• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.361-366
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• 2005

Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) is one of the most important medicinal plants, which is used as a sole commercial source of narcotic analgesic, morphine. The transformant of opium poppy we have established by infection of Rhizobium rhizogenes (formerly Agrobacterium rhizogenes) strain MAFF03-01724 showed aberrant morphology and altered opium alkaloid composition. The major alkaloid produced by this transformant was thebaine (16.3%, opium dry weight) instead of morphine. It is likely that this 'thebaine poppy' phenotype was caused by the integration of T-DNA(s) into the poppy genome DNA, and their inserted loci are of great interest. To gain an insight into the mechanism of nonnarcotic thebaine accumulation for the further approach toward the creation of 'codeine poppy' which produces codeine as a major alkaloid, the genetical and morphological analyses on the transformant was carried out. Here we report the results of the detailed analysis on the T-DNA inserted loci of T0 transfromant and the correlation between opium alkaloid composition and segregated T-DNA integration pattern in the self-pollinated T1 transformants.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.67-75
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• 2009

Objectives : This study was performed to developing orally administered analgesics and locally injected pharmacopuncture analgesics like opioids. Methods : Literary investigation on the origin of poppy (Papaver somniferum L) and other narcotics was conducted to examine the potential of developing orally administered analgesics and locally injected pharmacopuncture analgesics. Opium is a gum-like mass derived from air-dried white fluid of immature fruit of the poppy. Opium contains approximately 20 types of alkaloids including morphine, codeine, thebaine, papaverine and others. Natural opioids and synthetic alkaloid derivatives are the constituents of opioid analgesics and their effects and side-effects depend on the peculiarities of receptors. An extreme caution is required in the selection of proper dosage, proper analgesic types, and indications for successful pain management. Results and Discussion : With the enactment of "Narcotic control protocol", herbs such as cannibis and poppy are no longer available for use by Korean medicine doctors, and these doctors are faced with difficulty in managing severe pain in the clinical environment. A systematic consideration is inevitable for overcoming the limitation on these analgesics.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.26 no.4 s.73
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• pp.269-272
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• 1987

Effects of dithane flowable and dithane M-45 on the control of opium poppy downy mildew were examined under field conditions. Application of these two fungicides significantly reduced the disease and increased latex yield, compared to other non-systemic fungicides.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.269-282
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• 2000

Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids are a diverse group of natural products that include many pharmacologically active compounds produced in a limited number of plant families. Despite their complexity, intensive biochemical research has extended our knowledge of the chemistry and enzymology of many important benzylisoquinoline alkaloid pathways, such as those leading to the analgesic drugs morphine and codeine, and the antibiotics sanguinarine and berberine. The use of cultured plant cells as an experimental system has facilitated the identification and characterization of more than 30 benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic enzymes, and the molecular cloning of the genes that encode at least 8 of these enzymes. The recent expansion of biochemical and molecular technologies has creat-ed unique opportunities to dissect the mechanisms involved in the regulation of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis in plants. Research has suggested that product accumulation is controlled by the developmental and inducible regulation of several benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes, and by the subcellular compartmentation of biosynthetic enzymes and the intracellular localization and trafficking of pathway intermediates. In this paper, we review our current understanding of the biochemistry, cell biology, and molecular regulation of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis in plants. We also summarize our own research activities, especially those related to the establishment of protocols for the genetic transformation of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid-producing species, and the development of metabolic engineering strategies in these plants.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.137-149
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• 2020

Background: Opioids are a class of drugs found in the opium poppy, and used primarily as a pain reliever. About 130 people die every day from opioid abuse in the U.S., and the number of deaths was 6 times higher than it was 20 years ago. Objectives: To derive the implications on Korean Medicine(KM), this study aimed to investigate the current state of opioids abuse in the U.S. and analyze cases to solve opioids abuse using acupuncture. Methods: Literature on opioids abuse in the U.S. were searched through the websites of government, agency, and research institute. Results: There were several cases using acupuncture on opioids abuse. First, the Act on the use of acupuncture was enacted. Second, the clinical practice guidelines by the American College of Physicians recommended using acupuncture. Third, a large clinical study was conducted on whether acupuncture could replace opioids. Fourth, Vermont and Washington State conducted pilot projects on insurance coverage of acupuncture. Conclusions: As opioids issues are also valid in Korea, KM can serve a critical role in pain management to pursue expanded insurance coverage. In order to do so, building the discourses of KM in opioid issues is critical by defining its medical advantage, conducting large-scale clinical researches and implementing pilot projects to tackle social problems.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.98-104
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• 2015

BACKGROUND: ${\gamma}$-Oryzanol, a mixture of ferulic acid esters of triterpene alcohols and sterols, are a nutritionally important group of rice secondary metabolites. The ${\gamma}$-Oryzanol content and composition were found to vary with enviromental factors such as growth temperature, varietal origin, and cultivation method. Therefore, the effect of green manure treatments will be also be an important factor in their content. METHODS AND RESULTS: The ${\gamma}$-Oryzanols extracted using dichloromethane/methanol were analyzed equipped liquid chromatography with a diode array detector. A total of ten components of ${\gamma}$-oryzanol including ${\Delta}7$-stigmastenyl ferulate were isolated of which, cycloartenyl ferulate, 24-methylenecycloartanyl ferulate, campesteryl ferulate and sitosteryl ferulate were identified as the major components in Korean rice variety, Unkwang. The ${\gamma}$-oryzanol content in rice, in the presence of nitrogen fertilization using green manure was similar to conventional nitrogen fertilization, but was higher than the control(no fertilizations). The ${\gamma}$-oryzanol ontent in rice, in the presence of hairy vetch as green manure crop was the highest compared to other crops (opium-poppy, crimson clover, cornflower). As a result of PLS-DA using SIMCA 11.0 ver. as multivariate analysis program on the basis of total data, in all samples, the specific pattern and cluster of ${\gamma}$-oryzanol scores according to green manure crops and conditions were confirmed with possible distinguishing nitrogen effects. CONCLUSION: The nitrogen contained in the green manure crops is considered to play a major role in the formation of ${\gamma}$-oryzanol. Hairy vetch which contains higher nitrogen increased the concentration of ${\gamma}$-oryzanol in rice.