A PHARMACOGNOSTICAL STUDY OF CERTAIN PAPAVER SPECIES GROWING IN EGYPT. PART I: INVESTIGATION OF THE LIPID CONTENT

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, El-Mansoura University, El-Mansoura, Egypt

2 Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

A phytochemical study of the lipid content of the leaves, flowers, fruits, stems and roots of Papaver somniferum L. (Family: Papavaraceae), as well as a comparative study of the fixed oil of the seeds of Papaver somniferum L., P. bracteatum Lindl. and P. rhoeas L. growing in Egypt were carried out, using TLC, column chromatography and GLC. The study of the unsaponifiable matters of the different investigated parts of Papaver rhoeas L., revealed the presence of a-and b-amyrins, b-sitosterol, campesterol (not present in seeds) stigmasterol and two saturated aliphatic alcohols. The first is a primary alcohol with an empirical formula C22H46O, while the second is a secondary alcohol with an empirical formula C29H60O.