BEIJING, Nov. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- A natural painkiller that is several times more potent than morphine used in animal studies has been found in human saliva, French researchers reported in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers at the Pasteur Institute in Paris have named the pain inhibitor opiorphin, because it acts on the same pathways as morphine and other opiate painkillers.
"We found it in saliva, that was the first step," said study author Catherine Rougeot, director of the institute's Laboratory of Pharmacology of Neuroendocrine Regulation. "Now, we are exploring its presence in other human biological tissues. Maybe it is localized in the blood, the brain. Now, I cannot answer."
The discovery was made after the researchers identified a powerful pain-inhibiting molecule in rats. Their search for a similar molecule in humans turned up opiorphin.
A painkiller arising from the research could have important applications for human use, Rougeot said. "Opiorphin is natural, so it is quickly metabolized," she said.
Ed Ross, director of the pain management center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, said opiorphin could be an important addition to the only other natural painkillers found in the human body -- endorphins.
"Endorphins have been around for quite a while, but they are weak and have a short half-life, so the problems in using them clinically are very significant," Ross said. "Now, this is a compound that has much more strength than the endorphins. It also suggests a potential for other synthetic compounds that work on different receptors that we have known before, and, for a pain doctor, that is very significant."
(Agencies)
