Assessment of Dry Heating, Water Rinsing, and Baking on Concentrations of the Opium Alkaloid Noscapine in Poppy Seeds

Abstract

Limited information is available on methods to reduce concentrations of the opium alkaloid noscapine in poppy seeds. A series of experiments were conducted using poppy seeds to evaluate the impact of thermal treatments, water rinsing, and baking on noscapine concentrations. A sample set of commercially available poppy seeds (n = 15) was screened for noscapine using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The mean and median noscapine concentrations for poppy seed samples above the limit of quantitation (LOQ) were 89.9 and 28.4 mg kg −1 , respectively. Poppy seed samples containing a mean noscapine concentration of 121 mg kg −1 were subjected to various treatments, including dry heat ranging from 120 to 200 °C and a 5 min rinse with water. Baking experiments were also done by incorporating the poppy seeds into a muffin batter and baking in an oven at 200 °C. The dry heat treatment experiments showed that noscapine degraded at 160−200 °C, with a 50% loss of noscapine observed after 3.44 ± 0.46 min at 200 °C. Although the mean concentration of noscapine decreased when a muffin containing poppy seeds was baked at 200 °C for 16 min, these changes were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Rinsing the poppy seeds with water did not have a significant effect on noscapine concentrations. Together, these data allow for better characterization of potential dietary exposure to noscapine and indicate that certain thermal treatments can be effective for the reduction of noscapine in poppy seeds.

Rapid, Low-Cost, and Portable Detection of Morphine and Codeine on Poppy Seeds via a Lateral Flow Immunoassay

“…If the 0.2 morphine equivalent factor is factored into the codeine concentration, a 70 kg (154 lb) person would require 11 g of these seeds to exceed the EFSA ARfD (Table 1). Considerable heterogeneity in poppy seed samples has been observed previously in the literature 3,8,24 and was demon- strated in this study as well by the large standard deviation in some of the LC-MS/MS results. Because the LFIA method uses a relatively small sample size and cannot distinguish between morphine and codeine, samples should be analyzed by LC-MS/MS for further characterization.…”

“…The poppy plant ( Papaver somniferum ) produces a sap-like latex that is known to contain various opiate alkaloids, including morphine, codeine, thebaine, noscapine, and papaverine. − The quantities of each of these opiate alkaloids on the poppy latex often depend on the specific cultivar of the plant; a poppy plant may be bred to produce a decreased or increased quantity of one or more opiate alkaloids . Opiate alkaloids can be deposited on poppy seed surfaces through cross-contact from the latex or dried latex-containing particles, though the inside of the seeds contains lowor no opiate alkaloids. ,− The opiate alkaloid content on poppy seeds can be variably and inconsistently reduced, although not always eliminated, using various pretreatment and processing methods, including, but not limited to, washing, soaking, and heating. − …”