Poppy straw separation

J.L. Janicot, M. Caude, and R. Rosset, Separation of opium alkaloids by carbon dioxide sub- and supercritical fluid chromatography with packed columns Application to the quantitative analysis of poppy straw extracts, J. Chromatogr., 437 351 (1988). 

The first objective was to develop a CZE separation (or fingerprint) using only migration times and peak areas for opium from different locations and poppy straw samples from different plants. Previously, a CZE method had shown poor separation for certain alkaloids in opium samples (24), and in other methods pH has had to be strictly controlled (25, 26). Some methods were unable to operate at the optimum detection wavelengths (25, 27, 28), while others have used various cyclodextrin additives to obtain separation (25, 29-31). 

The extraction method for the opium and poppy straw samples, and the separation method along with a suitable choice of internal standard (IS) have been described previously (54). Opium samples were available from four different locations, and poppy straw samples from five plants were also available for analysis. Samples were injected in triplicate for analysis. 

The number of peaks obtained using the CE separation of opium and poppy straw was quite large. Representative electropherograms for opium and poppy... 

Preparation of Concentrated Poppy Straw (CPS) and Alkaloid Determination. Dried poppy straw (20 g) is extracted in a Soxhlet apparatus with MeOH (12h), concentrated to a pasty mass and treated with 0.25 g Ca(OH)2 and 2.5% acetic acid solution (5 ml). The mixture is centrifuged and the supernatant separated and filtered. This process of extraction is repeated three times to obtain the CPS, which is then made up to 10ml solution in a volumetric flask with the acetic acid solution. 

Sample Preparation. Air-dried poppy straw (10g) is extracted with MeOH (5 X 100 ml), concentrated in vacuo and treated with calcium hydroxide (0.1 g) and 2.5% acetic acid (5 ml) in order to make a slurry. The slurry is stirred for 30 min, homogenized, and centrifuged. The supernatant is separated, filtered, and the volume of sample solution is made up to 10 ml with acetic acid. 

The commercial preparation of morphine takes place from opium and from poppy straw at approximately equal proportions. [72] Since 1960, the production of thebeine has gained growing significance, due to an increased demand for semi-synthetic opiates. This is generated from opium like morphine, codeine and papaverine. The key step is removal of the crude morphine with tartaric acid. The various alkaloids are subsequently separated by fractional crystallisation and extraction (Fig. 5.53). 

The other field of application of the different methods of analysis is the cultivated opium plant (P. somniferum L.) itself, which produces TB. It has a Imig cultivatiOTi history worldwide and there are many varieties having various colors and shapes of flowers, shapes of capsules, and alkaloid composition and content. Despite the strict control of the plants, seeds of P. somniferum have been imported and sold as an ornamental gardening flower for which to control illegal cultivation of the plants, rapid and reliable extraction methods of opium alkaloids fi om many plant samples are required. CZE-UV has been employed for the analysis of opium samples and poppy straws [111, 113] and in presence of p-CD by CE-CD-UV in Iranian opium poppy plants [114]. Other detection systems such as MS and ECL with the same separation technique have been employed for the analysis of illicit samples [131] and Chinese traditional medicine opium poppy samples [124], respectively. 

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