Poppy Seeds
Cost per kilo 10,00 €

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Poppy seed is an oil seed rich in vegetable oils, obtained from the opium poppy. These tiny kideny-shaped seeds have been the harvest of the poppy flower's dried seed pods for thousands of years. It can be used as a spice, as condiment, as a garnishing object in dishes, as a thickening agent but also as the prime ingredient in main dishes, appetizers or sweet desserts. The seeds are used whole or ground and they are also pressed to yield poppyseed oil.

In Saudi Arabia, poppy seed is prohibited due to religious reasons and in the United Arabic Emirates, upon finding poppy seeds on the clothes of a traveler, he was promptly led to prison.

Traditionally poppy seed has been used throughout the world for thousands of years. It has been mentioned in medical texts from many different civilizations. For instance, it has been mentioned in an ancient Egyptian papyrus which lists the poppy seeds as a sedative. The Minoan civilization, a Bronze Age civilization which arose in the island of Crete in Greece, cultivated poppies for their sanz seeds. Generally, the little seeds were used as a folk remedy to aid sleeping, promote fertility and wealth and for many other alleged properties they possessed. Priests in ancient Greece were very well aware of poppy's sedative and narcotic properties.

In Greece, poppy seeds have been linked to the greek godess Demeter, the godess of fertility and cultivation. The etymology of the seed's name, as described by Dioskourides, comed from the plant's ability to quickly blossom and Theophrastus reported that the plant grew in between barley crops like a parasitic weed. Farmers considered poppy's presence inside the fields as a sign of good luck and fruitfulness.

There are sufficient reports that poppy seeds contain plenty of pharmaceutical compounds, one which is the alcaloid rhoeadine which is extracted from the plant's flower.

Medicinal Applications:

Poppy seeds are mildly sedative to the nervous and muscular systems
They have antitussive, spasmolytic and soothing effect, thus they are very commonly used as a cough remedy.
They contain many plant derived chemical compounds that are found to have anti-oxidant, disease preventing and health promoting properties
50% of poppy seeds's weight is comprised from many fatty acids and volatile essential oils, which give poppy seeds their unique nutty aroma.
They are plentiful in dietary fiber. For example, 100 grams of raw poppy seeds provide 19.5 grams of fiber, which is 51% of recommended daily levels of fiber. Much of their fiber is metabolically inert content which helps increase bulk of the food consumed by absorbing water down the digestive tract thereby easing constipation issues.
The seeds are very rich in B-complex vitamins like thiamin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, riboflavin, niacin and folic acid.
Poppy seed also contain good levels of minerals like iron, copper, calcium, potassium, magnanese, zinc and magnesium.
Dried seeds contain small amounts of opium alkaloids such as morphine, thebaine, codiene, papaverine etc.

We inform you that we are not doctors but traders. What is written in our online store has a simple informative character and in no way replaces medical science. Always consult your doctor about your health issues.