Plant Physiology: V. Plants: Economic Importance

51. We get morphine from: [R.A.S./R.T.S. (Pre) 1994]

(a) Flower
(b) Leaf
(c) Fruit
(d) Stem

Correct Answer: (c) Fruit

Solution:Morphine is acquired from the unripe fruits of poppy straw. Poppy plant is an angiosperm plant from which opium and heroin are also acquired. The word "morphine" originates from Morpheus and is used as a painkiller and in sleeping pills. Morphine directly affects the central nervous system.

52. Opium is obtained from: [U.P.R.O/A.R.O. (Mains) 2014]

(a) Dried leaves
(b) Roots
(c) Latex from unripe fruit
(d) Latex from ripe fruit

Correct Answer: (c) Latex from unripe fruit

Solution:Opium is the dried latex obtained from the unripe fruit by making shallow cuts. This latex, which is milky white, is then allowed to dry and harden into a sticky, brown substance known as raw opium. Chemically, opium is a complex mixture; notably, it contains several alkaloids, including morphine, codeine, noscapine, thebaine, and papaverine. After extraction and purification, the alkaloids may also be used as base material for the manufacture of semisynthetic opiate derivatives, such as heroin

53. Opium is obtained from which part of the poppy plant? [U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2011]

(a) Flower
(b) Leaves
(c) Unripe Fruits
(d) Roots

Correct Answer: (c) Unripe Fruits

Solution:Opium is the dried latex obtained from the unripe fruit by making shallow cuts. This latex, which is milky white, is then allowed to dry and harden into a sticky, brown substance known as raw opium. Chemically, opium is a complex mixture; notably, it contains several alkaloids, including morphine, codeine, noscapine, thebaine, and papaverine. After extraction and purification, the alkaloids may also be used as base material for the manufacture of semisynthetic opiate derivatives, such as heroin

54. The main constituent of opium is: [U.P. P.C.S. (Mains) 2016]

(a) Morphine
(b) Heroin
(c) Atropine
(d) Quinine

Correct Answer: (a) Morphine

Solution:Opium is a substance that is derived from the collecting and drying processes of the milky juice that comes from the unripe fruit of the poppy plant. The primary component of opium is 12% morphine which is an alkaloid that is often processed chemically to produce illegal drugs such as heroin.

55. What is the botanical name of opium? [M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2017]

(a) Emblica officinalis
(b) Papaver somniferum
(c) Rauwolfia serpentina
(d) Cinchona species

Correct Answer: (b) Papaver somniferum

Solution:Papaver somniferum is a species of flowering plants in the family Papaveraceae. Its fruit has many seeded capsules which are scattered by the hole or valve. Opium is found from latex milk of its immature capsules. Many alkaloids like morphine, codeine, and papaverine are obtained from opium.

56. Opium is of which category of medicine? [M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2019]

(a) Depressant
(b) Stimulant
(c) Hallucinogenic
(d) None of the above

Correct Answer: (a) Depressant

Solution:Opium is a depressant (sedative) narcotic drug. It slows down body functions like heart rate and breathing. It also reduces pain and has been used to synthesize a very wide range of painkilling drugs. The opium latex is about 12% morphine, which is the opiate that is used to produce codeine, heroin, and other synthetic opioids.

57. Which among the following is a Narcotic analgesic drug? [Rajasthan P.C.S. (Pre) 2023]

(a) Morphine
(b) Arsphenamine
(c) Aspirin
(d) Paracetamol

Correct Answer: (a) Morphine

Solution:Opioids (narcotic analgesics) are a class of medicines that are used to provide relief from moderate-to-severe acute or chronic pain. Among the given options, morphine is a narcotic analgesic drug which is a natural alkaloid of opium. Morphine is used to treat pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and when other pain medicines did not work well enough or cannot be tolerated. Morphine acts directly on the central nervous system (CNS) to relieve pain but has a high potential for addiction, with tolerance and both physical and psychological dependence developing rapidly.

58. Tapa cloth is obtained from the plants of which one of the following family? [U.P. P.C.S. (Pre) 2021]

(a) Asclepiadaceae
(b) Moraceae
(c) Graminae
(d) Malvaceae

Correct Answer: (b) Moraceae

Solution:Bark cloth, or tapa, is not a woven material, but made from bark that has been softened through a process of soaking and beating. The inner bark is taken from several types of trees or shrubs, Moraceae often mulberry and fig, and designs are applied with paints and vegetable dyes of light brown, red, and black. Tapa cloth is made in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, primarily in Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji, but as far afield as Niue, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Hawaii (where it is called 'Kapa').

59. Iodine is obtained from - [U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2004]

(a) Laminaria
(b) Polysiphonia
(c) Chara
(d) Spirogyra

Correct Answer: (a) Laminaria

Solution:Laminaria is a brown algae commonly called ‘kelp’. Laminaria is a type of seaweed, native to Japan. It is abundantly available in the sea and also found on land. Laminaria contains iodine. It is also a rich source of iron and potassium. Despite serious safety concerns about laminaria, some people use laminaria as medicine.

60. Which one of the following is a substance abundantly available in the sea and administered in a certain deficiency disease? [U.P.P.C.S (Pre) 2010]

(a) Iron
(b) Vitamin A
(c) Fluorine
(d) Iodine

Correct Answer: (d) Iodine