Abstract This paper discusses that many physicians considered opium to be perhaps the best natural pain reliever ever discovered. The paper states that Australia and France are sanctioned by the United Nations to grow opium poppies legally for the production and manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. The author believes by employing new methods of biosynthesis to produce genetically altered plants, researchers hope to grow morphine-free opium poppies, ensuring a stable supply of codeine. This paper is complete with pictures and graphes of the chemical structure.
From the Paper "Papaver somniferum has been used medicinally for centuries for its ability to produce a number of opiates that act as analgesics. The earliest recorded history of opium cultivation is approximately 3400 B.C., in lower Mesopotamia. The tradition of opium cultivation for medicinal purposes was carried on from the Sumerians, to the Assyrians, to the Babylonians, to the Egyptians, and so on to present day. Cultural references to the use of the opium poppy can be found in literary and medical texts, for instance the use of opium can be found in Homer's Iliad (850 B.C.) and with in the Hippocratic Corpus (460 B.C.)".
From the Paper "The heme biosynthetic pathway occurs in practically all cell types. Heme is used to form different hemoproteins in a variety of organelles. Within hepatic and erythroid cells, for example, considerable quantities of heme are used as prosthetic groups for cytochrome P450 and hemoglobin, respectively. The regulation of heme biosynthesis has been under investigation for many years. In non-erythroid cells, the rate of heme biosynthesis depends on 5-aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS). This enzyme is largely controlled by the concentration of heme itself. In contrast, heme biosynthesis in erythroid cells is regulated by iron availability. Erythroid cells possess a 5-aminolevulinate synthase isozyme (e-ALAS) containing an iron responsive element (IRE)."
