Poppies for Pharma Development
March 2, 2007| |
Poppies are famous for opium, a narcotic that contains the alkaloids morphine, codeine and thebaine. Morphine and codeine are used directly for pain control while thebaine is used as the starting point in the synthesis of other pharmaceuticals. Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Plant Industry is studying poppies and its alkaloids for legal production of pharmaceuticals to boost the Tasmanian industry.
Researchers at CSIRO have already identified several genes whose activity can be increased to elevate the morphine, codeine and thebaine contents. In addition other genes have been silenced to produce poppies accumulating alternative products. The opium poppy also produces a good yield of seed with high oil content. CSIRO is investigating the potential of opium-less mutants being used as a source of biodiesel or a platform for plant-based production of valuable industrial feedstocks.
Read the article at http://www.csiro.au/science/psi3.html.
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