| Common Names | Opium Poppy |
|---|---|
| Description | |
| Locations | Epirus |
| Clinical Summary | |
| Contraindications | The whole plant is toxic and addictive. Typical side effects after plant's consumption are miosis, psychological and emotional disorders. Overdosing causes cardiac arrhythmias, pulmonary edema, respiratory depression, loss of consciousness and eventually death. |
| Active Substance | resin proteins albumin Morphine narkotine codeine papaverine thebaine narceine (alkaloids of opium the dried latex which is produced by the plant and dried by the air) wax |
| Active Substance Plant Part | root fruit flowers Capsules opium (dried latex from the immature seed pods-fruits) |
| Adverse Reaction | |
| Educational Research | |
| Interaction | |
| Features Description | Papaver Somniferum is an annual plant growing from 1 to 1,5cm, with oval, wavy, thoothed leaves and large, white, violet or crimson flowers. The flowering lasts from May to August, after which takes place the harvesting. |
| Method Administration | The plant is administered as analgesic and sedative in the form of syrup. In the pharmaceutical industry it is widely used for the extraction of the alkaloids. Opium is commercially available as analgesic in the form of injections, tincture (1: 5 parts of herb's extract and mixture of ethanol-water 1: 1), ointment, powder and infusion, mainly for external use.Warning: The use of herb preparations is not recommended without seeking advice from your physician or pharmacist. The substances they contain may interact with the subscribed drugs that the patient already takes, thus eliminating their therapeutic efficacy or inducing toxicity. They may also burden further weakened vital functions of the body thus exposing the patient to increased morbidity and life threatened conditions. |
| Pharmacological Info | The whole plant has hypnotic, analgesic, sedative, astringent, expectorant, sudorific and spasmolytic properties. Also it is recommended for the treatment of diarrhea, dysentery and cough, while in folk medicine the herbal tea is administered for the treatment of asthma, bruises, runny nose, colic, conjunctivitis, headache , migraine, hypertension, neuralgia, rheumatic pain and toothache. Finally, the plant is used for extraction and production of morphine, codeine, noscapine (seed's infusion). |
| Pharmacological Use | |
| Mechanism Action | |
| References | Bιβλίο: Τα φαρμακευτικά βότανα και οι θεραπευτικές τους ιδιότητες, Λάμπρου Π. Σπύρου, Αγροτικός εκδοτικός οίκος, Αθήνα 1981, Β' τόμος, σελίδες: 366-369 Βιβλίο: Οδηγός των φαρμακευτικών φυτών, Paul Schauenberg, Ferdinand Paris, Εκδότης Μ. Γκιούρδας, Αθήνα 1981, σελίδες 44-45, http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/papaver_somniferum.html http://www.drugs.com/npp/poppy.html http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/p/popwhi64.html |
| Research |
