Abstract

Dr. Rashmi Sinha* and Dr. Prafulla

ABSTRACT

Papaver somniferum commonly known as opium poppy or breadseed poppy is a species of flowering plant in the family papaveraceae. It is neurotoxic cerebral somniferous poison, somniferous means “sleep producing”, referring to sedative properties. This poppy is grown as an agricultural crop for one of three primary purposes. The first is to produce seeds that are eaten by humans, commonly known as poppy seed. The second is to produce opium for use mainly by the pharmaceutical industry. The third is to produce alkaloids that are processed by the pharmaceutical industry into drugs. The opium poppy, as its name indicates, is the principal source of opium, the dried latex produced by the seed pods. (It is one of the world’s oldest medicinal plants and remains the only source for narcotic analgesic such as morphine and the cough supressant codeine and semisynthetic derivatives such as oxycodone and naltrexone.).