Description

Morphine is a morphinane alkaloid that is a highly potent opiate analgesic psychoactive drug. 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. Morphine is the most abundant opiate found in Papaver somniferum (the opium poppy). It has a role as a geroprotector, an opioid analgesic, a vasodilator agent, a xenobiotic, an anaesthetic, a mu-opioid receptor agonist, a plant metabolite, an environmental contaminant and a drug allergen. It is a morphinane alkaloid, an organic heteropentacyclic compound and a tertiary amino compound. It is a conjugate base of a morphine(1+). It derives from a hydride of a morphinan.