ABSTRACT

Substances derived from natural products have been utilized since the beginning of history for various medical purposes, including the treatment of pain. A prototypical example of such natural products is the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). Morphine, an alkaloid component of the opium poppy, is the most widely used compound among narcotic analgesics and remains the gold standard. Recently, analogs have been produced from natural compounds, and completely synthetic compounds based on natural pharmacophores have been introduced to the market. However, the research and medical elds still struggle with the undesirable side effects of these analgesic substances (McCurdy and Scully 2005).