Impurities, adulterants and diluents of illicit heroin. Changes during a 12-year period

Validated assay for the determination of markers of illicit heroin in urine samples for the control of patients in a heroin prescription program

“…AC content in non-prescription heroin ranged from 0.25% to 10.2% [20]. Other typical alkaloids in illicit heroin preparations are noscapine (NOS) (0-61%) and papaverine (PAP) (0.1-19.7%) [24,25]. As the pharmaceutical maintenance heroin is pure, the presence of COD and especially of AC or also of NOS or PAP in the urine of patients indicate that they may be supplementing their prescribed heroin doses with non-prescription heroin.…”

Yasa Dışı Madde Kullanımında Güncel Sorunlar Katkı Maddeleri

“…Bağımlılık yapma potansiyeli yüksek ve tedavisi oldukça zor olan yasa dışı maddeler arasında yer alan özellikle eroin, amfetamin ve kokain örneklerinde, mevcut maddenin daha fazla miktarda görünmesi, vücuda alınmasının kolaylaştırılması ve daha fazla kâr getirmesi için, birçok seyreltici ve katkı maddelerin kullanıldığı bilinmektedir (1)(2)(3). Seyreltici maddeler laktoz, sükroz ve glükoz, mannitol gibi şekerler olup herhangi bir fizyolojik etkiye sahip değillerdir.…”

GC-MS detection and tentative characterization of two noscapine metabolites in human urine and their potential as markers for opium and illicit heroin use

“…It is a frequent carryover impurity in illicit heroin powder; its contents are about 10% (w/w) in the Pakistani type 1 and Iranian heroin, and only trace in Chinese, Indian, Pakistani type 2, and Turkish heroin [2]. It was also reported as a major adulterant of illicit heroin [3][4][5][6]. Pharmacologically, noscapine has central antitussive activity and is medicinally used in many countries.…”