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Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: Lachryma papaveris) is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy Papaver somniferum. [4] Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is processed chemically to produce heroin and other synthetic opioids for medicinal use and for the illegal drug trade.
An opiate is an alkaloid substance derived from opium (or poppy straw). [1] It differs from the similar term opioid in that the latter is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain (including antagonists). [ 2 ]
1.2.1 Opium alkaloids. 1.2.2 Alkaloid salts mixtures. 1.3 Semisynthetics including Bentley compounds. 1.3.1 Morphine family. 1.3.2 3,6-diesters of morphine. 1.3.3 ...
Morphine is the predominant alkaloid found in the cultivated varieties of opium poppy that are used for opium production. [76] Other varieties produce minimal opium or none at all, such as the latex-free Sujata type. Non-opium cultivars that are planted for drug production feature a high level of thebaine or oripavine.
The first individual alkaloid, morphine, was isolated in 1804 from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). [1] Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral [2] and even weakly acidic properties. [3]
Opiates are alkaloid compounds naturally found in the Papaver somniferum plant (opium poppy). The psychoactive compounds found in the opium plant include morphine, codeine, and thebaine. Opiates have long been used for a variety of medical conditions with evidence of opiate trade and use for pain relief as early as the eighth century AD.
Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids are found in several plant families, including the poppy family (Papaveraceae), the annonaceae family, and the laurel family. [1] Well-known representatives are primarily found in poppy plants, specifically those from which opium is derived, as well as in actaea. [2]
The alkaloid profiles of poppy straw and opium are similar, but preliminary research suggests they can be distinguished by relative quantities of alkaloids. [21] Based on the presence of the alkaloid oripavine in some opium poppies, it has been suggested that illegal heroin seized in Australia was produced from a legal poppy straw crop stolen ...