The effect of the endogenous opioid system as analgesics was not identified until the early 1970’s [1]. Since the 3rd century BC, however, it has been known that opium as the main compound of opiates, harvested from the juice of the opium poppy was of use in managing pain, as well being addictive [1,2]. The introduction in 1680 of Sydenham’s Laudanum, a mixture of opium with sherry wine and her...

Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) produces a diverse array of bioactive benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, including the narcotic analgesic morphine and the antimicrobial agent sanguinarine. In contrast to the plant, cell cultures of opium poppy do not accumulate alkaloids constitutively but produce sanguinarine in response to treatment with certain fungal-derived elicitors. The induction of sanguina...

Biliary cast syndrome (BCS) is an uncommon complication which is mostly described in orthotopic liver transplantation. However, BCS has also been reported rarely in non-liver transplant patients. We describe a male long-term opium inhaler with BCS who underwent successful endoscopic cast removal by balloon enteroscopy-guided endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. A 52-year-old man, who...

Over 25 years anti-opium laws were enacted by three Asian governments in countries where opium use was traditional. Within months, heroin use suddenly appeared; and within a decade, heroin addiction surpassed opium addiction. The laws led to (1) increased price of narcotic drugs, (2) a heroin "industry," (3) corruption of the law enforcement system, and (4) major health problems involving paren...

ôbjective: ôpium was referred to as the ancient medicine's method of choice for treating diabetes mellitus. but in some recent studies, it is reported as the cause for higher blood sugar levels. the aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of opium use among diabetic patients and attitude of them towards the effects of opium use on their disease. methods: this cross-sectional study ...

Views of Prolog Executions in Opium Mireille Ducassé, IRISA/INSA N ̊ 3531 Octobre 1998

Flowering time, growth, and opium gum yield from five seed sources (T, L, B1, B2, B3) of opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) collected from different latitudes in three Southeast Asian countries were determined. Plants were grown in six growth chambers at a 11-, 12-, 13-, 14-, 15-, or 16-hour photoperiod with a 12-hour, 25/20 °C thermoperiod. Flower initiation was observed under a dissecting mi...