Fumaria officinalis

Fumaria officinalis, “Fumitory” in English and “Fumeterre” in French, belongs to the Papaveraceae botanical family. It is a herb growing to 0.3 m. Native from Europe to Iran, it grows on arable land and as a weed in gardens.

It has been used in many countries for the treatment of skin diseases, rheumatism, hypertension or infections. It enters in many pharmaceutical phyto-preparations for the treatment of colicky pains, of gastrointestinal tract and biliary system.

The main constituents of the whole plant are alkaloids, mainly protopine, carbohydrates, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, glycosides, terpenoids, phytosterols, proteins, amino acids, saponins, fixed oils, steroids and tannins. Two new isoquinoline alkaloids, fumaranine and fumarostrejdine, along with 18 known alkaloids (palmatine, protopine, sanguinaraine) were isolated from aerial parts of Fumaria officinalis

• English name Fumitory
• French name Fumeterre