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Volume 175, Issue 2, Pages 202-208 (5 March 2008)


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Isolation and identification of unique marker compounds from the Tasmanian poppy Papaver somniferum N.: Implications for the identification of illicit heroin of Tasmanian origin

Luke R. Odella, Jana Skopecb, Adam McCluskeyaCorresponding Author Informationemail address

Received 20 October 2006; received in revised form 13 June 2007; accepted 9 July 2007. published online 03 September 2007.

Refers to erratum:
Corrigendum to “Isolation and identification of unique marker compounds from the Tasmanian poppy Papaver somniferum N. Implications for the identification of illicit heroin of Tasmanian origin” [Forensic Sci. Int. 175 (2008) 202–208] , 01 December 2008
Luke R. Odell, Jana Skopec, Adam McCluskey
Forensic Science International
10 January 2009 (Vol. 183, Issue 1, Pages 105-106)
Full Text | Full-Text PDF (85 KB)

Abstract 

Tasmanian opium accounts for 25% of the world's legal supply of opium straw, and in 1998–99 sufficient numbers of flower pods (66,013) to manufacture ca 500kg of heroin were stolen. Whilst the heroin signature program has been developed to determine the origin of heroin from other key producers, no such signature currently exists for Tasmanian derived heroin. Tasmanian poppies contain a unique alkaloid, oripavine, which is the source of ‘marker’ impurities in illicit heroin produced from Tasmanian poppy straw. Treatment of oripavine (500mg) under Thiboumery and Mohr heroin processing conditions, followed by simple evaporative workup afforded 613mg of a dark orange residue, which upon extensive chromatographic purification yielded oripavine 3-acetate (2) 22mg; 3-acetyl-N-acetyldesthebaine (3) 35mg; 3-acetyl-6-methoxy-4,5-epoxyphenanthrene (4) 5.8mg; 3,4-diacetyl-6-methoxyphenanthrene (5) 27mg; and 3,4,6-methoxy-5-[2(N-methylacetamido)]ethylphenanthrene (6) 52mg. Compounds (26) are derived from oripavine and are unique to heroin derived from the Tasmanian poppy Papaver somniferum N. Analysis of illicit heroin samples seized from Turkey, Pakistan, Columbia and Myanmar did not reveal any of the aforementioned marker compounds. We have, however, identified four of these marker compounds (36) in seized heroin samples from Australia suggesting that they are of Tasmanian origin. Complete details of the isolation and identification of these compounds are provided.

a Chemistry Building, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia

b Australian Government Analytical Laboratories, 1 Suakin Street, Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia

Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author.

PII: S0379-0738(07)00610-X

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2007.07.002


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