 3 species, Roemeria Medic with 2 species and Eschscholzia Cham with one cultivated species occur in Iraq. Opium alkaloids of 14 species of Papaveraceae in addition to two species of Fumaria L. were chemically studied using High Performance liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Five opium alkaloids, Morphine, Codeine, Thebaine, Papaverine and Noscapine were significantly detected and variably distributed in the species. The highest concentration of opium alkaloids was Noscapine with 814.624 ppm in P. somniferum while the lowest concentration was codeine with 66.978 ppm in the same species. Our results support maintaining Fumaria in distinct family Fumariaceae.