Parallel to the "poppy-seed defense" strategy commonly reported in the United States, donors of urine samples tested positive for opiates in Taiwan often claimed the consumption of Brown Mixture (BM) as the source of the observed morphine and codeine. Because BM contains opium powder (10.0-10.5% morphine), opium tincture (0.9-1.1% morphine), or camphorated opium tincture (0.045-0.055% morphine)...

Morphine and codeine are frequently identified in blood samples from impaired drivers. But whether these opiates reflect the use of prescription analgesics or abuse of the illicit drug heroin (diacetyl morphine) is not always obvious. Opiates, either alone or together with other drugs, were determined in 2,573 blood specimens from impaired drivers by sensitive and specific methods of analysis. ...

This study investigated the oxidative transformation of four controlled substances (ketamine, methamphetamine, morphine, and codeine) by synthesized MnO2 (δ-MnO2) in aqueous environments. The results indicated that ketamine and methamphetamine were negligibly oxidized by MnO2 and, thus, may be persistent in the aqueous environment. However, morphine and codeine were able to be oxidized by MnO2,...

The objectives of this study were to compare the drug-metabolizing activity of human CYP2D6.24 (I297L), CYP2D6.26 (I369T), CYP2D6.27 (E410K) allelic isoforms with wild-type CYP2D6.1, and to express the CYP2D7 protein derived from an indel polymorphism (CYP2D7 138delT) and investigate its possible codeine O-demethylase activity. Successful creation of individual cDNAs corresponding to CYP2D6*24 ...

The convulsant opiate thebaine, an intermediate of morphine biosynthesis, was purified from bovine brain to homogeneity by gel filtration and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) monitored by a radioimmunoassay. The immunoreactive material behaved identically to standard thebaine in two HPLC systems and was confirmed to be thebaine by combined gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. To o...

This report describes a case of accidental intravenous administration of codeine phosphate (1 mg.kg-1) to a previously healthy five-year-old boy, who was undergoing strabismus surgery. Hypoxaemia (SpO2 85% with FIO2 of 1) and hypotension (systolic BP 65 mmHg) resulted, which responded to resuscitation with lactated Ringers' (20 ml.kg-1) and phenylephrine (2 micrograms.kg-1). The degree of hypox...