ScienceDaily (Feb. 20, 2009) — An ingredient in licorice shows promise as an antidote for the toxic effects of cocaine abuse, including deadly overdoses of the highly addictive drug, researchers in Korea and Pennsylvania are reporting. 

In the new study, Meeyul Hwang, Chae Ha Yang, and colleagues note that there is currently no effective medicine for treating cocaine abuse or addiction. Recent animal studies conducted by the researchers show that a licorice ingredient called isoliquiritigenin (ISL) can block the nervous system’s production of dopamine. That neurotransmitter is involved in emotion, movement, and other brain activities.

Cocaine and other addictive drugs stimulate dopamine and help produce the pleasurable and addictive effects. Drugs that block dopamine block this response. The scientists used rats as model animals to show that rats injected with ISL just prior to cocaine-administration showed 50 percent less of the behavioral effects associated with the illicit drug.

They also showed that ISL injections protected nerve cells in the brain from cocaine-associated damage.

Journal reference:

1. Jeon et al. Proteomic and Behavioral Analysis of Response to Isoliquiritigenin in Brains of Acute Cocaine Treated Rats. Journal of Proteome Research, 2008; 7 (12): 5094 DOI: 10.1021/pr800237s

enlarge

An ingredient in licorice shows promise as an antidote for the toxic effects of cocaine abuse. (Credit: American Chemical Society)

Related Stories

Licorice May Block Effectiveness Of Drug Widely Used By Transplant Patients (Mar. 31, 2009) — Chemists in Taiwan are reporting that an ingredient in licorice -- widely used in various foods and herbal medicines -- appears to block the absorption of cyclosporine, a drug used by transplant ...  > read more

Potential New Drug For Cocaine Addiction And Overdose (Sep. 16, 2008) — Chemists are reporting development of what they term the most powerful substance ever discovered for eliminating cocaine from the body, an advance that could lead to the world's first effective ...  > read more

Amino Acid May Help Reduce Cocaine Cravings (Oct. 23, 2009) — A new study in rats has found that N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a commonly available and generally nontoxic amino acid derivative, reverses changes in the brain's circuitry associated with cocaine ...  > read more

New Strategy For Treating Cocaine Addiction, Animal Research Suggests (Apr. 8, 2008) — New research in monkeys suggests the feasibility of treating cocaine addiction with a "replacement" drug that mimics the effects of cocaine but has less potential for abuse -- similar to the way ...  > read more

Search ScienceDaily

Gene Chip for Personalized Meds