CODEINE

also called Methylmorphine, a naturally occurring alkaloid of opium. It is used in medicine as a cough suppressant and narcotic analgesic drug. Its action is weaker than that of morphine. Codeine is given orally as an ingredient in syrups to relieve coughing; it has antispasmodic and sedative effects. It is also combined with nonnarcotic analgesics and is used orally to relieve pain. In addition, it is given by hypodermic syringe for analgesia and sedation. Codeine may be extracted directly from opium, the dried milky exudate of the unripe seed capsule of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), but most of the codeine used in the drug industry is produced from morphine, an opium derivative. Codeine was first isolated from opium by the French chemist Pierre-Jean Robiquet in 1832. The sulfate and phosphate salts are used most frequently in medicine. Chemically, codeine is an alkaloid of the phenanthrene group, all members of which have similarities in structure and therapeutic action. Because of its narcotic effects, the distribution of the drug is controlled by various governmental agencies.