Quantification of Morphine,Codeine, and Thebaine in Home‐Brewed Poppy Seed Tea by LC‐MS/MS |
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| Authors: | Deborah Powers MS Stephen Erickson MD Madeleine J Swortwood PhD |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Forensic Science, Sam Houston State University, Chemistry & Forensic Science Bldg, Rm 224, 1003 Bowers. Blvd, Box 2525, Huntsville, TX 77341;2. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Arkansas State Crime Lab, 3 Natural Resources Dr., Little Rock, AR 72215 |
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| Abstract: | Recently, medical examiners reported two cases of a 21‐year‐old male and 24‐year‐old male with high amounts of morphine in their blood at autopsy. It was suspected that the decedents ingested lethal amounts of morphine from home‐brewed poppy seed tea. No studies to date have investigated opium alkaloid content extracted from poppy seeds by home‐brewing methods. Various poppy seed products were purchased from online sources and extracted with four home‐brewing methods representative of recipes found on drug user forums. Morphine, codeine, and thebaine were quantified in the tea extracts by liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry using a validated analytical method. Morphine, codeine, and thebaine concentrations from seeds were <1–2788 mg/kg, <1–247.6 mg/kg, and <1–124 mg/kg, respectively. Alkaloid yield varied between extractions, but regardless of extraction conditions, lethal amounts of morphine can be rinsed from poppy seed coats by home‐brewing methods. |
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| Keywords: | forensic science forensic toxicology morphine opium poppy seed tea liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry |
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