Noscapine as an adulterant in illicit heroin samples

Crack in Iran: is it Really Cocaine?

“…According to our study it was found that Iranian existing crack is not cocaine, it contains mainly heroin (possibly with higher purity compared to traditional heroin) as well as related byproduct compounds. Results of our analysis were compatible with different researches conducted on heroin [13][14][15]. Each producer has its own particular method of crack making; therefore the color and exact chemical ingredients may slightly vary.…”

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.…”

A quick and automated method for profiling heroin samples for tactical intelligence purposes

“…Another difference with Swiss samples is that noscapine was often present in large amounts in our heroin exhibits (up to 48% [7]). Possibly it was added as a ''cutting'' agent [10], so the frequency distribution of noscapine/HMM ratio (HMM being the sum of morphine, monoacetylmorphine and diacetylmorphine concentrations) was plotted (see Fig. 6).…”