Influence of radiation treatment on pharmaceuticals - A review: Alkaloids, morphine derivatives, and antibiotics

A survey was made of the relevant literature on experimental irradiation of alkaloids, morphine derivatives, and alkaloids; the results of 98 investigations of 67 different substances from 33 different sources were compiled and discussed. Twenty-one substances were investigated more often than once, 12 of them twice, 2 of them three times. The most data are available for morphine hydrochloride (six studies), atropine sulfate (seven studies), chloramphenicol (eight studies), streptomycine (five studies), and retracycline (four studies). Irradiation was carried out in the dose range 5-750 kGy, in most cases between 10 and 60 kGy.