Opium poppy : botany, chemistry, and pharmacology /

Kapoor, a recognized expert in pharmacognosy, has contributed many research publications and several books on herbs and their history, pharmacology, and medicinal use. This book summarizes knowledge of the opium poppy and its constituents. Every aspect of the poppy is described, including structure of the plant, its anatomy, conditions of growing it as a crop, and the various alkaloids produced by the plant. The major alkaloid, morphine, is described in greater detail, but the others found in this family of plants are also examined. The botanical information is especially valuable, giving full descriptions of plant structure and mechanism by which the alkaloids are produced and concentrated in the laticiferous vessels. Extensive chapter bibliographies. Upper-division undergraduate through professional; two-year technical program students. A. M. Mattocks; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill