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Published:
Journal of Analytical Toxicology,
ISSN 0146-4760,
Volume 27, Number 1, January/February
2003,
pp. 53-56
CASE REPORT: Urinary Concentrations of Morphine and Codeine
After Consumption of Poppy Seeds
Mario Thevis*, Georg Opfermann, and Wilhelm
Schänzer
Institute of Biochemistry, German Sport University Cologne, Carl-Diem-Weg
6, 50933 Köln, Germany
A quantitative analysis of morphine and codeine in human urine
was performed after oral intake of cakes containing commercially available
poppy seeds in order to estimate the possibility of positive doping results.
Therefore, eight products from different manufacturers (poppy seeds or baking
mixtures) and origin were obtained and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass
spectrometry for the presence of the alkaloids. One selected batch of poppy
seeds was used as an ingredient in a typical cake and was the object of an
excretion study with nine volunteers. After application, several urine specimens
contained morphine with concentrations higher than 1 µg/mL, and peak
values of approximately 10.0 µg/mL were detected. Because the International
Olympic Committee set a cutoff limit for morphine at 1 µg/mL, high-performance
athletes could possibly test positive in doping control after consumption of
products containing poppy seeds.
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