MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC CROPS (2+1)

Importance and chemical composition

• Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) is an annual herb belonging to the family, Papavaraceae.
  


• It grows up to a height of 60-120 cm. It is an important medicinal plant, the source of over 40 alkaloids including psychoactive agents, a great boon to psychiatry for the treatment of mental and nervous diseases and to medical research.
  


• The commer¬cial product 'Opium' is an addictive narcotic obtained from the latex of capsules of the opium poppy, the source of a number of very valuable alkaloids like morphine, codeine, narcotine, papaverine and thebain.
  


• Other minor alkaloids include aporeine, codamine, cryp¬topine, guoscopine, hydrocotarnine, laudanine, narcotoline, neopine, oxynarcotine and papayeramine.
  


• The seeds do not contain any alkaloids, but are also reported to contain a high percentage of linoleic acid which lowers blood cholesterol in the human system.


• The alkaloids, morphine and codeine, are widely used as sedatives to relieve pain and induce sleep, in addition to their use against cough. Opium is a very valuable but dangerous drug.


• It should be used in very limited quantities and under the strict supervision of a physician.


• In India, this plant is mainly cultivated for its latex (opium) and the seeds come as a by-product.
  


• These seeds are quite a rich source of fatty oil and protein and, in many countries of Europe, employed as a major source of cooking oil.
  


• The seed is also an important culinary item in India.
  


• It is extensively used in the preparation of native confectionery, pastries and bread.
  


• In some places, the young plants are also consumed as a leafy vegetable.


• Its cultivation has to be done under the strict control of the Central Excise Department and it cannot be cultivated everywhere.
  


• It can be grown only in those areas specified by the Government of India.