Health
Scientists find protein in coffee with effect like morphine
Researchers at the
University of Brasilia (UnB) and Brazil's state-owned agriculture and
livestock research company Embrapa have discovered a protein in coffee
with effects similar to morphine.
Embrapa's genetics and
biotechnology resources division and the UnB successfully "identified
previously unknown fragments of protein -- peptides -- in coffee that
have an effect similar to morphine, in other words they have an
analgesic and sedative activity," a statement from Embrapa said
Saturday.
Those peptides, it said, "have a positive differential: their effects last longer in experiments with laboratory mice".
The two institutions applied for patents to Brazilian regulators for the seven "opioid peptides" identified in the study.
The
discovery of the molecules came about through the doctorate research
work of Felipe Vinecky of the molecular biology department at UnB, who
with the consultation of Embrapa was looking to combine coffee genes to
improve the quality of the grain.
The study was also supported by
France's Centre for International Cooperation on Agricultural Research
and Development, or CIRAD.