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 (11.1-128).
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]).
[Note: References listed above in parentheses can be found in
full in the original reference].
Last modified 6-Dec-1997