Antihistaminic, Antiarthritic, and Antiobesity Activities of Yellow Horn Poppy Natural Products

Abstract

Background: Yellow horn poppy ( Glaucium flavum, syn. Chelidonium flavum) in the family Papaveraceae, is growing in many geographical areas; it is mostly native to Northern Africa, Western Asia, and Europe. The plant is well known for its different types of alkaloids, including aporphines, protopines, and phenolic compounds. In Eastern Europe, the HCl and HBr salts of glaucine (the common active constituent in G. flavum) have been approved as cough suppressants, in addition to several therapeutic applications in traditional medicine. The natural products of G. flavum varied according to the geographical habitat, the stage of maturity, and the selected plant organ. Materials and Methods: For the first time, the extraction and isolation of natural products (alkaloids and flavonoids) from dried aerial parts of the Libyan population of yellow horn poppy and testing their biological effects, which include antihistaminic, antiarthritic, and antiobesity effects. Results: Alkaloids (glaucine and isoboldine) and flavonoid constituents (quercetin-7- O-rutinoside and rutin) have been isolated, while the biological activity results showed that quercetin-7- O-rutinoside and rutin showed half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) (µg) = 29.7 and 46.6, 26.2 and 61.3, and 58.8 and 50.1 for antihistaminic, antiarthritic, and antiobesity, respectively, compared with those of glaucine and isoboldine effects, IC50 = 77.4 and 159.3, 61.7 and 118.7, and 237.8 and 157.6, respectively. Conclusion: According to the obtained results, the antihistaminic, antiarthritic, and antiobesity effects of the flavonoid compounds were stronger than those of the alkaloidal constituents of yellow horn poppy.