Opium alkaloids in food products: Current and future perspectives (2024)

Food products containing poppy seeds are increasingly consumed. These seeds may be contaminated with opium alkaloids (OAs) from the latex of the plant (Papaver somniferum L.), which may present a health hazard to the consumer. Therefore, the aim of this work was to develop an efficient, fast and environmentally friendly methodology to control OAs in biscuits and sponge cake products by analysis with liquid chromatography coupled to a triple quadrupole tandem mass detector (HPLC-MS/MS). For this purpose, the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) step was optimised using a 5-variable full factorial design at two levels, obtaining lower solvent volume and time than with other classical methods. Then, a solid phase extraction (SPE) was used to remove matrix effects. A commercial material (HLB) and two silica synthesised materials (HMS and SBA-15) were evaluated and optimised, selecting SBA-15 (50mg). Finally, the method was validated and applied to real samples, showing morphine concentrations in 5 of 7 products but below the maximum permitted limit.

Journal of Chromatography A, Volume 1424, 2015, pp. 1-9

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of a promising solid phase microextraction technique, μSPEed, in the analysis of selected phenolic compounds from teas by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection (μSPEed/UHPLC-PDA). The innovative μSPEed configuration uses 3-μm sorbent particles tightly packed in a disposable needle equipped with a pressure-driven valve to withdraw samples in a single direction. The system was operated by the electronic pipette eVol^® and different parameters influencing the extraction efficiency, as the nature of sorbent, pH, loading and elution conditions, and solvents were optimized. The best extracting conditions were obtained by loading twice 100μL of tea samples through the PS/DVB-RP sorbent and eluting with 50μL of acidified MeOH 95%. The following chromatographic separation was carried out in an Acquity C₁₈ BEH capillary column using a gradient of 0.1% FA and acetonitrile. The optimized μSPEed/UHPLC-PDA methodology is selective and specific and was properly validated for 8 phenolic compounds widely reported in different teas. Overall, an excellent analytical performance was obtained in the 0.2–20μg/L linear dynamic range (LDR), with very low limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs), ranging between 3.5–16.8ng/mL and 10.6–50.6ng/mL, respectively, high recoveries (89.3–103.3%), good precision (RSD<5%) and negligible matrix effect. The methodology was used to assess the target polyphenols concentration in several tea samples. Rutin and quercetin-3-glucoside were the most abundant phenolics in all tea samples analysed and, with exception of naringenin and cinnamic acid, which are present in high amounts in the investigated citric teas, remain phenolic compounds are present in trace levels.

Environmental Pollution, Volume 248, 2019, pp. 456-461

To elucidate the origin of the wide-spread contaminations of plant derived commodities with various alkaloids, we employed co-cultures of pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) containing Senecio jacobaea plants with various alkaloid free acceptor plants. Our analyses revealed that all plants grown in the vicinity of the Senecio donor plants indeed contain significant amounts of the PAs, which previously had been synthesized in the Senecio plants. These findings illustrate that typical secondary metabolites, such as pyrrolizidine alkaloids, are commonly transferred and exchanged between living plants. In contrast to the broad spectrum of alkaloids in Senecio, in the acceptor plants nearly exclusively jacobine is accumulated. This indicates that this alkaloid is exuded specifically by the Senecio roots. Although the path of alkaloid transfer from living donor plants is not yet fully elucidated, these novel insights will extend and change our understanding of plant-plant interactions and reveal a high relevance with respect to the widespread alkaloidal contaminations of plant-derived commodities. Moreover, they could be the basis for the understanding of various so far not fully understood phenomena in cultivation of various crops, e.g. the beneficial effects of crop rotations or the co-cultivation of certain vegetables.

Journal of Applied Research on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Volume 7, 2017, pp. 74-83

Opium poppy belongs to the family − ‘Papaveraceae’ and is well known mainly for its pharmaceutically important alkaloids and seeds. In order to delineate the gene-effects conditioning the expression of seed yield and straw alkaloids, six crosses viz. IS 14×Sampada, I 14×Mtu, Sampada×Sujata, CIM Ajay×Dfr 44, Sapna×Sanchita and SPS 49×TS 1 involving the eleven parents, were sampled for P1, P2 and F1 (=P1×P2) non segregating, and F2 (=F1), BCP1 (=F1×P1), and BCP2 (=F1×P2) segregating generations. The days to flowering (50%) and plant height showed all the three type of interactions (i, j, l) in three crosses, namely C₁ − IS 14×Sampada and C₂ − I 14×Mtu but the traits peduncle length, codeine and thebaine content showed in other three crosses as C₁ − IS 14×Sampada,C₂ − I 14×Mtu,C₃ − Sampada×Sujata and C₄ − CIM Ajay×Dfr 44 in order. The two type of interactions additive×additive and additive×dominance interactions (i, j,) exhibited by the C₆ − SPS 49×TS 1 for plant height and thebaine content, C₅ − Sapna×Sanchita for peduncle length, codeine and narcotine content. The genetic basis of character expression indicated that the interacting crosses showing non-allelic interactions particularly duplicate epistasis in most of the crosses. While most of those without epistatic interactions exhibited superiority over parental mean. On the basis of study results the two specific cross combinations like Sampada×Sujata and CIMAP Ajay×Dfr 44 are selected to ensure tangible superiority for the most economic traits like high seed yield and poppy straw/capsule husk alkaloids including other contributing traits also like early flowering, capsule index for poppy crop improvement programme.

Forensic Science International, Volume 241, 2014, pp. 87-90

Opiates are an important component for drug testing due to their high abuse potential. Proper urine opiate interpretation includes ruling out poppy seed ingestion; however, detailed elimination studies after controlled poppy seed administration with known morphine and codeine doses are not available. Therefore, we investigated urine opiate pharmaco*kinetics after controlled oral administration of uncooked poppy seeds with known morphine and codeine content. Participants were administered two 45g oral poppy seed doses 8h apart, each containing 15.7mg morphine and 3mg codeine. Urine was collected ad libitum up to 32h after the first dose. Specimens were analyzed with the Roche Opiates II immunoassay at 2000 and 300μg/L cutoffs, and the ThermoFisher CEDIA^® heroin metabolite (6-acetylmorphine, 6-AM) and Lin-Zhi 6-AM immunoassays with 10μg/L cutoffs to determine if poppy seed ingestion could produce positive results in these heroin marker assays. In addition, all specimens were quantified for morphine and codeine by GC/MS. Participants (N=22) provided 391 urine specimens over 32h following dosing; 26.6% and 83.4% were positive for morphine at 2000 and 300μg/L GC/MS cutoffs, respectively. For the 19 subjects who completed the study, morphine concentrations ranged from <300 to 7522μg/L with a median peak concentration of 5239μg/L. The median first morphine-positive urine sample at 2000μg/L cutoff concentration occurred at 6.6h (1.2–12.1), with the last positive from 2.6 to 18h after the second dose. No specimens were positive for codeine at a cutoff concentration of 2000μg/L, but 20.2% exceeded 300μg/L, with peak concentrations of 658μg/L (284–1540). The Roche Opiates II immunoassay had efficiencies greater than 96% for the 2000 and 300μg/L cutoffs. The CEDIA 6-AM immunoassay had a specificity of 91%, while the Lin-Zhi assay had no false positive results. These data provide valuable information for interpreting urine opiate results.

LWT, Volume 99, 2019, pp. 490-496

The oil quality, fatty acid composition, tocopherol contents, and phenolic compounds of oven- and microwave-roasted seeds from three different poppy varieties (blue, yellow, and white) were investigated. The quantity, acidity, unsaponifiable matter, peroxide, and saponification values of oil were generally higher in roasted seeds compared to those in raw poppy seeds (control). Total phenolics, flavonoids, anthocyanin contents, and antioxidant activity of roasted seeds were less than those of the control. Roasting decreased fatty acid contents including linoleic acid in blue, yellow, and white seeds and its contents remained 57.91, 61.91, and 64.83% in control oil (oil from raw seeds) but decreased to 57.23, 60.78, and 64.11% in oven-roasted and 56.97, 60.08, and 60.84% in microwave-roasted seed oil, respectively. The tocopherol (α, β, γ, and δ) contents also decreased after roasting and β and γ-types predominated. The major phenolic compounds were vanillic, p-hydroxybenzoic, ferulic, p-coumaric,cinnamic, and protocatechuic acids. The vanillic acid content ranged from 64.38–71.17 mg/100 g in raw seed, 41.86–49.76 mg/100 g in oven-roasted, and 43.66–56.71 mg/100 g in microwave-roasted seed. The current study revealed that poppy seeds and their oil have excellent nutritional qualities that are significantly reduced after roasting.

Food Chemistry, Volume 266, 2018, pp. 514-523

Two sample preparation methods were developed (graphitised carbon and C18 solid phase extraction clean-up) and validated in house using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) for the determination of 30 pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in salads, herbs, tea, herbals teas as well as tea infusion and ice-tea beverages. Total PAs concentration of samples purchased on the Belgian market varied greatly with matrix type ranging from <LOD to 187151 ng/g for dry samples, while for infusions and ice-tea beverages the highest PAs concentration was 2106 ng/mL. Surprisingly high PAs concentrations were detected in herbs and spices mixes. The infusion study indicated a transfer rate between 16 and 28% (except for monocrotaline) which highlights the overestimation of PAs concentrations in infusions when derived from a dilution factor (transfer rate of 100%) to the measured concentrations of the dry tea sample.