engleski

OPIUM POPPY'S ALKALOIDS IN FOOD

Poppy seeds obtained from the plant Papaver somniferum L., the opium poppy, are used throughout the world for food as decoration, for filling cakes (as in the traditional Croatian cakes "makovnjača" and "međimurska gibanica") and for making edible oil. Nutrients useful for human health contained in poppy seeds include many minerals such as manganese, calcium, copper, zinc, iron, healthy fatty acids such as linoleic, palmitic and oleic acids, many vitamins and fibers. The opium poppy plant produces significant amounts of opioid alkaloids such as morphine, codeine, and thebaine, which can be used in the pharmaceutical industry to make drugs and, unfortunately, for drug abuse. Although ripe poppy seeds themselves contain only small amounts of opioid alkaloids, they can be contaminated from the other parts of the poppy plant. Consuming foods containing contaminated seeds can cause adverse health effects, especially in infants, young children, and people with medical conditions. It can also lead to false- positive drug tests, which can have serious consequences. Monitoring of opium poppy alkaloids in food could be of great importance for the protection of public health in order to determine the actual exposure of consumers to these toxins and to allow preparation for upcoming legislation

opium alkaloids ; morphine ; codeine ; poppy seeds ; food safety

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