Detection of Dendryphion penicillatum in opium poppy seeds

摘要

Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.), one of the oldest medicinal plants possessing various types of alkaloids introduced into India in the early sixteenth century, is a native of western Mediterranean region. Among opium poppy growing 12 countries, India is the only country authorized by the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961) to produce gum opium, which is used to produce codeine, morphine, narcotine, thebaine, papaverine and other medicinal products for the use of human and cattle. (http://www.pharmabiz.com/article/detnews.asp7article id=51487§ionid=46). Its cultivation is restricted to districts of Madhya Pradesh (Neemuch, Mandsaur and Ratlam), Uttar Pradesh (Faizabad, Bara Banki, Bareilly and Shahjahanpur) and Rajasthan(Chittoor, Jhalawar and Kota). It is an important narcotic crop of India earning estimated foreign exchange of approximately US$ 8-9 million annually through export to USA, UK, France and Japan; and was cultivated in 5619 ha area with an average yield of 65.06 kg/ha during 2012-13 (NCB, 2012).