HPLC Investigation of the Inheritance of Major Opium Alkaloids¹

Abstract

Inheritance of five major alkaloids, morphine, codeine, thebaine, narcotine and papaverine has been studied in interspecific cross, Papaver somniferum x P. serigerum. Heterotic increase in codeine and thebaine was found in different F₁ plants while in some F₂ plants the content of all these alkaloids except that of codeine exceeded the content of these alkaloids found in parental and F₁ generations. The absence of narcotine was generally dominant over its presence.