WHAT IS OPIUM POPPY?

FAMILY

Papaveraceae, Papaver somniferum L.

[Source: Simon, J.E., A.F. Chadwick and L.E. Craker.

1984. Herbs: An Indexed Bibliography. 1971-1980. The
Scientific Literature on Selected Herbs, and Aromatic and
Medicinal Plants of the Temperate Zone. Archon Books,
770 pp., Hamden, CT.]
Poppy,Papaver somniferum L., is an annual herb native to
Southeastern Europe and western Asia. Also known as opium
poppy, the species is cultivated extensively in many countries,
including Iran, Turkey, Holland, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia,
Yugoslavia, India, Canada, and many Asian and Central and South
American countries. Reaching a height of 1.2 meters, the erect plant
can have white, pink, red, or purple flowers. Seeds range in color
from white to a slate shade that is called blue in commercial
classifications.
The reported life zone of poppy is 7 to 23 degrees centigrade with
an annual precipitation of 0.3 to 1.7 meters and a soil pH of 4.5 to
8.3 (4.1-31). The plants grow best in rich, moist soil and tend to be
frost sensitive.
A latex containing several important alkaloids is obtained from

immature seed capsules one to three weeks after flowering.

Incisions are made in the walls of the green seed pods, and the
milky exudation is collected and dried. Opium and the isoquinoline
alkaloids morphine, codeine, noscapine, papaverine, and thebaine
are isolated from the dried material. The poppy seeds and fixed oil
that can be expressed from the seed are not narcotic, because they
develop after the capsule has lost the opium-yielding potential (11.1128). Total yield of alkaloids is dependent on light, temperature, the
plant species, and the time of harvest (5.2-4).
Poppy seeds are used as a condiment with baked goods and
pastries for their nutty odor and flavor. Poppy oil is widely used as an
edible cooking oil. The oil is also used in the manufacture of paints,
varnishes, and soaps (14.1-35). Opium is used in the production of
morphine, codeine, other alkaloids, and deodorized forms of opium
(14.1-35). Morphine is the raw material from which heroin is
obtained. Poppy plants are important as ornamental plants in flower
gardens.
Poppy is one of the most important medicinal plants. Traditionally,
the dry opium was considered an astringent, antispasmodic,
aphrodisiac, diaphoretic, expectorant, hypnotic, narcotic, and
sedative. Poppy has been used against toothaches and coughs. The
ability of opium from poppy to serve as an analgesic is well known.
Opium and derivatives of opium are used in the pharmaceutical
industry as narcotic analgesics, hypnotics, and sedatives. These
compounds are also used as antidiarrheals, antispasmodics, and
antitussives (14.1-35). Opium and the drugs derived from opium are
addictive and can have toxicological effects.
The poppy has had a tremendous impact on several societies
as an opiate. Currently, there is interest in developing a poppy plant
rich in thebaine and low in morphine as the former could be
converted to codeine and other legal pharmaceutical products with
less morphine available for illegal conversion into heroin.
Papaver rhoeus L., known as corn or field poppy, is an annual
herb native to Europe and Asia. Extracts of the plant are used in
medicine and beverages. The alkaloids rhoeadine, morphine, and
papaverine have been reported in this species (14.1-32). Papaver
orientale L., formerly Papaver bracteatum Lindl., is a morphine-free
alkaloid source used for medicinal purposes. Mexican or prickly
poppy, Argemone mexicana L., has been reported to have
toxicological properties but no substantial medicinal uses have been
recorded (11.1-136).
Poppy seed is generally recognized as safe for human consumption
as a spice or a natural flavoring (21 CFR section 182.10 [1982]).