Question

From which of the following parts of the plant, opium is obtained
A. New leaves
B. Roots
C. Unripe capsule
D. Seeds

Answer 1

Opium is a narcotic drug which is obtained from the plant opium poppy. The scientific name of this plant is Papaver somniferum which belongs to the family Papaveraceae. It is an agricultural crop which is mainly cultivated for its seeds and also for alkaloids produced by them. There are many alkaloids present in it namely morphine, codeine etc.

Complete answer:
Opium was grown for its medicinal properties. The traditional method of harvesting involves making a small cut on the immature seed pods through which a liquid latex would leak and then dry. This dried latex is called raw opium. It is mainly harvested for its latex and from this opium all other alkaloid compounds are extracted. Apart from the immature seeds, the poppy straw is also used for extraction of other alkaloids like morphine and opiates. The latex contains almost about $12\%$ of morphine. Here the paddy straw includes all other parts of the plant, mainly crushed capsules without seeds. This process by which opiates are extracted from the poppy straw is by the poppy straw method and was first invented by Janos Kabay. The poppy straw is used for commercial production of morphine which can be further processed to produce heroin. As the opium is mainly obtained from dried latex which is obtained from the unripe capsule.

Hence, the correct answer is option C

Note:
Poppy seeds are widely used in the food industry, pharmaceutical industry. It is mainly used to treat diarrhoea by controlling the intestinal movements. Opium poppy seeds are often considered as narcotic as they induce sleep and may also cause addiction if consumed in more amounts.