Opium poppy

Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine. The Latin botanical name means the "sleep-bringing poppy", referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.

The poppy is the only species of Papaveraceae that is an agricultural crop grown on a large scale. Other species, Papaver rhoeas and Papaver argemone, are important agricultural weeds, and may be mistaken for the crop.

The plant itself is also valuable for ornamental purposes, and has been known as the "common garden poppy", referencing all the group of poppy plants.

Poppy seeds of Papaver somniferum are an important food item and the source of poppyseed oil, a healthy edible oil that has many uses. It is widely grown as an ornamental flower throughout Europe, North America, South America, and Asia.

Varieties

Papaver somniferum has many sub-species or varieties and cultivars. Colors of the flower vary widely, as do other physical characteristics such as number and shape of petals, number of flowers and fruits, number of seeds, color of seeds, production of opium, etc.

Papaver somniferum Paeoniflorum Group (sometimes called Papaver paeoniflorum) is a sub-type of opium poppy whose flowers are highly double, and are grown in many colors. Papaver somniferum Laciniatum Group (sometimes called Papaver laciniatum) is a sub-type of opium poppy whose flowers are highly double and deeply lobed, to the point of looking like a ruffly pompon.

A few of the varieties, notably the Norman and Przemko varieties, have low morphine content (less than one percent), much higher concentrations of other alkaloids. Most varieties, however, including those most popular for ornamental use or seed production, have a higher morphine content, with the average content being 10%.

Opiates

The opium poppy is the principal source of almost all naturally occurring mu-opioid agonist opioids, the only other known source being Mitragyna speciosa. The opium poppy is, by definition, the root source of all opioids considered opiates. Opiates are extracted from opium and poppy straw. Opium (also called “raw opium”) is the latex harvested by making incisions on the green capsules (seed pods). Poppy straw is the dried mature plant except the seeds, harvested by mowing.

From opium and poppy straw are extracted alkaloids such as morphine, thebaine, codeine and oripavine. Morphine is the predominant alkaloid found in the varieties of opium poppy plant cultivated in most producing countries.

History

Use of the opium poppy predates written history. Images of opium poppies have been found in ancient Sumerian artifacts (ca. 4000 BC). The opium poppy was also known to the ancient Greeks, from whom it gained its modern name of opium. Remains have been discovered at sites such as Kalapodi and Kastanas.

Opium was used for treating asthma, stomach illnesses, and bad eyesight. The Opium Wars between China and the British Empire took place in the late 1830s through the early 1860s when the Chinese attempted to stop the sale of opium by Britain, in China.

Many modern writers, particularly in the nineteenth century, have written on the opium poppy and its effects, notably L. Frank Baum in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Thomas de Quincey in Confessions of an English Opium Eater

The French Romantic composer Hector Berlioz used opium to be inspired, subsequently producing his Symphonie Fantastique. In this work, a young artist overdoses on opium and experiences a series of visions of his unrequited love.

Opium poppies (flower and fruit) appear on the coat of arms of the Royal College of Anaesthetists.

Legality

Opium poppy cultivation in the United Kingdom does not require a licence, but extracting opium for medicinal products does. In Italy it is forbidden to grow Papaver somniferum to extract the alkaloids, but small numbers of specimens can be grown without special permits for purely ornamental purposes. In the United States, opium is listed as a Schedule II controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration. In addition, "Opium poppy and poppy straw" are also prohibited. However, this is not typically enforced for poppies grown or sold for ornamental or food purposes. However, the television show MythBusters demonstrated that one could test positive for narcotics after consuming four poppy seed bagels. On the show , subjects tested positive after eating only two poppy seed bagels.

In the United Arab Emirates, where the drug law is especially stern, at least one man was reported to have been imprisoned for possessing poppy seeds obtained from a bread roll.

In northern Burma opium bans have ended a century old tradition of growing poppy. Between 20.000 and 30.000 ex-poppyfarmers left the Kokang region as a result of the ban in 2002. People from the Wa region, where the ban was implemented in 2005, fled to areas where growing opium is still possible.

Poppies as medicine

Australia, Turkey and India are the major producers of poppy for medicinal purposes and poppy-based drugs, such as morphine or codeine. The USA has a policy of sourcing 80% of its narcotic raw materials from the traditional producers, India and Turkey.

A recent initiative to extend opium production for medicinal purposes called Poppy for Medicine was launched by The Senlis Council which proposes that Afghanistan could produce medicinal opium under a scheme similar to that operating in Turkey and India. The Council proposes licensing poppy production in Afghanistan, within an integrated control system supported by the Afghan government and its international allies, to promote economic growth in the country, create vital drugs and combat poverty and the diversion of illegal opium to drug traffickers and terrorist elements. Interestingly, Senlis is on record advocating reintroduction of poppy into areas of Afghanistan, specifically Kunduz, which has been poppy free for some time.

The Senlis proposal is based in part on the assertion that there is an acute global shortage of opium poppy-based medicines some of which (morphine) are on the World Health Organisation's list of essential drugs as they are the most effective way of relieving severe pain. This assertion is contradicted by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the "independent and quasi-judicial control organ monitoring the implementation of the United Nations drug control conventions". INCB reports that the supply of opiates is greatly in excess of demand.

The British government has given the go-ahead to the pharmaceutical company Macfarlan Smith (a Johnson Matthey company) to cultivate opium poppies in England for medicinal reasons. This move is well-received by British farmers, with a major opium poppy field based in Didcot, England.

In March 2010, researchers from the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary published an article in Nature Chemical Biology about their discovery of two enzymes and their encoding genes, thebaine 6-O-demethylase (T6ODM) and codeine O-demethylase (CODM), involved in morphine biosynthesis derived from the opium poppy. The enzymes were identified as non-heme dioxygenases, and were isolated using functional genomics.

Use as food

makowiec, a nut roll filled with poppy seed paste]] The opium poppy is the source of two food ingredients: poppy seed and poppyseed oil. The seeds contain very low levels of opiates,

Sources and notes

Inline citations

General references

The Heroin Harvest

Comprehensive profile for Papaver somniferum from MaltaWildPlants.com

Opium FAQ v1.0 from Opioids.com

Papaver Somniferum Facts from somniferum.com

Opium Poppy Cultivation and Heroin Processing in Southeast Asia from the School of Pacific and Asian Studies

"Downward Spiral - Banning Opium in Afghanistan and Burma", Transnational Institute TNI, Debate Paper, June 2005

"Withdrawal Symptoms in the Golden Triangle - A Drugs Market in Disarray" TNI Paper by Tom Kramer et al.

Chouvy P.A., 2009, "Opium. Uncovering the Politics of the Poppy", London, I.B. Tauris (Cambridge, Harvard University Press: 2010)

Photos

The Papaver somniferum Photo Gallery

Photos of opium poppy fields in France on www.geopium.org

Photos of opium poppies (in bloom, lanced, dried, with seeds) on www.geopium.org

Opium Poppy fields of North Tasmania

Category:Medicinal plants Category:Papaver Category:Herbs Category:Opium