Human Health and Diseases Question 116
116. Drug called ‘Heroin’ is synthesised by :[2019]
(a) methylation of morphine
(b) acetylation of morphine
(c) glycosylation of morphine
(d) nitration of morphine
Show Answer
Answer : b
Hints & Solutions
(b) Heroin is synthesised by acetylation of morphine. Heroin, commonly called smack and is chemically diacetylmorphine is made from the resin of poppy (Papaver somniferum) plants. Milky, sap-like opium is first removed from the pod of the poppy flower. This opium is refined to make morphine, then further refined into different forms of heroin. The synthesis of heroin is a simple one step acetylation reaction, and typically is performed by the addition of a large excess of acetic anhydride directly to morphine followed by heating the resulting solution to, or near, boiling. Generally the final product is isolated by treating the cooled reaction mixture with sodium carbonate and collecting the heroin base by filtration.
