page_title: Viola tricolor
section_title: Chemicals
hierarchical_section_title: Viola tricolor / Chemicals
caption_attribution_description: English: Garden Pansies Viola × wittrockiana in a flower bed at Tonsen Church in Oslo, Norway. Photo: Hans Olav Lien.
context_page_description: Wild pansy, also known as Johnny Jump up, heartsease, heart's ease, heart's delight, tickle-my-fancy, Jack-jump-up-and-kiss-me, come-and-cuddle-me, three faces in a hood, or love-in-idleness, is a common European wild flower, growing as an annual or short-lived perennial.
  It has been introduced into North America, where it has spread. It is the progenitor of the cultivated pansy, and is therefore sometimes called wild pansy; before the cultivated pansies were developed, "pansy" was an alternative name for the wild form. It can produce up to 50 seeds at a time. The flowers can be purple, blue, yellow or white.
context_section_description: V. tricolor is one of many viola plant species containing cyclotides. These small peptides have proven to be useful in drug development due to their size and structure giving rise to high stability. Many cyclotides,   found in Viola tricolor are cytotoxic. This feature means it could be used to treat cancers. Extracts from the plant are anti-microbial. V. tricolor extract had anti-inflammatory effect in acute inflammation induced in  male Wistar rats. The plant, especially the flowers, contains antioxidants and is edible.
  Heartsease contains flavonoids (such as quercetin, luteolin and rutin), colorless crystalline compounds proven to be useful in prophylaxis, and in treatment of cardiovascular problems, complications of diabetes, inflammations, immune disorders, and liver problems, among other indications. It also contains 10 percent mucilage, consisting of glucose, galactose, arabinose and rhamnose, as well as tannins, salicylic acid, and its derivatives.
  In addition, it contains the drug phenolcarboxylic acids, such as coffee and coumaric acid. Various carotenoids have been isolated from the drug: violaxanthin, antheraxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin and beta-Carotene. Anthocyanidins and coumarins, such as umbelliferone, could also be detected. The wild pansy contains—contrary to earlier references—no saponins, but hemolytically active peptides. Plants contain aglycones: apigenin, chrysoeriol, isorhamnetin, kaempferol, luteolin, quercetin and rutin.
  The fresh plant Viola declinata and V. tricolor contains approximately:
  saponins (4.40%),
  mucilages (10.26%),
  total carotenoids (8.45 mg/100g vegetal product, expressed in β-carotene).
  Neuroblastoma, a type of cancer, is the most common extracranial malignancy in childhood. In many patients, once the tumor starts to develop it will continue to progress, even given intensive therapy. A study was designed to see the effect of Viola tricolor against neuronlastoma N2a cells. In the end, there was no significant change to the cell at first glance. As an ornamental and medicinal plant, the wild pansy has been cultivated since the Middle Ages and bred in Britain since 1810.
caption: Viola tricolor in a flowerbed
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