Mwalimu-G
Elder Lister
A tale of two poppies
James Wearn, leading a project called ‘Kew Gardens at War’, describes how one poppy helped to keep pain away during wartime while another poppy lets us remember and reflect on the pain and sorrow of war.
BY DR JAMES WEARN
Of the c. 70 species of poppy within the genus Papaver (Papaveraceae), two have been responsible for two very different, but equally influential, tasks during the past century.
They are P. rhoeas L. (common poppy, corn poppy, field poppy) and P. somniferum L. (opium poppy, or literally ‘sleep-inducing’ poppy) and they have a rich history of economic, medical and scientific importance, peppered with sad irony.
A long history of medicinal value
The flowers of the field poppy have long been used as a painkiller for soothing mild aches and pains (e.g. toothache, earache and sore throat), a mild sedative/relaxant, an expectorant for treating catarrh and coughs, as a digestive, and even for reducing the appearance of wrinkles and in lipstick.
Traditionally, two methods of preparation have been employed: fresh petals used to prepare a syrup, and dried petals added to water to make an infusion.
Moreover, chemical extracts from the petals of P. rhoeas have recently been tested for potential in the prevention of skin cancer.
Whilst equally pleasing to the eye, “the opium poppy’s power does not reside in its beauty”. The white latex of the opium poppy contains far greater quantities of potent narcotics than that of the field poppy, which has led to its importance in medicine but also to its exploitation through illicit trade.
Indeed it became “a drug hailed as the most important remedy in the pharmacologist’s entire materia medica, yet one judged capable of creating more misery by its abuse ‘than any other drug employed by mankind’”.
‘Milk of the poppy’ was prescribed liberally for centuries for virtually any ill. Although evidence has been found to suggest its use since prehistory, the ancient Greeks gave rise to the more familiar name for the poppy’s sap (Gr. opion).
The East India Company (EIC) produced most of the opium in India during the 18th Century, the poppies officially being grown for medicinal use.
However, an illicit opium trade, primarily with China, was conducted privately and so the opium reaching China had come, albeit indirectly, from EIC plantations.
China banned the sale (1729) and import (1796) of opium in an attempt to be rid of its corrupting influence, so complex networks were developed to continue its trade.
Growth of the trade and related disputes came to a head in two ‘Opium Wars’ between Britain and China during the 19th Century.
Of particular note, the EIC Herbarium, assembled by botanist and EIC surgeon Nathaniel Wallich, now resides in a wall of mahogany cupboards within the Herbarium at Kew.
Amongst the sheets are three collections of P. somniferum, appropriately followed by three of P. rhoeas, all collected in India during the early 1800s.
From 1914, morphine ampoules were needed en masse to aid millions of soldiers injured in the bloody battles of the First World War.
In fact this sudden and important demand temporarily halted advances made in preceding years concerning the regulation of opiates (e.g. The Hague International Opium Convention of 1912).
Opium generally contains about 10-14% morphine, which is an important chemical in the management of severe pain, acting directly on the central nervous system.
However, a pharmaceutical cultivar called ‘elite’ has been selected to contain 91% morphine, codeine, and thebaine.
The effects of morphine on other tissues are now being explored because studies have shown that “morphine may either promote or inhibit the tumor growth”.
James Wearn, leading a project called ‘Kew Gardens at War’, describes how one poppy helped to keep pain away during wartime while another poppy lets us remember and reflect on the pain and sorrow of war.
BY DR JAMES WEARN
Of the c. 70 species of poppy within the genus Papaver (Papaveraceae), two have been responsible for two very different, but equally influential, tasks during the past century.
They are P. rhoeas L. (common poppy, corn poppy, field poppy) and P. somniferum L. (opium poppy, or literally ‘sleep-inducing’ poppy) and they have a rich history of economic, medical and scientific importance, peppered with sad irony.
A long history of medicinal value
The flowers of the field poppy have long been used as a painkiller for soothing mild aches and pains (e.g. toothache, earache and sore throat), a mild sedative/relaxant, an expectorant for treating catarrh and coughs, as a digestive, and even for reducing the appearance of wrinkles and in lipstick.
Traditionally, two methods of preparation have been employed: fresh petals used to prepare a syrup, and dried petals added to water to make an infusion.
Moreover, chemical extracts from the petals of P. rhoeas have recently been tested for potential in the prevention of skin cancer.
Whilst equally pleasing to the eye, “the opium poppy’s power does not reside in its beauty”. The white latex of the opium poppy contains far greater quantities of potent narcotics than that of the field poppy, which has led to its importance in medicine but also to its exploitation through illicit trade.
Indeed it became “a drug hailed as the most important remedy in the pharmacologist’s entire materia medica, yet one judged capable of creating more misery by its abuse ‘than any other drug employed by mankind’”.
‘Milk of the poppy’ was prescribed liberally for centuries for virtually any ill. Although evidence has been found to suggest its use since prehistory, the ancient Greeks gave rise to the more familiar name for the poppy’s sap (Gr. opion).
The East India Company (EIC) produced most of the opium in India during the 18th Century, the poppies officially being grown for medicinal use.
However, an illicit opium trade, primarily with China, was conducted privately and so the opium reaching China had come, albeit indirectly, from EIC plantations.
China banned the sale (1729) and import (1796) of opium in an attempt to be rid of its corrupting influence, so complex networks were developed to continue its trade.
Growth of the trade and related disputes came to a head in two ‘Opium Wars’ between Britain and China during the 19th Century.
Of particular note, the EIC Herbarium, assembled by botanist and EIC surgeon Nathaniel Wallich, now resides in a wall of mahogany cupboards within the Herbarium at Kew.
Amongst the sheets are three collections of P. somniferum, appropriately followed by three of P. rhoeas, all collected in India during the early 1800s.
From 1914, morphine ampoules were needed en masse to aid millions of soldiers injured in the bloody battles of the First World War.
In fact this sudden and important demand temporarily halted advances made in preceding years concerning the regulation of opiates (e.g. The Hague International Opium Convention of 1912).
Opium generally contains about 10-14% morphine, which is an important chemical in the management of severe pain, acting directly on the central nervous system.
However, a pharmaceutical cultivar called ‘elite’ has been selected to contain 91% morphine, codeine, and thebaine.
The effects of morphine on other tissues are now being explored because studies have shown that “morphine may either promote or inhibit the tumor growth”.