Morphine is a plant (opium poppy)-derived alkaloid and one of the strongest known analgesic compounds. Studies from several laboratories have suggested that animal and human tissue or fluids contain trace amounts of morphine. Its origin in mammals has been believed to be of dietary origin. Here, we address the question of whether morphine is of endogenous origin or derived from exogenous source...

Buprenorphine (BUP) is a synthetic derivative of the morphine alkaloid thebaine. BUP is metabolized by N-dealkylation to form the active metabolite nor-buprenorphine (Nor-BUP), and both undergo subsequent glucuronidation. Although BUP has been used clinically for years, its metabolism has still not been fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to clarify the identity of the human hepatic cyt...

A major toxicological challenge is distinguishing whether morphine in urine, in the absence of 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM), originates from 'street' heroin use or poppy seed ingestion. Manufacturing byproducts from the synthesis of illicit heroin include those that originate from the reaction of acetic anhydride with the alkaloid impurity, thebaine, which undergoes skeletal rearrangement, resu...

BACKGROUND Oxycodone, a semisynthetic thebaine derivative opioid, is widely used for the relief of moderate to severe pain. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and side effects of oxycodone and fentanyl in the management of postoperative pain by intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA) in patients who underwent laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy (LSH). METHODS The ...

iranian crack is a new form of narcotic substance that has found widespread prevalence iniran in the past years. crack only nominally resembles crack cocaine as it is widely different inits clinical signs. thus the present study aims to quantify the chemical combination of this drug.the samples included 18 specimen of crack collected from different zones of tehran, iran.all specimens were in th...

Iranian crack is a new form of narcotic substance that has found widespread prevalence inIran in the past years. crack only nominally resembles crack cocaine as it is widely different inits clinical signs. Thus the present study aims to quantify the chemical combination of this drug.The samples included 18 specimen of crack collected from different zones of Tehran, Iran.All specimens were in th...

Background: Papaver bracteatum Lindl. Commonly known as Iranian poppy is an important medicinal plant due to the presence of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids. Objective: To evaluate the hairy root culture as a novel method for thebaine production. Methods: To optimize the hairy root culture of P. bracteatum, five strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes (ATCC15834, C318, A13, 9453 and A4) were used by...

Buprenorphine is a potent, semi-synthetic opioid analgesic derived from thebaine. The drug displays the characteristics of an agonist at the mu receptors and antagonist at the kappa receptors. Although buprenorphine has shown some pharmacological effects on delta and kappa opioid receptors, the action on the mu receptors appears to be responsible for most of the analgesic effects associated wit...

Antagonistic properties of buprenorphine for and -opioid receptors were characterized in -endorphinand [D-Ala,NMe-Phe,Gly-ol]-enkephalin (DAMGO)-induced antinociception, respectively, with the tail-flick test in male ICR mice. -Opioid receptor agonist -endorphin (0.1–1 g), -opioid receptor agonist DAMGO (0.5–20 ng), or buprenorphine (0.1–20 g) administered i.c.v. dose dependently produced antin...