Chelidonium majus L. (Greater Celandine): In Vitro Culture and the Production of Sanguinarine, Coptisine, and Other Isoquinoline Alkaloids

Abstract

Chelidonium majus L., Greater Celandine (family Papaveraceae) is an ancient medicinal plant employed from time immemorial owing to its chemically and pharmacologically interesting alkaloids (Wagner 1982). Its extracts are used in folk medicine for their choleretic and spasmolytic actions (Simanek 1985). Extracts of the roots and/or the aerial parts have been used for their antimycotic (Vukusic et al. 1991), antiviral (Amoros et al. 1977; Horvath et al. 1983), antifungal (Lenfeld et al. 1981; Hbjtmankova et al. 1984), and antiinflammatory activity (Puza et al. 1988).