ABSTRACT
Papaver bracteatum Lindly [Papaveraceae] is an endemic species of Iran which has economic importance in drug industries. The main alkaloid of the plant is thebaine which is used as a precursor of the semi-synthetic and synthetic compounds including codeine and naloxone, respectively. This systematic review focuses on main component of Papaver bracteatum and methods used to determine thebaine. All studies which assessed the potential effect of the whole plant or its extract on clinical or preclinical studies were reviewed. In addition, methods for determination of the main components, especially thebaine, which have been published from 1948 to March 2013, were included. Exclusion criteria were agricultural studies that did not assess. This study has listed alkaloids identified in P. bracteatum which reported since 1948 to 2013. Also, the biological activities of main compounds of Papaver bracteatum including thebaine, isothebaine, [-]-nuciferine have been reviewed. As thebaine has many medicinal and industrial values, determination methods of thebaine in P. bracteatum were summarized. The methods have being used for determination of thebaine include chromatographic [HPLC, GC and TLC] and non chromatographic methods. HPLC methods seem to be the best method from the angle of time consuming, cost and data accuracy and precision