Opiate Production by Poppies

Noting that "among medicinal plants, the therapeutic uses of opiate alkaloids from poppy (Papaver spp.) have long been recognized," Ziska et al. (2008) write that the overall goal of their study was "to evaluate the growth and production of opiates for a broad range of recent and projected atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations using wild poppy (P. setigerum) as a surrogate for P. somniferum."

Specifically, Ziska et al. grew well watered and fertilized plants from seed (one plant per 2.6-liter pot filled with a 4:1:1 mixture of sphagnum, perlite and vermiculite) within growth chambers maintained at four different atmospheric CO₂ concentrations - 300, 400, 500 and 600 ppm - for a period of 90 to 100 days, while quantifying plant growth and the production of secondary compounds including the alkaloids morphine, codeine, papaverine and noscapine, which were derived from latex obtained from capsules produced by the plants.

The three researchers' data indicate that relative to the plants grown at 300 ppm CO₂, those grown at 400, 500 and 600 ppm produced approximately 200, 275 and 390% more aboveground biomass, respectively, as best as can be determined from their bar graphs. In addition, they report that "reproductively, increasing CO₂ from 300 to 600 ppm increased the number of capsules, capsule weight and latex production by 3.6, 3.0 and 3.7 times, respectively, on a per plant basis," with the ultimate result that "all alkaloids increased significantly on a per plant basis." Based on these findings, Ziska et al. conclude that "as atmospheric CO₂ continues to increase, significant effects on the production of secondary plant compounds of pharmacological interest (i.e. opiates) could be expected," which effects, in their words, "are commonly accepted as having both negative (e.g. heroin) and positive (e.g. codeine) interactions with respect to public health."