☆ 4.6 Review

DARK Classics in Chemical Neuroscience: Morphine

ACS CHEMICAL NEUROSCIENCE (2018)

Journal

ACS CHEMICAL NEUROSCIENCE

Volume 9, Issue 10, Pages 2395-2407

Publisher

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00150

Keywords

Morphine; mu opioid receptor; opium; analgesics; dependence; tolerance

Categories

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Chemistry, Medicinal Neurosciences

Funding

Concordia University Wisconsin

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Abstract

As the major psychoactive agent in opium and direct precursor for heroin, morphine is a historically critical molecule in chemical neuroscience. A structurally complex phenanthrene alkaloid produced by Papaver somniferum, morphine has fascinated chemists seeking to disentangle pharmacologically beneficial analgesic effects from addiction, tolerance, and dependence liabilities. In this review, we will detail the history of morphine, from the first extraction and isolation by Sertiimer in 1804 to the illicit use of morphine and proliferation of opioid use and abuse disorders currently ravaging the United States. Morphine is a molecule of great cultural relevance, as the agent that single-handedly transformed our understanding of pharmacognosy, receptor dynamics, and substance abuse and dependence disorders.

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