Tags: Chemical Compound, Chemical Substance.
Meconic acid also known as acidum meconicum and poppy acid is a chemical substance found in certain plants of the Papaveraceae family (poppy) such as Papaver somniferum (opium poppy) and Papaver bracteatum. Meconic acid constitutes about 5% of opium and can be used as an analytical marker for the presence of opium. Meconic acid has erroneously been described as a mild narcotic but it has little or no physiological activity and is not used medicinally.
