Pantopon, also known as Opium Alkaloids Hydrochlorides, is a preparation of
opiates
An opiate, in classical pharmacology, is a substance derived from opium. In more modern usage, the term ''opioid'' is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain (including antagonist ...
made up of all of the
alkaloids present in
opium in their natural proportions as
hydrochloride
In chemistry, a hydrochloride is an acid salt resulting, or regarded as resulting, from the reaction of hydrochloric acid with an organic base (e.g. an amine). An alternative name is chlorhydrate, which comes from French. An archaic alternative n ...
s
salts
In chemistry, a salt is a chemical compound consisting of an ionic assembly of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions, which results in a compound with no net electric charge. A common example is table salt, with positively c ...
. It can sometimes be tolerated by people who are allergic to
morphine
Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...
.
Pantopon is prepared by treating standardized medicinal opium with hydrochloric acid or, more commonly, mixing 20 parts morphine HCl, 5 parts codeine, 6 parts thebaine, 8 parts noscapine, 2 parts narcotine, 6 parts miscellaneous alkaloids hydrochlorides.
Pantopon is, in other words,
opium with all of the tar and other insolubles removed in an injectable form which, by weight, is nearly as potent as
morphine
Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...
. It was invented in 1909 by the
Hoffmann-La Roche pharmaceutical company. Other drugs of the same type have included in the opium alkaloid
hydrobromide In chemistry, a hydrobromide is an acid salt resulting, or regarded as resulting, from the reaction of hydrobromic acid with an organic base (e.g. an amine). The compounds are similar to hydrochlorides.
Some drugs are formulated as hydrobromides, ...
s,
sulfate
The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ...
s,
phosphates
In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid .
The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...
, and
valerates. "Opium in a syringe " and "Injectable Whole Opium" were common advertising slogans for the product from Roche. An example of similar product to Pantopon is Omnopon, which contains morphine, codeine, and papaverine.
Society and culture
Pantopon gave its name to the poem "Pantopon Rose" by the American writer
William Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...
and to a song with the same name by the
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
alternative metal
Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...
band
Therapy?
Therapy? are a Northern Irish rock band from Larne, formed in 1989 by guitarist-vocalist Andy Cairns and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing. Therapy? recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar. To complete the lineup, the band r ...
on their 1994 album ''
Troublegum
''Troublegum'' is the second major label album by rock band Therapy? It was released on 7 February 1994 via A&M Records. The album features a more punk-oriented style compared to the likes of Stiff Little Fingers and the Undertones rather the ba ...
''. Pantopon also gave its name to the 1996
Mexican documentary ''Rosa Pantopon''.
''Rosa Pantopon''
on IMDB
References
Opiates
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