Institute of Environmental Research (INFU), Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 6, 44221 Dortmund (Germany).
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2014 Nov 3;53(45):12073-6. doi: 10.1002/anie.201406639. Epub 2014 Sep 12.
We have independently investigated the source of tramadol, a synthetic analgesic largely used for treating moderate to severe pain in humans, recently found in the roots of the Cameroonian medicinal plant, Nauclea latifolia. We found tramadol and its three major mammalian metabolites (O-desmethyltramadol, N-desmethyltramadol, and 4-hydroxycyclohexyltramadol) in the roots of N. latifolia and five other plant species, and also in soil and local water bodies only in the Far North region of Cameroon. The off-label administration of tramadol to cattle in this region leads to cross-contamination of the soil and water through feces and urine containing parent tramadol as well as tramadol metabolites produced in the animals. These compounds can then be absorbed by the plant roots and also leached into the local water supplies. The presence of tramadol in roots is, thus, due to an anthropogenic contamination with the synthetic compound.
我们独立调查了曲马多的来源，曲马多是一种广泛用于治疗人类中度至重度疼痛的合成镇痛药，最近在喀麦隆药用植物白花菜的根部发现。我们在白花菜和其他五种植物的根部以及喀麦隆北部地区的土壤和当地水体中发现了曲马多及其三种主要的哺乳动物代谢物（O-去甲曲马多、N-去甲曲马多和 4-羟基环己基曲马多）。在该地区，将曲马多开给牛使用导致粪便和尿液中的母体曲马多以及动物体内产生的曲马多代谢物污染土壤和水，然后这些化合物可以被植物根部吸收，也可以渗滤到当地的供水系统中。因此，根部的曲马多是由于与合成化合物的人为污染造成的。
