Poppy seeds
Madras High Court has directed the officials of Central Board of Excise and Customs to put up notices at all airports and seaports listing commodities that are commonly used in India but are banned in the Middle East.
Justice Prabha Sridevan and Justice M Sathyanarayanan passed the judgment on advocate Nandakumar’s PIL on November 11, 2009, and the petitioner received the copy on November 30.
Two incidents had moved Nandakumar, a senior lawyer of Coimbatore, to file the PIL. During his visit to Abu Dhabi-UAE in 2004, he had read a report of Mohammed Abdul Aleem Bahadur of Bangalore, a graphic designer, jailed for eight years for bringing khaskhas - Poppy seeds, (a food item) to Abu Dhabi.
Again in 2006 when Nandakumar visited Abu Dhabi, he happened to come across the arrests of two Indian Haj pilgrims, Haneefa and Sriraj of Gujarat, on December 31, 2005, for bringing 250 grams of khaskhas to Saudi Arabia.
Khaskhas (kasakasa in Tamil) is commonly used spice in Indian households but the graphic designer was not aware that it was banned in the Middle East countries.
He wanted a permanent solution to protect Indians from being arrested due to ignorance on banned items. Nandakumar had sent memoranda to the President and the Prime Minister of India. He received acknowledgements from the PM and the President offices, but there was no action taken on that. Hence this PIL.
The Additional Solicitor General, who appeared on behalf of Central Board of Excise and Customs responded that the Board of Excise and Customs issued directions to the Customs field formations to put display boards/notice boards in airports/seaports indicating items banned in the Middle Eastern countries.
The court directed that the Board might issue the directions in all the languages. Also, such items that are commonly used in India but are prohibited in the Middle Eastern countries should be mentioned in the list of banned items.
- Asian Tribune -
Please go thru the details of this seed as below
View the names of this plant in 76 languages)
pharmaceutical | Semen Papaveris |
Albanian | Lulëkuqe |
Amharic | ፓፒ |
Papi | |
Arabic | خشخاش, أبو النوم |
خَشْخاش, أَبُو الْنُوم | |
Khashkhash, Abu an-num, Abu al-num, Abu an-noom, Abu al-noom | |
Armenian | Մեկոն, Մեկոնի Կուտ |
Megon, Mekon; Megoni Good, Mekoni Kut (seeds) | |
Assamese | আফু গুটি |
Aphu guti | |
Azeri | Xaş-xaş |
Хаш-хаш | |
Basque | Lobelarr |
Belarusian | Мак, Опіумны мак |
Mak, Opiumny mak | |
Bengali | পোস্ত |
Post | |
Bulgarian | Градински мак, Опиев мак, Маково семе |
Gradinski mak, Opiev mak; Makovo seme (seeds) | |
Burmese | Bhainzi |
Catalan | Cascall, Herba dormidora |
Chinese (Cantonese) | 櫻粟殼 [yìng suhk hohk] |
Ying suhk hohk | |
Chinese (Mandarin) | 櫻粟殼 [yīng sù qiào], 罂粟 [yīng sù] |
Ying su qiao, Ying su | |
Croatian | Mak |
Czech | Mák, Mák setý |
Danish | Opiumvalmue (plant); Birkes, Valmue-frø (seeds) |
Dhivehi | އަފިހުން, ކަސްކަސާ |
Afihun, Kaskasaa | |
Dutch | Maanzaad, Slaapbol, Slaappapaver, Heulbol, Maankop |
English | Opium poppy, Garden poppy |
Esperanto | Papavo, Papavosemo |
Estonian | Magun, Unimagun, Moon |
Farsi | خشخاش |
Khash-khash, Shagheyegh | |
Finnish | Unikko, Oopiumiunikko |
French | Pavot somnifère, Pavot à opium, Pavot des jardins |
Gaelic | Codalion, Paipin |
Galician | Mapoula, Sementes de Mapoula, Adormideira, Durmideira |
Georgian | ყაყაჩო, ყაყაჩოს თესლი, ხოშხოში |
Khoshkhoshi, Q’aq’acho, Xoshxoshi, Qaqacho; Q’aq’achos tesli, Qaqachos tesli (seeds) | |
German | Mohn, Schlafmohn, Gartenmohn, Ölmohn, Opiummohn, |
Greek | Παπαρούνα, Αφιόνι |
Paparouna, Afioni | |
Greek (Old) | Μήκων |
Mekon | |
Gujarati | ખસખસ |
Khas-khas | |
Hebrew | פרג |
פֶּרֶג | |
Pereg | |
Hindi | अफीम पोस्त, खसखस, पोस्ता |
Aphim posta, Khaskhas, Posta | |
Hungarian | Mák, Kerti mák |
Icelandic | Valmúafræ, Birki |
Irish | Poipín |
Italian | Papavero (sonnifero) |
Japanese | 芥子, 罌粟 |
けし | |
ケシ, ポピー | |
Keshi, Papi | |
Kannada | ಅಫೀಮು, ಗಸಗಸೆ |
Aphimu, Gasagase | |
Kashmiri | خشخاش |
Khash-khash | |
Kazakh | Көкнәр |
Köknär | |
Korean | 아편, 포피, 양귀비 |
Apyeon, Apyon, Popi, Yanggwibi | |
Laotian | Za zang |
Latin | Papaver |
Latvian | Magone |
Lithuanian | Aguonos, Daržinė aguona |
Macedonian | Мак, Афион, Булка (?) |
Mak, Afion, Bulka | |
Malay | Kas Kas |
Malayalam | കസ്കസ് |
Kaskasu | |
Maltese | Peprina |
Marathi | खसखस |
Khas-Khas | |
Nepali | अफिम |
Aphim | |
Norwegian | Valmue, Opiumsvalmue |
Oriya | ପୋସ୍ତା, ପୋସ୍ତକ |
Aphima, Posta, Postak | |
Polish | Mak lekarski |
Portuguese | Papoila, Dormideira; Papoula (Brazil) |
Punjabi | ਪੋਸਤ, ਖਸਖਸ |
Post, Khaskhas | |
Romanian | Mac, Mac de gradină, Mac somnifer |
Russian | Мак снотворный, Опийный мак |
Mak snotvornyj, Opijnyj mak | |
Sanskrit | Ahiphena |
Serbian | Мак |
Mak | |
Slovak | Mak siaty, Mak |
Slovenian | Vrtni mak |
Spanish | Ababa, Adormidera (soporifera), Amapola, Amapola real, Semillas de Amapola |
Swedish | Vallmo, Opiumvallmo |
Tamil | கசகசா, போஸ்தக்காய் |
Casacasa, Kasakasa, Postakkai | |
Telugu | గసగసాలు, పోస్తుకాయ, అభిని |
Abhini, Gasagasaalu, Postukaya | |
Thai | ต้นฝิ่น, ฝิ่น |
Ton fin, Fin | |
Turkish | Gelincik çiçeği, Haşhaş; Haşhaş tohumu (seeds) |
Turkmen | Läle, Läbik |
Ләле, Ләбик | |
Ukrainian | М’ак снодійний |
Mak snodijnyj | |
Urdu | خشخاش, پوست |
Khashkhash, Post | |
Uzbek | Lolaqizg’aldoq |
Лолақизғалдоқ | |
Vietnamese | Cây thuốc phiện, Vây anh túc |
Cay thuoc phien, Vay anh tuc | |
Yiddish | מאָנדל, מאָן |
Mondl, Mon |
Poppy flower |
Poppy seeds (regular gray and Indian white types) |
Used plant part
Ripe seeds.
The drug opium is prepared from the unripe capsules.
The drug opium is prepared from the unripe capsules.
Plant family
Papaveraceae (poppy family).
Sensory quality
Nutty and pleasant.
Main constituents
Poppy seeds contain 40 to 50% of fatty oil, which is obtained by cold pressing in yields of only 12 to 18%. It is rich in unsaturated fatty acids (iodine index is 133 to 144): 60% linoleic acid, 30% oleic acid, 3% linolenic acid (triply unsaturated; essential for human nutrition) and less than 10% saturated fats.
Among the volatile components of poppy seeds, aliphatic hydrocarbons and aldehydes have been reported. 2-Pentylfurane is a key aroma compound.
Poppy pod |
Poppy flower |
Opium is the dried latex from unripe seed capsules; each capsule yields about 20 to 50 mg. Besides wax, resin, proteins and sugars, it contains approximately 20% of alkaloids, of which morphine (morphin, typically, 12%) is the most important. Opium for smoking (chandu [चण्डू]) is roasted over fire and fermented, which reduces the alkaloid content to about one quarter and leads to the development of a typical flavour.
Raw opium is in our days rarely used medically; normally, it is either standardized (to exactly 10% morphine), or the different alkaloids are separated and applied in pure form to the patients.
Opium contains two families of alkaloids: Phenanthrene-type alkaloids include morphine (7 to 23%), codeine (max. 3%), thebaine (max. 3%, typically much lower) and the synthetic heroin. Benzylisochinoline-type alkaloids are more common in the plant kingdom; in opium, they are represented by narcotine (=noscapine, up to 12%), papaverine (max. 1.5%) and narceine (0.2%). Most of these have their special field of application in modern medicine.
Official opium production is 2000 tons per year, mostly by India and Turkey.
Poppy flower and unripe pods |
The alkaloid content of poppy seeds is low (50 ppm) and cannot have any pharmaceutical effect. It is, however, high enough that morphine can be detected in the urine after heavy poppy seed consume, which might make for an unpleasant surprise in drug tests.
Origin
Poppy is generally believed to stem from West Asia, although more recently a West Mediterranean origin was suggested. In any case, poppy was cultivated in Europe since the Neolithic era; it is probably one of the earliest plants cultivated by men in that region.
Etymology
The genus name Papaver is Classical Latin for the poppy plant. It appears to have no Indo-European cognates and cannot be explained further. The Latin word lives today in several Romance languages, e.g. French pavot and Portuguese papoila. It is also the source of English poppy (Old English popæg); Amharic papi [ፓፒ] belongs to the same kin, probably being a recent loan. In Hungarian, pipacs means the related wild plant corn poppy (Flander’s poppy, Papaver rhoes).
Corn poppy is a wild plant in Europe |
Golden poppy is a popular ornamental |
The species name somniferum (Latin somnus sleep and ferre bring) refers to the narcotic properties of opium, as does Spanish adormidera (from Latin dormire to sleep). Cf. also an Arabic name of poppy, abu an-num [ابو النوم] father of sleep.
The German name of poppy, Mohn, closely related to Yiddish mon [מאָן] and Dutch maan, has a large number of cognates in other Indo-European tongues: In Northern Germanic tongues, we find Norwegian and Danish valmue and Swedish vallmo, which all go back to Old Norse valmugi. In modern Slavonic tongues, the name is almost universally mak [мак], deriving from Old Slavonic maku; cf. also Romanian mac and Latvian magone. Further members of that kin are Old Greek mekon [μήκων] and Armenian megon [մեկոն]. Despite its wide distribution, there is no etymology known for these names; they probably all stem from an ancient tongue of the Mediterranean now lost.
Modern Greek does not have that word mekon anymore: Its term for poppy is paparouna [παπαρούνα], derived from Latin papaver.
From West Asia to South-East Asia, related names for poppy are found in a huge area: Turkish haşhaş, Georgian khoshkhoshi [ხოშხოში], Kurdish khash-khash [خةشخاش], Farsi and Urdu khash-khash [خشخاش], Hindi und Gujarati khas-khas [खसखस, ખસખસ], Telugu gasagasaalu [గసగసాలు], Tamil casa casa [கசகசா], Dhivehi kaskasaa [ކަސްކަސާ] and finally Malay kas kas. I do not know where these names originate from.
An ornamental poppy flower (probably P. bracteatum) |
Some Indian languages form their word for poppy from another root: Bengali posto [পোস্তো], Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu post [पोस्त, ਪੋਸਤ, پوست], Telugu postukaya [పోస్తుకాయ] and Tamil postakkai [போஸ்தக்காய்]. In the early colonial era, that name appears in English as post or posto, where it denoted not only the poppy plant, but also a narcotic beverage prepared from poppy heads which was, in the 17.th century, highly popular at the Moghul courts of Northern India, because alcohol was forbidden due to religious restrictions.
The term opium for the concentrated latex obtained from unripe capsules is used since Greco-Roman times; it is related to Greek opos [ὄπος] sap, juice of plants. The word was transferred to Arabic (ubim [أوبيم]) and Farsi (afyun [افیون]); Sanskrit ahiphena [अहिफेन] poppy, opium belongs to the same kin, but was secondarily associated with ahi [अहि] snake and phena [फेन] saliva, foam, froth, in reference to the adverse effects of continued opium intake. Related terms are Marathi aphu or aphin [अफू, अफीण] and Telugu abhini [అభిని] opium. Cf. also Korean apyon [아편] and Chinese yapian [鸦片] opium.
The Japanese kanji signs 芥子 may refer to two different plants: In the meaning poppy, they are pronounced keshi [けし], yet if spoken karashi [からし] they mean black oder white mustard.
Selected Links
Indian Spices: Poppy Seeds (indianetzone.com) Ilkas und Ullis Kochecke: Mohn (rezkonv.de via archive.org) Plant Cultures: Opium Poppy A Pinch of Poppy Seeds (www.apinchof.com) Nature One Health: White Poppy Transport Information Service: Poppy seeds Sorting Papaver names (www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au) Pflanzen des Capitulare de Villis: Mohn (biozac.de) The Iliad (translated by Samuel Butler) (uoregon.edu via archive.org) Linklist about the Iliad (encyclopedia.com) The Odyssey (translated by Samuel Butler) Homer, Iliad (μῆνιν ἄειδε θεά, Perseus Project) Homer, Odyssey (ἄνδρα μοι ἔννεπε, Perseus Project) The Chicago Homer Greek – English – Greek Lexicon (kypros.org) Schlafmohn (giftpflanzen.de) Desirable Herb and Spice Varieties: Poppy The Pernicious Opium Poppy Recipe: Germknödel (Austrian yeast dumpling) (thepassionatecook.typepad.com) Recipe: Mohnstrudel (poppy seed strudel) (globetrotters.ch) Rezept: Germknödel (chefkoch.de) Rezept: Mohnstrudel (hausfrauenseite.de) Recipe: Homentashn [המנטאַשן] (Poppy Pockets) Rezept: Krautstrudel (káposztás rétes) (kochbaeren.de) Opium poppy (purdue.edu) Poisonous Plants of North Carolina: Opium Poppy
Opium poppy flower |
Poppy is an ancient cultigen; it is mentioned in the Ilias [Ἰλιάς], an epic ascribed to the legendary Greek poet Homeros [Ὅμερος]. The Ilias is, together with the contemporary Odysseia [Ὀδυσσεία], by far the oldest European poetry and was probably fixed from oral tradition in the 8.th century, but it tells of events that might have happened five hundred years ago. It gives a unique insight in the thought and life of the ending Bronze Age, for it describes or at least mentions much of everyday life.
The Homeric epics are full of details of preclassic Greece — yet nutrition is quite neglected. Several kinds of cereals and breads are mentioned, but most amazingly, fish never appears on the table. One gets the impression that Bronze Age warriors were most fond of meats: dainymenoi krea t’ aspeta kai methy hedy [δαινύμενοι κρέα τ’ ἄσπετα καὶ μέθυ ἡδύ] feasting on abundant flesh and sweet wine and krea amph’ obeloisin peirein optan te periphradeos [κρέα ἀμφ’ ὀβελοῖσιν πείρειν ὀπτᾶν τε περιφραδέως] put meat on spits and roast it carefully are phrases the poet repeatedly chooses to describe the numerous feasts. The phrase methy hedy sweet wine is linguistically interesting, because both words derive from roots meaning sweet, but yet they are not akin to each other; see bear’s garlic and licorice for further explanations.
Flowering poppy plants |
Some poppy plants develop reddish flowers instead of the usual bluish purple |
Besides poppy, Homer mentions several other food plants: The most frequent references go to olives (olive oil, elaion [ἐλαίον] and olive tree, elaia [ἐλαία]), and even onion has an emergence as foodstuff (krommyon [κρόμμυον], see also bear’s garlic). Furthermore, a plant named selinon [σέλινον] appears which translators identify either as celery or parsley. The hues of Dawn (the goddess Eos [Ἠῶς]) are compared both with rose flowers (rhododaktylos [ῥοδοδάκτυλος] rosy-fingered) and with saffron threads (krokopeplos [κροκόπεπλος] saffron-robed).
Lastly, in the Odysseia there is mention of an enigmatic plant moly [μῶλυ], which is used as a protection against evil magic powers. The word is sometimes speculated to mean garlic or a close relative; but the most common name of garlic in Classical Greek is skorodon [σκόροδον]. Others think it might have been snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis), whose genus name means milk flower, quite in accord with Homer’s description: galakti de eikelon anthos [γάλακτι δὲ εἴκελον ἄνθος] yet the flower (was) like milk.
Homer’s influence for the further cultural development of Europe is unquestioned. When, approximately in Homer’s lifetime, Greek culture rose to new glory with its sport festivals (see bay leaves about the Olympic Games), its poets and philosophers, the Greeks considered the events described in the Ilias and the Odysseia as belonging to their own great past. During the largest part of antiquity, Homer was called the divine poet. Interest in ancient poetry declined after the fall of the Roman Empire, but more than a millennium later, during the European Renaissance, the educated class again began to read Homer. The interest in classic antiquity culminated in the excavation of the stage of Homer’s Ilias, ancient Troia, by H. Schliemann at the archeological site known as Hisarlık.
Although Homer is no longer taught in school, quotations from his work have survived even in today’s vernacular: So we speak of Homeric laughter (used to stimulate the lust for battle), of winged words (epea pteroenta [ἔπεα πτερόεντα]: words designed to fly to the interlocutor) and who has not ever heard of Skylla [Σκύλλα] and Charybdis [Χάρυβδις], two evils only one of which can be avoided?
The ancients valued poppy for the oil obtained from its seeds, which was put to culinary use. Ancient Greek physicians also knew about the narcotic and analgesic power of opium; however, Medieval European medicine did not use opium, partly because of religious bias against pain-reducing agents. Opium and its derivatives as illegal and addictive drugs are a comparatively young development in Europe.
Ancient sweetmeats and cakes often contained poppy seeds, frequently together with almonds or sesame seeds. These sweets were usually slightly peppered, which is a characteristic feature of ancient Mediterranean cooking (see also silphion on ancient Roman cuisine). The recipes moved from Rome to Byzantium, whence they entered the cuisines of Islâmic states in the Near East. An example is Turkish baklava (Greek baklava [μπακλαβά], Arabic baqlava [بقلاوة]), a mixture of honey and nuts wrapped in fillo [φύλλο] leaves. Its predecessors can be traced back to pre-Hellenistic Greece.
Austrian poppy field |
By transmission of the Ottoman Turks, the Near Eastern recipes entered Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Hungary) and finally arrived in Austria during the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Habsburg empire). Still today, sweet foods like pastry (Mehlspeisen, literally flour foods) are typical for Austrian cuisine, and are often even served as a main course.
The Austrian pastry known as Strudel (sometimes spelled shtrudel in English) consists of extremely thin, almost transparent, sheets of highly elastic dough (shaped and pulled by hand) enshrouding stuffings prepared with nuts, fresh cheese (Topfen) or fruits; poppy seeds are a very popular choice. Strudel is usually eaten dry; in our days, one sees it often served with a sweet vanilla sauce, which most Austrians consider an abomination. Common flavourings for the stuffing include lemon or orange zest (fresh or candied) and cinnamon. Many stuffings contain also raisins. In Hungary, there are savoury types of Strudel, e.g., with a paprika-flavoured cabbage stuffing (káposztás rétes), which have also been transferred to the Eastern parts of Austria.
Another great example for Austrian sweet cuisine utilizing poppy seeds is Germknödel, a large yeast dumpling stuffed with a very concentrated kind of plum jam (Powidl). Germ means yeast in Austria, although this is not standard German. The dumplings are steamed and served with powdered sugar, ground poppy seeds and molten butter. The recipe was introduced to Austria from Bohemia, today’s Czech Republic, where the dumplings are known as kynuté knedlíky.
Poppy plant, flowering |
Poppy (plant with close to ripe capsules) |
Pastry stuffed with poppy seeds (Mohntaschen poppy pockets) are known in various Central and Eastern European countries; they are particularly associated with Yiddish baking (homentashn [המנטאַשן] or montashn [מאָנטאַשן]). France has croissants with poppy stuffings. Poppy seeds are often sprinkled on the surface of pastries, particularly of the lye roll type, to develop a nutty flavour during the baking. This usage parallels that of sesame and nigella seeds in the Middle East.
Poppy oil, formerly an important foodstuff, is now a rare specialty and is produced only in small quantities; most common is a cold-pressed quality suited for salads (see sesame about vegetable oils in general). Poppy farmers in Western Europe are faced by numerous legal restrictions designed to prevent the production of opium. Yet, in Western European climate, poppy plants do not develop much alkaloid content and any opium produced there would be of comparably minor quality.
In Asia, poppy is also much cultivated, yet mostly not for culinary purposes, but for the production of opium. Actually, the infamous Golden Triangle located at the border between Thailand, Burma and Laos is not one of the most important production areas, since better alkaloid yields are archived at higher altitude. Hill tribes in these three countries and also in Vietnam and China use opium as the single traditionaly luxury their hard life permits; the introduction of opium to ethnic Chinese or Vietnamese is, however, a result of the colonial era and particularly due to French and British politics. Other than in communities with a long tradition of opium smoking, the poison had fatal consequences in both Vietnam and China.
In China, the British won the two Opium Wars (ya pian zhan zheng [鸦片战争]) (1840–42 and 1856–1860) and were granted the right to import opium to the Middle Kingdom; thus, they had both immediate profit and built up a large number of officials materially and mentally dependent of England and its dealers. The obvious consequence, large-scale corruption, accelerated the downfall of the Chinese Empire. In Vietnam, the French drew enormous profits from their monopolies on opium, salt and alcohol (starting around 1890) and kept the nobility loyal to France by generous supplies of opium.
Yet in Asia poppy is not unknown for cooking, either. Ground poppy seeds are a common thickening agent in the Moghul cooking style of Northern India (see onion and black cumin); a special crème-white variety was bred for light sauces. The cuisine of Bengal in North-East India often uses poppy, which harmonizes perfectly well with that lightly-flavoured cookind style (see also nigella). Poppy’s nutty taste is loved by the Japanese and used for the subtly flavoured dishes typical for Japan. The Japanese spice mixture shichimi togarashi (see Sichuan pepper) contains poppy seeds.
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