Viola arvensis
Encyclopedia
Viola arvensis is a species of violet known by the common name field pansy. It is native to Europe, western Asia, and North Africa, and it is known on other continents as an introduced species
and a weed
of disturbed and cultivated areas.
Viola arvensis was shown to contain cyclotides
, a class of peptides found in plants. The peptide cycloviolacin O2 in particular has shown to possess cytotoxic activity against human cancer cells and is therefore looked at as a potential drug lead.
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
and a weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
of disturbed and cultivated areas.
Viola arvensis was shown to contain cyclotides
Cyclotides
Cyclotides are small disulfide rich peptides isolated from plants. Typically containing 28-37 amino acids, they are characterized by their head-to-tail cyclised peptide backbone and the interlocking arrangement of their three disulfide bonds. These combined features have been termed the cyclic...
, a class of peptides found in plants. The peptide cycloviolacin O2 in particular has shown to possess cytotoxic activity against human cancer cells and is therefore looked at as a potential drug lead.