Three anthocyanins were isolated from the red flowers of Meconopsis wallichi in Bhutan. They were characterized as cyanidin 3-O-glucoside, cyanidin 3-O-sambubioside and cyanidin 3-O-(succinylsambubioside) by UV-VIS, LC-MS, acid hydrolysis, alkaline saponification, and HPLC comparisons with authentic samples. The latter anthocyanin was reported in nature for the first time. However, flavonoids except for anthocyanins were not found in the flowers, showing that the red color is due to three cyanidin glycosides alone, without copigments and metals. Although the anthocyanins were reported from the blue flowers of three Meconopsis species, those of red flower Meconopsis species were characterized for the first time.
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