Alkaloid Containing Crude Drug (Part 02) = Opium and Rauwolfia (Sourec, Description, Chemical & Use)

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Alkaloid containing crude drug- Part 1 (Vinca and Belladona) by Solution Pharmacy • Alkaloid Containing Cr...
Rauwolfia
Biological Source
Rauwolfia consists of the dried rhizome and roots of Rauwolfia serpentine (Rauvolfia serpentina), Apocynaceae, a small shrub found in India, Pakistan, Burma, Thailand and Java. The geographical source appears to influence the alkaloidal content, and manufacturers tend to prefer drug obtained from India or Pakistan.
Chemical Constituents
Rauwolfia contains at least 40 alkaloids, which total some 0.7-2.4%. Other substances present include phytosterols, fatty acids, unsaturated alcohols and sugars. Siddiqui and Siddiqui isolated ajmaline (rauwolfine), ajmalinine, ajmalicine, serpentine and serpentinine. The chief therapeutically important alkaloids are reserpine and rescinnamine. These are esters derived from methyl reserpate and trimethoxybenzoic acid in the case of reserpine and trimethoxycinnamic acid in the case of rescinnamine.
Uses
Rauwolfia preparations and reserpine are used in the management of essential hypertension and in certain neuropsychiatric disorders. Ajmaline, which has pharmacological properties similar to those of quinidine, is marketed in Japan for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. An estimated 3500 kg of ajmalicine is isolated annually from either Rauwolfia or Catharanthus spp. by pharmaceutical industries for the treatment of circulatory diseases.
Opium
Biological Source
Opium (Raw Opium) is the latex obtained by incision from the unripe capsules of Papaver somniferum (Papaveraceae) and dried partly by spontaneous evaporation and partly by artificial heat. It is worked into irregularly shaped masses and is known in commerce as Indian opium.
Indian opium is specifically stated because this is a legally available source of the drug.
Chemical Constituents
Opium contains some 30 alkaloids, The first group (e.g. morphine) consists of alkaloids which have a phenanthrene nucleus whereas those of the papaverine group have a benzylisoquinoline structure. Some of the less important opium alkaloids (e.g. protopine and hydrocotarnine) are of different structural types. The morphine molecule has both a phenolic and an alcoholic hydroxyl group, and when acetylated forms diacetyl morphine or heroin. Codeine is an ether of morphine (methylmorphine), and other morphine ethers which are used medicinally are ethylmorphine and pholcodine.
Uses
The alkaloids present in opium in greatest proportion decrease in narcotic properties in the order morphine, codeine, noscopine. Opium and morphine are widely used to relieve pain and are particularly valuable as hypnotics, as, unlike many other hypnotics, they act mainly on the sensory nerve cells of the cerebrum. Codeine is a milder sedative than morphine and is useful for allaying coughing. Opium, while closely resembling morphine, exerts its action more slowly and is therefore preferable in many cases (e.g. in the treatment of diarrhoea).
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