Psychoactive Plant Database - Neuroactive Phytochemical Collection

1. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2024 Jan;416(3):827-837. doi: 10.1007/s00216-023-05042-6. 
Epub 2023 Nov 24.

Comparison of direct analysis in real-time mass spectrometry, atmospheric solids 
analysis probe-mass spectrometry, and ion mobility spectrometry for ensuring 
food safety by rapid screening of poppy seeds.

Kern SE(1), Voelker SE(2), Lorenz LM(2), Dicken RD(2), Sterling ME(2), Mohrhaus 
AS(2), Toomey VM(2).

Author information:
(1)Food and Drug Administration/Office of Regulatory Affairs/Office of 
Regulatory Science/Forensic Chemistry Center, 6751 Steger Drive, Cincinnati, OH, 
45237, USA. sara.kern@fda.hhs.gov.
(2)Food and Drug Administration/Office of Regulatory Affairs/Office of 
Regulatory Science/Forensic Chemistry Center, 6751 Steger Drive, Cincinnati, OH, 
45237, USA.

The opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) is a global commercial crop that has been 
historically valued for both medicinal and culinary purposes. Naturally 
occurring opium alkaloids including morphine, codeine, thebaine, noscapine, and 
papaverine are found primarily in the latex produced by the plant. If the plant 
is allowed to fully mature, poppy seeds that do not contain the opium alkaloids 
will form within the pods and may be used in the food industry. It is possible 
for the seeds to become contaminated with alkaloids by the latex during 
harvesting, posing a potential health risk for consumers. In the USA, there have 
been more than 600 reported adverse events including 19 fatalities that may be 
linked to the consumption of a contaminated poppy-containing product such as 
home-brewed poppy seed tea. Unwashed poppy seeds and pods may be purchased over 
the Internet and shipped worldwide. The Forensic Chemistry Center, US Food and 
Drug Administration (FDA) has evaluated several mass spectrometers (MS) capable 
of rapid screening to be used for high-throughput analysis of samples such as 
poppy seeds. These include a direct analysis in real-time (DART) ambient 
ionization source coupled to a single-quadrupole MS, an atmospheric solids 
analysis probe (ASAP) ionization source coupled to the same MS, and ion mobility 
spectrometers (IMS). These instruments have been used to analyze 17 poppy seed 
samples for the presence of alkaloids, and the results were compared to data 
obtained using liquid chromatography with mass spectral detection (LC-MS/MS). 
Results from the 17 poppy seed samples indicate that the DART-MS, ASAP-MS, and 
IMS devices detect many of the same alkaloids confirmed during the LC-MS/MS 
analyses, although both the false-positive and false-negative rates are higher, 
possibly due to the non-homogeneity of the samples and the lack of 
chromatographic separation.

© 2023. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the 
US; foreign copyright protection may apply.

DOI: 10.1007/s00216-023-05042-6
PMID: 37999721 [Indexed for MEDLINE]


2. Am J Case Rep. 2023 Jan 26;24:e938675. doi: 10.12659/AJCR.938675.

Opioid Use Disorder from Poppy Seed Tea Use: A Case Report.

Kauppila GR(1), Eagen KV(2).

Author information:
(1)Department of Family Medicine, Mayo Clinic Health System, Eau Claire, WI, 
USA.
(2)Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin - 
Madison, Madison, WI, USA.

BACKGROUND Unwashed or unprocessed poppy seeds may be an underrecognized 
substance that can lead to dependence, abuse, and an opioid use disorder. Poppy 
seeds can be purchased in an unwashed or unprocessed form, and these seeds can 
be contaminated with the opium alkaloids morphine, codeine, and thebaine on 
their surfaces. Poppy seeds that are commercially available, such as those used 
for baking and in other food products, are legal to purchase, as they do not 
contain the opium alkaloids on their seed coats. Purchase and possession of the 
unwashed or unprocessed seeds are not legal in the United States. These 
contaminated poppy seeds can then be put through a process in which they are 
washed, and the supernatant (tea) is collected and consumed to experience its 
intoxicating effect or for the treatment of pain or opioid withdrawal. CASE 
REPORT A 65-year-old man with a history of alcohol use disorder, cannabis use, 
and chronic pain began using this poppy seed tea for treatment of chronic pain 
after his provider had stopped prescribing opioid pain medications for him. He 
developed a dependence on the tea. He had reached out for assistance as it was 
his desire to stop using the poppy seed tea. The diagnosis of an opioid use 
disorder was made using the DSM-V criteria. He was successfully induced and 
maintained on a buprenorphine/naloxone product. CONCLUSIONS Poppy seeds in their 
unwashed and unprocessed form can be misused and could lead to an opioid use 
disorder. This disorder can be treated with buprenorphine/naloxone products.

DOI: 10.12659/AJCR.938675
PMCID: PMC9887487
PMID: 36698302 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: Conflict of interest: None declared


3. ACS Chem Neurosci. 2018 Oct 17;9(10):2503-2518. doi: 
10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00459. Epub 2018 Oct 8.

DARK Classics in Chemical Neuroscience: Opium, a Historical Perspective.

Presley CC(1), Lindsley CW(1).

Author information:
(1)Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery , Nashville , Tennessee 
37232 , United States.

Opium is the latex from the opium poppy Papaver somniferum L., which humankind 
has utilized since ancient Mesopotamia all the way to modern times. Opium used 
to be surrounded in divine mystery or magic-like abilities and was given to cure 
a wide variety of diseases until its analgesic, antitussive, and antidiarrheal 
properties were understood, the resulting alkaloids were isolated, and their 
structure and properties unmasked. Opium went from being sold in any store front 
in the form of pills or tinctures with no prescription necessary for purchase or 
smoked in an opium den down the street, to then bringing about consumer advocacy 
and the right to know what is in a medication. Legislation was created to limit 
the prescribing and selling of medications to doctors and pharmacists as well as 
outlawing opium dens and smoking opium. This review focuses primarily on the 
uses of opium throughout history, the isolation of the principle alkaloids, and 
their structure elucidation.

DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00459
PMID: 30247870 [Indexed for MEDLINE]


4. R Soc Open Sci. 2017 Oct 4;4(10):170715. doi: 10.1098/rsos.170715. eCollection
 2017 Oct.

Investigation of the acid/base behaviour of the opium alkaloid thebaine in 
LC-ESI-MS mobile phase by NMR spectroscopy.

Carlin MG(1), Dean JR(1), Bookham JL(1), Perry JJB(1).

Author information:
(1)Department of Applied Sciences, Northumbria University, Ellison Building, 
Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK.

As part of a research programme to establish an analytical method for the 
simultaneous detection of the five major opium alkaloids in poppy seeds by 
liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) it 
was discovered that the inclusion of thebaine produced two peaks for the same 
compound. This was in contrast to the effective simultaneous detection, by 
LC-ESI-MS, of morphine, codeine, papaverine and noscapine. The presence of these 
two peaks for thebaine was investigated using nuclear magnetic resonance 
spectroscopy with deuterated solvents to emulate the mobile phase conditions 
experienced. It was found that the presence of 80%, or higher ratios of, water 
caused two epimeric forms of thebaine to be formed; this explained the presence 
of two peaks on the chromatogram. In contrast, when a lower water content was 
used with 1% acetic acid, one stable form of thebaine could be analysed and 
resulted in a single peak visible in the subsequent chromatography.

DOI: 10.1098/rsos.170715
PMCID: PMC5666260
PMID: 29134077

Conflict of interest statement: We declare we have no competing interests.


5. Pak J Pharm Sci. 2015 Sep;28(5):1631-6.

A tentative component analysis of Norjizak: A new abused drug in Iran.

Sadeghi M(1), Farhoudian A(2), Vishteh HR(2), Rahimzadeh S(2), Fekri M(3), 
Movaghar AR(4), Sefatian S(1).

Author information:
(1)IRSA Center for Psychology and Addiction Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
(2)Research Center for Substance Abuse and Dependence, University of Social 
Welfare and Rehabilitation Science, Tehran, Iran.
(3)Bahar Laboratory of toxicology, Tehran, Iran.
(4)Iranian Research Center for HIV/AIDS, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 
Tehran, Iran.

Norjizak is a new drug abused in the past few years in Iran with symptoms and 
complications distinct from other common forms of drug and characterized by 
higher rate of mortality. The present study aims to analyze the chemical 
components of this substance. Five samples were obtained from abusers referring 
from different areas of Tehran to a treatment clinic. All samples were 2 ml 
vials with yellowish fluid. Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) was performed first 
to analyze the samples semi-quantitatively and the quantitative levels of 
components were then explored using high-performance liquid chromatography 
(HPLC). TLC revealed steroid (in form of betamethasone), heroin, codeine, 
morphine and thebaine in all five samples. Four samples contained acetaminophen 
and two samples contained caffeine. None of them contained amphetamine, 
benzodiazepine, tricyclic antidepressant, aspirin, barbiturates, tramadol and 
buprenorphine. HPLC revealed that heroin, codeine, morphine and thebaine 
constituted the narcotic foundation in all samples. In addition, the heroin to 
acetylcodeine ratio was significantly lower in three samples, which indicates 
their higher toxicity. The results of the present study on the chemical 
components of Norjizak showed that this substance is an opiate one similar to 
heroin and the heroin-based crack prevalent in Iran which contains 
betamethasone.

PMID: 26408883 [Indexed for MEDLINE]