Opium Poppy

POPPY, opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, an annual herbaceous plant of the poppy family (Papaveraceae), from 0.5 m to 1.5 m in height; does not occur in a wild state; likely originates from Papaver setigerum D.C., growing in Algeria, Spain, Greece, and the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and Cyprus. For the purpose of obtaining fat-rich seeds or opium, the opium poppy is cultivated in all parts of the world where climate conditions permit. The following varieties are of practical importance: 1) P. s. nigrum with a violet or purple corolla and a dark violet spot at the base of the petals, with grayish-blue or black seeds; 2) P. s. album with a white corolla, with a purple or violet spot at the base of the petal and with white seeds. The second variety is preferred in medicine; poppy heads and seeds are gathered from P. s. album for the preparation of medicinal products. Poppy heads, or immature fruit capsules of the opium poppy (Capita Papaveris or Fructus Papaveris immaturi), no larger than a hazelnut, are harvested as early as July when they are especially rich in milky juice, and are quickly and carefully dried. When preparing medicinal forms from poppy heads, the seeds are removed from the capsules. Large heads, as well as excessively old, dry ones, contain significantly less milky juice and no longer represent medical value. The odor of fresh, immature capsules is peculiar and narcotic, the taste upon chewing is bitter and opium-like; upon drying, the capsules almost completely lose their characteristic odor and bitter taste. The constituent active principles in fresh, immature poppy heads are the same as in opium (see); in dried heads, the similarity in composition to opium is the weaker, the stronger the drying and the more mature the heads were. The meconic acid contained in opium cannot always be detected in dry heads, and the amount of morphine, codeine, narcotine, and other alkaloids bound to meconic acid is negligible. The medical significance of fresh green poppy heads, from which opium is extracted, is very great, while that of harvested immature ones is insignificant, because the medicinal forms prepared from them have almost completely gone out of use; these preparations are: syrup of poppy heads (Sirupus Diacodii) as a sedative for coughs and Capita Papaveris in the form of a decoction for gargles or compresses. In folk life, however, poppy heads play a very sad role as a soothing, or rather sleep-inducing, remedy for children, especially during rushed summer agricultural work (harvest), when mothers often feed children an infusion not only of dried, but frequently also of fresh immature poppy heads containing all the opium alkaloids; children are especially sensitive to opium alkaloids and often, having fallen asleep, do not wake up.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 1. Opium poppy: 1-apex with flower and bud; 2-capsule. Figure 2. Corn poppy: 1-floral bud at the time of shedding of the calyx; 2-stamens; 3-ripe opened capsule; 4-seed.

Poppy seed from Papaver somniferum, var. album represents dry ripe seeds, from 0.9 mm to 1.5 mm in length and about 1 mm in cross-section; the seeds are white, kidney-shaped. Poppy seed as a food product was already known in the times of pile dwellings; the custom of sprinkling bread with poppy seed during baking was practiced even by the ancient Romans. Poppy seed was used for food with honey or roasted. The taste of fresh poppy seed is pleasant and oily, that of stale seed reveals rancidity. Constituent principles: fatty oil (from 47% to 56%), aleurone (protein substance), mucus, salts (up to 7%, mainly calcium phosphate); there is no morphine or other alkaloids in ripe poppy seeds. The medical application of poppy seed boils down to the prescription of emulsions prepared from it, possessing enveloping and softening properties and playing the role of a gentle nourishing remedy. Poppy seeds are used for food in the form of poppy seed cakes with honey, rolls and bread sprinkled with poppy seeds, etc. The oil expressed from poppy seeds (Oleum Papaveris) is liquid, light yellow in color, has a pleasant taste and a faint characteristic odor; it belongs to drying oils. The oil can serve for the preparation of (false) emulsions if almond oil and other non-drying oils are lacking. Poppy oil is highly valued in painting due to its rapid drying, light-colored film, and indifferent attitude toward pigments. In medicine, besides Papaver somn., the field poppy or corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas L.) of the poppy family (Papaveraceae) is also used; it grows wild as a weed in grain fields throughout Europe, except for its northern part. In medicine, the flower petals are used (used in the pharmacopeias of Austria, Belgium, Britain, France, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Portugal). The petals of the living flower have an obovate shape, a cinnabar-red color with a dark violet spot at the base of the petals; the flower exhibits a faint narcotic odor. The commercial article consists of dried, brittle, entirely dark violet petals, of a bitterish-mucilaginous taste, odorless. Mucus, sugar, fatty oil, tannin, mineral salts, the non-poisonous alkaloid rhoeadine (C₂₁H₂₁NO₆), and a coloring matter have been found in the dry petals. The pharmacological action of medicinal preparations made from the petals of P. r. is due to the large amount of mucus (20%) found in the petals. For therapeutic purposes, preparations from the petals were used as an expectorant (expectorans): syrup (Sirupus Rhoeados) and pectoral tea (Species pectoralis).