Despite the progress that has occurred in recent years in the development of therapy, there is still a need for effective and potent analgesics, especially for the treatment of chronic pain. One of the most important analgesic drugs employed in clinical practice today continues to be the alkaloid morphine. In this review, emphasis will be given to the important contribution and the history of P...

Two early and potential rate-limiting steps in the biosynthesis of isoquinoline alkaloids, such as morphine and codeine, in opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) involve decarboxylation of L-tyrosine and L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa) to yield tyramine and dopamine, respectively. A DNA fragment was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using degenerate primers designed to two highly conser...

Cannabis sativa (Cannabis) is one of the world’s most well-known, yet maligned plant species. However, significant recent research starting to unveil potential produce secondary compounds that may offer a suite medical benefits, elevating this unique species from its illicit narcotic status into genuine biopharmaceutical. This review summarises lengthy history and details molecular pathways und...

Isoquinoline alkaloids are a large class of compounds derived from the amino acid L-tyrosine containing many physiologically active members. Among the isoquinoline alkaloids, morphine is one of the pharmaceutically important members that is still derived from the plant that produces it, the opium poppy Papaver somniferum. P. somniferum produces over 80 alkaloids derived from L-tyrosine. We have...

In this work, a convenient method for determination of relative UV response factors (RRFs) of morphine, codeine, thebaine, oripavine, noscapine and papaverine by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a diode array detector (DAD) was presented. Pholcodine was selected as the reference compound for calculating the relative response factors of the alkaloids. The separation of...

Throughout history, opium has been used as a base for the opioid class of drugs used to suppress the central nervous system. Opium is a substance extracted from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.). Its consumption and medicinal application date back to antiquity. In the medieval period, Avicenna, a famous Persian scholar (980-1037 AD) described poppy under the entry Afion of his medical enc...