Replacing Opioids: Natural Compound Promises Pain Relief Without Addiction

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Opioids, like morphine, are effective painkillers but have led to widespread addiction and serious side effects like respiratory depression, notably seen in the U.S. opioid crisis that claimed nearly 645,000 lives from 1999 to 2021. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have identified a potential alternative, aniquinazolin B, from the marine fungus Aspergillus nidulans, which binds to opioid receptors and could replace opioids with fewer undesirable effects, after rigorous testing including over 750,000 calculations per substance using the MOGON supercomputer.

Opioids, recognized for their significant pharmacological effects, have long been used as effective painkillers. Morphine, a notable example first isolated and synthesized in the early 19th century, provides crucial relief for patients in the final stages of severe illness.

However, when opioids are used inappropriately they can cause addiction and even the development of extremely serious undesirable effects, such as respiratory depression. In the USA, opioids were once widely promoted through the media and, as a consequence, were often prescribed to treat what were in fact mild disorders. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were nearly 645,000 cases of mortality due to opioid overdose in the United States between 1999 and 2021.

And the opioid crisis has arrived in Germany, too. The main problem is street drugs and the fact that the synthetic opioid heroin, in particular, is cut with other, cheaper opioids, such as fentanyl. While a dose of 200 milligrams of heroin is fatal, just two milligrams of fentanyl can kill. In 2022, more than 1,000 people in Germany died as a result of the consumption of opioids.

Governments have introduced measures to contain this epidemic. However, opioid addiction rates are high. Others suffer from extreme pain that needs to be alleviated. There is thus an urgent need for safe analgesics. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) - with the financial support of the Research Training Group Life Sciences - Life Writing", funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) - have now made progress towards this goal.

A natural product called aniquinazolin B that is isolated from the marine fungus Aspergillus nidulans stimulates the opioid receptors and could possibly thus be used instead of opioids in the future," explained Roxana Damiescu, a member of the research team headed by Professor Thomas Efferth.

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