Optimized LC/MS/MS Analysis of Morphine and Codeine in Poppy Seed and Evaluation of Their Fate during Food Processing as a Basis for Risk Analysis

Abstract

The opiate alkaloids present in poppy seed intended for use in food recently have raised major concerns. An efficient method for routine analysis of morphine and codeine using liquid chromatography in combination with tandem mass spectrometry on a triple quadrupole instrument (LC/MS/MS) was therefore developed. The optimal sample preparation was found to be cold extraction of 10 g of unground poppy seed with 30 mL of methanol containing 0.1% acetic acid for 60 min shaken at 250 rpm. The fate of morphine during food processing was also studied. All experiments led to a significant reduction of morphine and codeine. For poppy cake only 16-50% of the morphine was recovered, and in poppy buns at the highest temperature (220 degrees C) only 3% of the original morphine content was found. Ground poppy seed showed significantly lower recoveries than untreated seed. Morphine elimination during food processing has to be taken into account in the current discussion about its maximum limits in poppy seed.

Comparison of urine results concerning co-consumption of illicit heroin and other drugs in heroin and methadone maintenance programs

“…In general, patients in a heroin substitution program should be advised not to ingest any medications containing MOR/COD and not to consume foods containing poppy seeds. Otherwise, after two cases of intoxication-one in a 6-week-old infant who ingested a mixture of honey and poppy seeds in milk [21] and the other in a young female who ingested 80 g of powdered poppy seeds over spaghetti [22]-in Germany, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment derived a provisional guidance MOR value of 4 mg/kg together with low values for other alkaloids [23]. Maybe in the future, a so-called poppy-seed defense after a positive opiate test will no longer be expected if the guidelines concerning alkaloid values in foods get a legal hearing.…”

Sample preparation and separation techniques for bioanalysis of morphine and related substances

“…In a recent publication [19] it is described how the seeds are extracted with 30% methanol (MeOH) in 0.1% acetic acid. After addition of morphine-d3 as internal standard (IS) LC-MS-MS was performed using a RP C18 column and a water -MeOH gradient buffered with ammonium hydrogen carbonate.…”

Chemometric approach for development, optimization, and validation of different chromatographic methods for separation of opium alkaloids

“…High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has proven an efficient technique for the separation and quantification of opium alkaloids [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Reflecting the large polarity range of the major opium alkaloids, most applications apply reversed-phase liquid chromatography with gradient elution and ion-pairing agents.…”