Molar mass 297.35 g/mol | ||
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Codeinone is 1/3 as active as codeine as an analgesic but it is an important intermediate in the production of hydrocodone, a painkiller about 3/4 the potency of morphine; as well as of oxycodone. The latter can also be synthesized from thebaine, however.
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Chemical structure
Codeinone can be described as the methylether of morphinone: 3-methyl-morphinone.
Codeinone can be also described as the ketone of codeine: codeine-6-one.
Apoptotic activity
Through renewed interest into possible anti-tumor activities of some of the opium alkaloids and derivatives, unrelated to their antinociceptive properties and habit-forming effects, the oxidation product of codeine has been found to induce cell death in three different human cancer cell lines in vitro.
References
Codeinone Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA