Morphine was determined in commercially available poppy seed and seed cake as well as in urine from healthy normal human adults 3 and 15 h after ingestion of poppy seed cake. The following morphine concentrations were determined: between 374 ±51 and 9.4 ± 1.0 μmol kg−1 poppy seed of different brands, 290 ± 11 μmol kg−1 poppy seed paste, 1.43 ± 0.07 and 0.53 ± 0.15 μmol litre−1 urine sampled 3 and 15 h, respectively, after ingestion of two cakes and 0.67 ± 0.17 and 0.30 ± 0.06 μmol litre−1 urine sampled 3 and 15 h, respectively, after ingestion of one cake. It is concluded that a positive finding of morphine in the urine from a person suspected of heroin abuse calls on some attention due to possible accidental morphine intake from poppy seed food.
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Bjerver et al. (1982) studied this question.