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Degradation of the opium alkaloids in pharmaceutical relics from the eighteenth century

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Abstract

The opium alkaloids in three historical pharmaceutical relics dated to the eighteenth century were analyzed by HPLC–MS. The conditions of extraction of alkaloids from the sample and their HPLC analysis were optimized. A broad spectrum of opium alkaloids was found and degradation products of papaverine and noscapine were identified. The identity of compounds found was confirmed by MS/MS. For three compounds (methylhydrocotarnine, papaverinol, and papaveraldine) the ESI+-MS/MS fragmentation mechanism has been proposed. The content of five selected opium alkaloids (cotarnine, meconin, morphine, papaverine, and noscapine) was determined in analyzed samples, and the concentration ratio of noscapine and cotarnine was proposed as a marker of the age of a preparation.

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Acknowledgements

The financial support by the projects SVV and Progress Q46 of Charles University is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

    Karel Nesměrák, Karel Kudláček, Petr Kozlík & Václav Červený

  2. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

    Martin Štícha

  3. Collection of Old Czech History, Historical Museum, National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic

    Jana Kunešová

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  1. Karel Nesměrák
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  2. Karel Kudláček
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  3. Martin Štícha
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  4. Petr Kozlík
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  5. Václav Červený
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  6. Jana Kunešová
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Correspondence to Karel Nesměrák.

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Nesměrák, K., Kudláček, K., Štícha, M. et al. Degradation of the opium alkaloids in pharmaceutical relics from the eighteenth century. Monatsh Chem 150, 1593–1602 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00706-019-02461-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00706-019-02461-z

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