The POPPY from OPPIUS, Papaver somniferum, belongs to the Papaveraceae family; is an annual herbaceous plant grown in its varieties, album (the most valuable), nigrum And setigerum, to obtain opium bread.
The opium bread is a semi-solid mass of a brown-blackish color and a very aromatic odor; it is nothing but the latex collected after being exuded from the immature capsule and then left to dry and oxidize in the air; when stirred continuously it loses water, takes on a white - greyish to brown - black color and a more solid consistency. It is obtained by exudation from the incision of immature capsules, collected by scraping, placed in containers, then stirred and dried; in this way, the water it contains evaporates, and the opium bread oxidizes in the air leading to a change of color. This type of cultivation and method of obtaining legalized only in some countries, in other cases it is obviously prohibited, and in others, such as for example in Egypt, the poppy is cultivated to obtain alkaloid active ingredients, but the capsules are not cut, but harvested ripe and dried; they are then extracted with solvents, thus operating liquid-liquid extractions by displacement.
The active principles of the poppy have a "predominantly pharmaceutical expression, but in some cases they are also associated with free sale products, such as in herbalists who market products based on codeine, an antitussive, a bechico, with spasmolytic activity at the bronchial level. , and - at certain doses - it is also an anti-asthmatic. Then there are some more specifically pharmaceutical active ingredients, such as morphine (analgesic par excellence), and papaverine (the spasmolytic par excellence). Opium, and opium poppy , they can also have a herbal use, but with a homeopathic expression.
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