How do chemists extract the usefull chemicals from poppies?

Answer 1

The most useful chemical compound obtained from the opium poppy plant (Papaver somniferum), when used for the production of legal prescription drugs, is morphine. As far as I know, the compound thebaine is the second and only other useful compound extracted from the opium poppy even though it contains codeine. But it is more cost effective to make codeine from morphine than to separate it from the other compounds in the poppy. Thebaine is not used medicinally in the US, however it is the starting compound in the synthesis of a number of common pharmaceutical drugs including oxycodone, oxymorphone, naloxone, naltrexone, and buprenorphine.

There are over 3,000 known alkaloids, many of which have powerful physiological activities. The powerful poisons strychnine, atropine, and nicotine are alkaloids as are the drugs cocaine, quinine, caffeine, ephedrine, reserpine, and several others.

Answer 2

Chemists extract useful chemicals, such as morphine and codeine, from poppies by using a process called extraction. This involves isolating the chemicals through solvent extraction, filtration, and purification techniques. The extracted chemicals can then be further refined and processed for various medicinal uses.