Californidine is an
alkaloid with the molecular formula C20H20NO4+. It has been isolated from extracts of the
California poppy (Eschscholzia californica),[1][2] from which it gets its name, and from other plants of the genus Eschscholzia.[3][4]
Pharmaceutical use
Because of the
sedative,
anxiolytic, and
analgesic effects, the herb
California Poppy (Amapola de California, Eschscholzia californica, Pavot d'Amérique, Pavot d'Or, Pavot de Californie, Poppy California, Yellow Poppy) is currently sold in pharmacies in many countries.[5]
Horticulturalist
Alys Fowler wrote in 2022 that the California poppy "makes the most wonderful tea. You can use aerial parts: flowers, stems, leaves, fresh or dried. It is a gentle tea that can reduce anxiety and aid sleep. It contains none of the alkaloids associated with opium poppies."[6]
References
^Parfeinikov, S. A.; Murav'eva, D. A. (1983). "Eschscholzia californica alkaloids". Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii (2): 242–243.
^Tome, Franca; Colombo, Maria Laura; Caldiroli, Luisa (1999). "A comparative investigation on alkaloid composition in different populations of Eschscholtzia californica". Phytochemical Analysis. 10 (5): 264–267.
doi:
10.1002/(SICI)1099-1565(199909/10)10:5<264::AID-PCA469>3.0.CO;2-4.
^Slavik, Jiri; Slavikova, L.; Haisova, K. (1967). "Alkaloids of Papaveraceae. XXXVI. Further alkaloids of Eschscholtzia douglasii and E. glauca, and on the constitution of californidine". Collection of Czechoslovak Chemical Communications. 32 (12): 4420–4430.
^Slavik, Jiri; Slavikova, Leonora (1986). "Alkaloids of the Papaveraceae. Part LXXXII. On alkaloids from the aerial parts of three Eschscholtzia species". Collection of Czechoslovak Chemical Communications. 51 (8): 1743–1751.
doi:
10.1135/cccc19861743.