Opium
The air-dried exudate from the unripe seed capsule of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, or its variant, P. album. It contains a number of alkaloids, but only a few - MORPHINE; CODEINE; and PAPAVERINE - have clinical significance. Opium has been used as an analgesic, antitussive, antidiarrheal, and antispasmodic.
Papaverine
An alkaloid found in opium but not closely related to the other opium alkaloids in its structure or pharmacological actions. It is a direct-acting smooth muscle relaxant used in the treatment of impotence and as a vasodilator, especially for cerebral vasodilation. The mechanism of its pharmacological actions is not clear, but it apparently can inhibit phosphodiesterases and it may have direct actions on calcium channels.
Papaver
A genus of Eurasian herbaceous plants, the poppies (family PAPAVERACEAE of the dicotyledon class Magnoliopsida), that yield OPIUM from the latex of the unripe seed pods.
Benzophenanthridines
Compounds of four rings containing a nitrogen. They are biosynthesized from reticuline via rearrangement of scoulerine. They are similar to BENZYLISOQUINOLINES. Members include chelerythrine and sanguinarine.
Alkaloids
Organic nitrogenous bases. Many alkaloids of medical importance occur in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and some have been synthesized. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)
Thebaine
A drug that is derived from opium, which contains from 0.3-1.5% thebaine depending on its origin. It produces strychnine-like convulsions rather than narcosis. It may be habit-forming and is a controlled substance (opiate) listed in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Part 1308.12 (1985). (From Merck Index, 11th ed)
Tyrosine Decarboxylase
Isoquinolines
A group of compounds with the heterocyclic ring structure of benzo(c)pyridine. The ring structure is characteristic of the group of opium alkaloids such as papaverine. (From Stedman, 25th ed)
Berberine Alkaloids
Peronospora
Eschscholzia
Noscapine
A naturally occurring opium alkaloid that is a centrally acting antitussive agent.
Coptis
Ergot Alkaloids
Alkaloids originally isolated from the ergot fungus Claviceps purpurea (Hypocreaceae). They include compounds that are structurally related to ergoline (ERGOLINES) and ergotamine (ERGOTAMINES). Many of the ergot alkaloids act as alpha-adrenergic antagonists.
Dopa Decarboxylase
Papaveraceae
The poppy plant family of the order Papaverales, subclass Magnoliidae, class Magnoliopsida. These have bisexual, regular, cup-shaped flowers with one superior pistil and many stamens; 2 or 3 conspicuous, separate sepals and a number of separate petals. The fruit is a capsule. Leaves are usually deeply cut or divided into leaflets.
Amino Acids
Plants, Medicinal
Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
The degree of similarity between sequences of amino acids. This information is useful for the analyzing genetic relatedness of proteins and species.
Morphinans
Compounds based on a partially saturated iminoethanophenanthrene, which can be described as ethylimino-bridged benzo-decahydronaphthalenes. They include some of the OPIOIDS found in PAPAVER that are used as ANALGESICS.
Indole Alkaloids
Group of alkaloids containing a benzylpyrrole group (derived from TRYPTOPHAN)
Thalictrum
A plant genus of the family RANUNCULACEAE. Members contain isoquinoline alkaloids and triterpene glycosides.
Phenanthridines
Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids
A group of ALKALOIDS, characterized by a nitrogen-containing necine, occurring mainly in plants of the BORAGINACEAE; COMPOSITAE; and LEGUMINOSAE plant families. They can be activated in the liver by hydrolysis of the ester and desaturation of the necine base to reactive electrophilic pyrrolic CYTOTOXINS.
Vinca Alkaloids
A group of indole-indoline dimers which are ALKALOIDS obtained from the VINCA genus of plants. They inhibit polymerization of TUBULIN into MICROTUBULES thus blocking spindle formation and arresting cells in METAPHASE. They are some of the most useful ANTINEOPLASTIC AGENTS.
Botrytis
Latex
A milky, product excreted from the latex canals of a variety of plant species that contain cauotchouc. Latex is composed of 25-35% caoutchouc, 60-75% water, 2% protein, 2% resin, 1.5% sugar & 1% ash. RUBBER is made by the removal of water from latex.(From Concise Encyclopedia Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 3rd ed). Hevein proteins are responsible for LATEX HYPERSENSITIVITY. Latexes are used as inert vehicles to carry antibodies or antigens in LATEX FIXATION TESTS.
Amino Acid Sequence
The order of amino acids as they occur in a polypeptide chain. This is referred to as the primary structure of proteins. It is of fundamental importance in determining PROTEIN CONFORMATION.
Morphine
Berberine
Plant Proteins
Psoroptidae
Codeine
An opioid analgesic related to MORPHINE but with less potent analgesic properties and mild sedative effects. It also acts centrally to suppress cough.
Molecular Sequence Data
Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.
Oxidoreductases, N-Demethylating
Amino Acid Substitution
The naturally occurring or experimentally induced replacement of one or more AMINO ACIDS in a protein with another. If a functionally equivalent amino acid is substituted, the protein may retain wild-type activity. Substitution may also diminish, enhance, or eliminate protein function. Experimentally induced substitution is often used to study enzyme activities and binding site properties.
Plant Extracts
Cloning, Molecular
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
Aporphines
Dibenzoquinolines derived in plants from (S)-reticuline (BENZYLISOQUINOLINES).