Opiate Alkaloids and Heroin

Source Semisynthetic from morphine (opium extract) 

Form morphology Opiate alkaloid as free base or salts 

Color tests Marquis, purple Mecke, green 

The opiate alkaloids are a mix of semisynthetic and synthetic compounds derived from or related to the extract of the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy Papaver somniferum. Specifically, the alkaloids are obtained from the latex, or milky, exudates of the seed pod that appear when it is cut or sliced. The liquid contains about 10% morphine and about 1.5% codeine, with various amoimts ( 0.2-8%) of papaverine, thebaine, and noscapine (Table 8.3). The 

Morphine has a long history of use and abuse. It was the first so-called vegetable base drug isolated, an event recorded in 1805. Because morphine is basic, an early quantitation method was titration with an add. Morphine is subject to oxidation, so the morphine content of an extract can decrease after harvest. Similar degradation issues arise with the stimulant khat. Codeine, the 3-methyl ether of morphine, whose first extraction was recorded in 1832, is also found in the raw opium extracts. Opiates are used principally for pain relief thebaine is the oddball of the opiate alkaloid family, classified as a stimulant. The primary use of thebaine is as a starting point for the synthesis of oxycodone and other related semisynthetic compounds. Thebaine was also used as a poison. 

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