Common names  |  California poppy, Golden poppy, California sunlight

Scientific name  |  Eschscholzia californica

Used part  |  Aerial part

Known active compounds  |  chelerythrine, hunnemanine, norsanguinarine, macarpine 

Potential benefits in cosmetics  |  anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal
Product name  |  California Poppy-ANB

 

Plant Story

Eschscholzia californica, commonly known as California poppy, golden poppy, or California sunlight, is a flowering plant native to western United States. California poppy is a state flower in California and widely distributed in the west coast of North America. The flowers, with four satiny petals, show a variety of colors including bright yellow, orange, and red due to their different carotenoid composition. Native Americans used the flowers as a gum or candy and the leaves as green vegetables. Medicinally, they used California poppy for toothaches, headaches, stomach aches, and insomnia. In early American folk medicine, it was also used for the treatment of anxiety and depression.

 

California poppy contains various biologically active benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, including sangui- narine, macarpine, and chelerythrine, which are known for their anti-inflammatory properties. The carotenoids isolated from California poppy include neoxanthin, violoxanthin, luteoxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin. The flavonoids found from aqueous ethanolic extract are mainly quercetin isorhamnetine glycosides. The isoquinoline alkaloids, hunnemanine and norsanguinarine, have also been isolated from methanolic extract and they exhibit anti-fungal activities against phytopathogenic fungi.