Plant tissue cultures were obtained from the seeds of five varieties on the basis of petal colour) of Papaver somniferum and alkaloidal extracts were screend for the presence of secondary metabolites using thin layer chromatography and mass spectroscopy. Two plant tissue culture media were used in this study, Murashige & Skoog and Gamborg B5, supplemented with 0.1 mg/l of kinetin in addition to one of either 1.0 or 5.0 mg/l of 2, 4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D). Seedlings growing on media with 1.0 mg/l 2, 4-D produced planlets, while those supplemented with the higher dose, 5.0 mg/l, produced calluses. Variations were found in cultures produced from different seeds and in these grown on different media containing different levels of plant-growth hormones. Although all the original seed material contained unidentified non polar Dragendorff positive spots when examined using thin layer chromatography, none could be detected in either the calluses or plantlets produced from them. All five varieties of seed were grown on the four different media but only one, the callus derived from seed variety No. 1 and grown on a Murashige & Skoog medium supplemnetd with 0.1 mg/l kinetin and 5.0 mg/l 2, 4-D, contained one Dragendorff positive spot, which did not correspond to any of the standard alkaloids used, and was not identified by mass spectroscopy.

Plant tissue cultures were obtained from the seeds of five varieties on the basis of petal colour) of Papaver somniferum and alkaloidal extracts were screend for the presence of secondary metabolites using thin layer chromatography and mass spectroscopy. Two plant tissue culture media were used in this study, Murashige & Skoog and Gamborg B5, supplemented with 0.1 mg/l of kinetin in addition to one of either 1.0 or 5.0 mg/l of 2, 4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D). Seedlings growing on media with 1.0 mg/l 2, 4-D produced planlets, while those supplemented with the higher dose, 5.0 mg/l, produced calluses. Variations were found in cultures produced from different seeds and in these grown on different media containing different levels of plant-growth hormones. Although all the original seed material contained unidentified non polar Dragendorff positive spots when examined using thin layer chromatography, none could be detected in either the calluses or plantlets produced from them. All five varieties of seed were grown on the four different media but only one, the callus derived from seed variety No. 1 and grown on a Murashige & Skoog medium supplemnetd with 0.1 mg/l kinetin and 5.0 mg/l 2, 4-D, contained one Dragendorff positive spot, which did not correspond to any of the standard alkaloids used, and was not identified by mass spectroscopy.