Question

Opium is got from

Answer 1

The first mention of opium cultivation and use dates back to 3,400 B.C. when the opium poppy was grown in lower Mesopotamia (Southwest Asia). The Sumerians called it Hul Gil, or "joy plant," and it was quickly passed down to the Assyrians, who in turn passed it down to the Egyptians. People became more interested in opium as they learned about its medicinal properties. Many countries started to develop and process opium to expand its availability and to decrease its cost.

Complete answer:
A narcotic drug that is obtained from the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), a plant of the family Papaveraceae, is called opium. Opium is obtained by slightly incising the seed capsules of the poppy after the plant's flower petals have fallen. When exposed to air, the slit seed pods exude a milky latex that coagulates and changes color, transforming into a gumlike brown mass. This raw opium can be ground into a powder, sold in lumps, cakes, or bricks, or further processed to produce derivatives such as morphine, codeine, and heroin. Opium and the drugs derived from it are referred to as opiates.

Opium's pharmacologically active principles are found in its alkaloids, the most important of which, morphine, accounts for approximately 10% of raw opium by weight. Other active alkaloids, such as papaverine and codeine, are present in lesser amounts. Opium alkaloids are classified into two types based on their chemical structure and mode of action.

Morphine, codeine, and thebaine are analgesic, narcotic, and potentially addictive compounds that act on the central nervous system. Papaverine, noscapine (formerly known as narcotine), and the majority of other opium alkaloids only relax involuntary (smooth) muscles. Opiates (such as morphine, codeine, and thebaine) primarily affect the brain and spinal cord. Their primary function is to alleviate or suppress pain.

Note: Opiates affect the brain because their structure is very similar to that of endorphins, which are naturally produced in the body. Opiate alkaloids can occupy the same receptor sites as endorphins, mimicking the effects of endorphins in suppressing pain impulse transmission within the nervous system.