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opium

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opium

the dried juice extracted from the unripe seed capsules of the opium poppy that contains alkaloids such as morphine and codeine: used in medicine as an analgesic
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

opium

[′ō·pē·əm]
(pharmacology)
A narcotic obtained from the unripe capsules of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum); crude extract contains alkaloids such as morphine (5-15%), narcotine (2-8%), and codeine (0.1-2.5%).
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Opium

 

the air-dried milky juice obtained from incisions in the unripe capsules of the opium poppy. Opium is an analgesic containing about 20 alkaloids—derivatives of phenanthrene (codeine and morphine) and isoquinoline. The pharmacological properties are determined mainly by the morphine, which constitutes about 10 percent of opium’s total content. The use of opium, as of any narcotic, is dangerous because of possible addiction. Opium preparations in the form of powders, dried extracts, and tinctures are used to alleviate peristalsis of the intestine in some cases of diarrhea. Small quantities of opium are used in cough and expectorant preparations.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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