German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Department of Food Safety, Max-Dohrn-Str. 8 - 10, 10589 Berlin, Germany.
German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Department of Food Safety, Max-Dohrn-Str. 8 - 10, 10589 Berlin, Germany.
Food Chem. 2020 Mar 30;309:125564. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.125564. Epub 2019 Oct 14.
Opium alkaloids such as morphine and thebaine occur in the latex of Papaver somniferum varieties. Some varieties are used for both, pharmaceutical opium alkaloid generation and poppy seed production for food use. Poppy seeds can be contaminated with opium alkaloid-containing latex, e.g. during harvesting. In recent years, poppy seed contamination with opium alkaloids, including thebaine, gave repeatedly reasons for concern in Europe. So far, risk assessments regarding opium alkaloids in poppy seeds were mainly based on the morphine level, whereas other opium alkaloids thereunder thebaine could not be finally evaluated due to lack of data. However, available limited data indicate that thebaine exhibits a higher acute toxic potential than morphine. Therefore, exposure to thebaine by consumption of poppy seed-containing food could pose a health risk. Here, we discuss the recent knowledge regarding thebaine's toxicological profile available for the assessment of potential health risks associated with its consumption via food.
阿片生物碱，如吗啡和可待因，存在于罂粟 somniferum 品种的乳汁中。一些品种既用于生成医药用阿片生物碱，也用于生产可食用的罂粟籽。罂粟籽可能会受到含有阿片生物碱的乳汁污染，例如在收获期间。近年来，罂粟籽中阿片生物碱的污染，包括可待因，在欧洲多次引起关注。到目前为止，关于罂粟籽中阿片生物碱的风险评估主要基于吗啡水平，而其他阿片生物碱，如可待因，由于缺乏数据，无法最终进行评估。然而，现有的有限数据表明，可待因的急性毒性潜力比吗啡高。因此，食用含有罂粟籽的食物会摄入可待因，可能会对健康造成风险。在这里，我们讨论了关于可待因毒理学特征的最新知识，这些知识可用于评估通过食物摄入可能带来的相关健康风险。
