Painkillers from Plants

What are pain killers?

Painkillers are compounds or drugs which block the perception of pain either by binding to specific receptors. Different painkillers bind to different types of receptors to give similar results. In case of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), it binds to the site where COX (cyclo-oxygenase) inhibitor binds thus stopping the production of this enzyme.

COX enzyme is responsible for production of prostaglandins which in-turn are involved in the perception of pain and inflammation.

Opioids are another type of painkillers which work by binding to opioid receptors present in the central nervous system. Due to this the perception of pain is reduced.

The exact mechanism of aspirin is not clear yet.

Pain killers from plants:

Different plants produce different compounds which can act as painkillers for humans. These compounds are usually secondary metabolites which the plant does not use in daily metabolism processes, however they do play a role in defence mechanism of plants.

For example:

1)    Willow which belong to the genus Salix produce various secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, glycosides, organic acids and derivatives. Among the many metabolites one is salicin which is a prodrug to salicylic acid (salicylic acid is the precursor of aspirin). The use of this plant has been mentioned in ancient texts from Egypt and Greece as a remedy for fever and pains.

2)    Papaver somniferum also known as opium poppy is a plant whose latex of seed pods contains several alkaloids such as codeine, thebaine, morphine, oripavine, papaverine. The epithet “somniferum” means sleep bringing which is reference to its sedative properties. Opioids inhibit the transmission of pain signals by binding to specific sites which are present on neurons.

3)    Cannabis sativa also known as hemp, marijuana is a plant which produces cannabinoids as a secondary metabolite. These secondary metabolites have analgesic properties among others.

Cannabinoids work by inhibiting the release of neuro-transmitters for some kinds of pain.

They also bind to specific type of receptors which are present in the central nervous system.

References:

1)    https://patient.info/treatment-medication/painkillers

2)    https://www.epainassist.com/opioid-treatment/medications/what-are-painkillers

3)    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21226125/

4)    https://phyto-chem.com/2020/05/12/why-do-plants-produce-painkillers/

5)    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7908037/

6)    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willow#Medicinal

7)    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papaver_somniferum#Opiates

8)    https://www.ebmconsult.com/articles/opioid-agonist-pain-mechanism-CNS

9)    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6277878/

10  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_sativa#Chemical_constituents

 

Anirudh Paidimarry (Roll No. 1508)

           S. Y. B. Sc. (CB), TCSC

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