Commentary: Opium Alkaloids in Harvested and Thermally Processed Poppy Seeds

Evaluation of Thermal Degradation of Tropane and Opium Alkaloids in Gluten-Free Corn Breadsticks Samples Contaminated with Stramonium Seeds and Baked with Poppy Seeds under Different Conditions

In this work, the thermal degradation of tropane and opium alkaloids was studied in samples of breadsticks prepared with corn flour, contaminated with seeds of Datura stramonium, and containing seeds of Papaver somniferum L. A total of seven different samples were prepared and eight alkaloids were studied, three tropane (atropine, scopolamine, and anisodamine) and five opium (morphine, codeine, thebaine, papaverine, and noscapine) alkaloids. For this purpose, a fast, easy and efficient method based on solid-liquid extraction (SLE) prior to the analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) was developed and validated. Thermal degradation studies showed a decrease in the TAs and OAs content under baking (180 °C for 20 min) that was between 7–65% for atropine, depending on the preparation conditions used, between 35–49% for scopolamine and anisodamine, up to 100% for morphine and codeine and between 14–58% for thebaine, papaverine, and noscapine. Results also evidenced that degradation of morphine and codeine was higher when the seeds were added as topping to the breadsticks.

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

Limited information is available on methods to reduce concentrations of the opium alkaloid noscapine in poppy seeds. A series of experiment 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) was 89.9 and 28.4 mg kg^-1, respectively. Six out of 15 samples were less than the LOQ. Poppy seed samples containing a mean noscapine concentration of 121 mg kg^-1 were subjected to dry heat treatments ranging from 120-200 °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 reduction of noscapine in poppy seeds.