Poppy; Poppy straw; Morphine; Alkaloids; Extraction; HPLC; Validation

The analytical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of main alkaloids in poppy straw using high-performance liquid chromatography. The optimal chromatographic conditions and the sample preparation technique, including solid phase extraction, were designed and validated. The validation parameter testing included the verification of the repeatability, accuracy, linearity, sensitivity, limit of detection, limit of quantification and robustness of the analytical method. The newly developed method was applied to analyse real poppy straw samples from the harvest of 2013. The results show that this method can be used as a routine, reliable and accurate technique to determine the poppy straw quality in poppy breeding.