Human Cells Make Morphine

Morphine, a potent painkiller typically derived from the opium poppy plant, appears to be made by the human body as well. Small amounts of morphine have been found in animal tissue before, but researchers had assumed these traces came from environmental contamination, such as a diet. But a new German study claims that human cells produce the substance "without doubt." "Morphine is an alkaloid that has been known for 200 years, and people just thought that it occurs only in plants," said lead researcher Meinhart H. Zenk, a professor of plant biology at Halle University. In experiments, Zenk's team has proven that morphine occurs naturally in human cells, according to the report in this week's online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.