Pain relief has been a subject of intense scrutiny for centuries. Local plants offered various levels of pain control. Salicin from willow bark is a predecessor to aspirin. It was not until the end of the 1800s that Felix Hoffman invented acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin). Within a few years, the analgesic was a mainstay in doctors’ offices.
Turmeric, cloves, lavender, rosemary, peppermint, eucalyptus, ginger, aloe, valerian, feverfew, capsaicin, and other options such as meditation, acupuncture, and cannabis are used to treat pain. I prefer natural options when they work.
I have used mangosteen juice for years because the gamma mangostin addresses the pain issue at the cyclooxygenase II (COX-2) level in the body. Curcumin is the only other substance that I know of that shuts down the COX-2 release and does not affect the COX-1 enzyme.
New Natural Compound
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/plant-derived-compound-may-help-treat-chronic-pain. Our bodies produce natural opioids. Prescription drugs such as morphine, oxycodone, and others are opioid analgesic medications are used to treat pain. Addiction and many adverse side effects abound when taken in large doses or over a long time.
Conolidine is found in the pinwheel flower. Scientists discovered that it binds to a specific scavenger receptor. Opioid receptors promote pain relief, but there are times when pain relief systems in the body go awry in response to prescription pain killers. There are many components (proteins, opioid peptides, and more) that control pain responses.
Conolidine
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-021-00548-w. Conolidine increases opioid peptides, which provide higher levels of pain regulation. Opioid peptides bind to four different types of opioid receptors in our bodies. One of these receptors is ACKR3 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16664-0). Atypical chemokine receptor 3 traps peptides and prevents pain relief.
Our brains have high-level opioid activity centers. ACKR3 acts as an opioid scavenger because of its peptide-trapping processes. Conolidine binds to ACKR3 and prevents it from trapping opioid peptides. Bypassing this opioid scavenger receptor allows the expected pain relief processes to operate normally.
Scientists further determined that conolidine did not interact with other operations of the natural opioid system. As with many scientific findings, patents cannot be issued for natural options. Therefore, medical researchers synthetically developed a more powerful conolidine that binds more effectively to ACKR3. https://www.lih.lu/blog/our-news-1/post/press-release-new-study-further-advances-the-treatment-of-chronic-pain-411
Conclusion
It sounds interesting on many levels, except for the cost. I do not know what the price tag will be for the prescription drug derived from the pinwheel flower.
Live Longer & Enjoy Life! – Red O’Laughlin – RedOLaughlin.com
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