Question

Analyse the following information and answer the questions.

Alkaloid	Part of the plant	Uses
Quinine	Bark	Anti-malarial drug
Nicotine	Leaves	Insecticide
Morphine	Fruits	Pain killer, Sedative
Caffeine	Seeds	Central nervous system stimulant
Pyrethroids	Flowers	Insecticides
Scopolamine	Fruits, Flowers	Sedative

A. Which parts of the plants are used as alkaloids?
B. What are the alkaloids which are used to control the diseases that occur in plants?
C. Name the parts of the plant from which we get alkaloids used as sedatives.
D. Name the alkaloid which is used to prevent malaria.

Answer 1

Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds containing at least one nitrogen atom. The group also contains some related compounds with neutral and weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure are also termed as alkaloids.

Complete Answer:
Quinine is a component of the bark of the cinchona (quina-quina) tree. Nicotine is derived from the leaf of the tobacco plant. Morphine was first extracted from opium in a pure form and opium comes from the poppy plant. Caffeine is an alkaloid that occurs naturally in some 60 plant species, of which cocoa beans, kola nuts, tea leaves and coffee beans are the most well-known. Pyrethroids are derived from pyrethrins that are insecticidal substances found in the natural pyrethrum extracted from the flowers of chrysanthemum. Scopolamine, also called hyoscine, is a drug obtained from a number of plants under the family Solanaceae.
i) Alkaloids can be extracted from bark, leaves, fruits, flowers and seeds of particular plants.
ii) Pyrethroids and nicotine are the alkaloids used to control diseases in plants.
iii) Sedative alkaloids are derived from the fruits and flowers of the plants.
iv) Quinine is used to prevent malaria.

Note:
The roles of alkaloids in plant metabolism, plant catabolism, or plant physiology can be stated as (i) end products of metabolism or waste products, (ii) storage reservoirs of nitrogen, (iii) protective agents for the plant against attack by predators, (iv) growth regulators or (v) substitutes for minerals in plants, such as potassium and calcium.