ABSTRACT
Since the isolation of morphine by Sertürner in 1805, 44 alkaloids have been isolated from the opium poppy. The chemistry of poppy alkaloids has been the subject of several reviews (Kühn and Pfeifer, 1963; Pfeifer, 1971; Santavy, 1970, 1979) and many books have also been devoted to this topic (Ginsburg, 1962; Henry, 1949; Small and Lutz, 1932). The purpose of this chapter is to present the isolation and structure elucidation of poppy alkaloids. Syntheses of the alkaloids and important chemical reactions will also be discussed.
