Opium poppies

The actions of the naturally occurring materials now known as alkaloids were probably utilized by the early Egyptians and/or Sumarians (1). However, the beginnings of recorded, reproducible isolation from plants of substances with certain composition first took place in the early nineteenth century. Then in close succession, narcotine [128-62-1] (1, now called noscopine, C22H23NOy) (2) and morphine (2, R = H) (3) (both from the opium poppy, Papaver somnijerum E.) were obtained. 

Codeiae (2, R = CH3) occurs ia the opium poppy along with morphine (2, R = H) but usually ia much lower concentration. Because it is less toxic than morphine and because its side effects (including depression, etc) are less marked, it has found widespread use ia the treatment of minor pain and much of the morphine found ia cmde opium is converted to codeiae. The commercial coaversioa of morphine to codeiae makes use of a variety of methylating ageats, amoag which the most common are trimethylphenylammonium salts. Ia excess of two huadred toas of codeiae are coasumed anauaHy from productioa faciUties scattered arouad the world. 

Codeine, like morphine, is isolated from the opium poppy. However, the low yield of 0.7—2.5% does not provide sufficient material to meet commercial demands. The majority of marketed codeine is prepared by methylating the phenolic hydroxyl group of morphine. Morphine yields from opium poppy are 4—21%. When prescribed for cough, the usual oral dose is 10—20 mg, three to four times daily. At these doses, adverse side effects are very few. Although the abuse potential for codeine is relatively low, the compound can substitute for morphine in addicts (47). 

Narcotoline, This alkaloid, isolated from opium-poppy... 

Many alkaloids have pronounced biological properties, and a substantial number of the pharmaceutical agents used today are derived from naturally occurring amines. As a few examples, morphine, an analgesic agent, is obtained from the opium poppy Papaver somnifemm. Cocaine, both an anesthetic and a central nervous system stimulant, is obtained front the coca bush Erythroxylon coca, endemic to upland rain forest areas of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and western Brazil. Reserpine, a tranquilizer and antihypertensive, comes from powdered roots of the semitropical plant Rauwolfia serpentina. Ephedrine, a bronchodilator and decongestant, is obtained front the Chinese plant Ephedra sinica. 

Rowers and unripe seed capsules of the opium poppy. Within the capsule is a milky, gummy substance that contains the alkaloid moiphine. 

Caffeine occurs in tea leaves, coffee beans, and cola nuts. Morphine is obtained from unripe opium poppy seed pods. Coniine, extracted from hemlock, is the alkaloid that killed Socrates. Fie was sentenced to death because of unconventional teaching methods teacher evaluations had teeth in them in ancient Greece. 

Opioid analgesics are the narcotic analgesics obtained from the opium plant. More than 20 different alkaloids are obtained from the unripe seed of the opium poppy... 

The development of the first effective analgesic drug, opium, was almost certainly adventitious, and occurred in prehistoric times. The use of the dried exudate from slitting the immature capsule of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, as an analgesic, sedative and euphoriant, has a long folkloric history. Isolation of the principal active component morphine (1) as a pure crystalline compound represented one of the early landmarks in organic chemistry. 

FACCHINI, D., DELUCA, V., Phloem-specific expression of tyrosine dopa decarboxylase genes and the biosynthesis of isoquinoline alkaloids in opium poppy, Plant Cell, 1995, 7, 1811-1821. 

UNTERLINNER, B LENZ, R KUTCHAN, T.M., Molecular cloning and functional heterologous expression of codeinone reductase The penultimate enzyme in morphine biosynthesis in the opium poppy Papaver somniferum, Plant J., 1999,18,465-475. 

Francis PS, Adcock JL, Costin JW et al (2008) Chemiluminescence detection of opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) alkaloids. J Pharm Biomed Anal 48 508-518... 

Before delving into ways the living world uses its special chemicals, we should note that these compounds touch our own lives in important ways. For millennia, humans have been borrowing natural chemicals for their own purposes, most often as drugs. Our oldest medicine is opium, which we prepare from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) today much as Mediterranean peoples did four thousand years ago. Just as we do, these early communities valued opium for its ability to kill pain and impart a sense of well-being. The principal constituent responsible for these effects is a chemical compound called morphine, which remains unsurpassed in its ability to control severe pain. In poppies, morphine s toxicity and bitterness presumably repel herbivores looking for a tasty meal. 

Analgesic Plants Opioid Opium poppy, myrrh... 

Analgesic Plants Opium Poppy History and Botany... 

The opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) is a blue-grey annual plant growing 30 to 150 cm in height (Robbers et al. 1996 Gruenwald et al. 

The opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). Reprinted from Culbreth DMR. (1927). Materia Medica and Pharmacognosy, 7th ed. Philadelphia Lea 8i Febiger. 

The opium poppy is one of several plants that have profoundly affected human history. It has provided an unmatched medicine for... 

---