Abstract
Papaver degenii (Urum. & Jav.) Kuzmanov is a Bulgarian endemic and glacial relict growing in the alpine zone of Pirin Mountains and it is included in the Red Data Book of Bulgaria. Numerous plants were in vitro multiplied in order to study the alkaloid composition of the species and to test the potential for green biotechnology establishment. Percentages of the crude alkaloid mixture in dried in vitro shoots and ex vitro adapted plants to room phytotron were similar to that in seeds (0.49%) and 5 to 6 times higher than in the aerial parts of wild-growing plants. Amurensine was the only alkaloid detected in the seeds. Four isoquinoline alkaloids were isolated from the regenerated plants, belonging to two alkaloid types: isopavines (amurensine and O-methylthalisopavine) and protopines (allocryptopine and protopine), amurensine being the main alkaloid: 63.4% in in vitro shoots, up to 88.1% in the aerial parts of ex vitro adapted plants. Allocryptopine was in higher amount (30%) in the roots of the ex vitro adapted plants.