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Research done by the state University of Brasilia,
or UnB, and Brazil's state-owned agriculture and
livestock research company Embrapa have discovered a
protein in coffee with effects similar to morphine,
in other words they have an analgesic and sedative
activity, scientists said on Saturday.
A communique from Embrapa said that its 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."
Those peptides, the note said, "have a positive
differential: their effects last longer in
experiments with laboratory mice." According to the
scientists, it lasted up to four hours and no side
effects were recorded.
The two institutions applied for patents to
Brazilian regulators for the seven "opioid peptides"
identified in the study.
The discovery of the molecules came through the
doctorate research work of Felipe Vinecky of the
Molecular Biology Department at UnB who with Embrapa
were looking to combine coffee genes to improve the
quality of the grain: while analyzing the coffee
genome sequence and corresponding proteins, Vinecky
and his research adviser Carlos Bloch Junior found
some proteins similar to those typical for humans.
So they decided to synthesize their structural
analogues and test their properties.
The studies also have the support of France's Centre
for International Cooperation on Agricultural
Research and Development.
For more information
Universidade de Brasília, UnB
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária -
Embrapa
Centre de coopération internationale en recherche
agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD)
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