Injections of Licorice Ingredient Show Promise as Treatment for Cocaine Addiction
Key points
- 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.
- 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.
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. Their study is in the Jan. 2 issue of ACS’ Journal of Proteome Research, a monthly publication.
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.
“Proteomic and Behavioral Analysis of Response to Isoliquiritigenin in Brains of Acute Cocaine Treated Rats”
Source: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Written and revised by
Andrey Nailor, M.D.
Our doctors write and review articles for accuracy and keep them up to date.
health.am provides general information, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional about your own health.
Explore health topics
More in this topic
Mental Health →
NewsStudy shows dementia patients benefit from holistic exercise program
While dementia patients can often suffer from depression and declining physical and mental ability, exercise has been shown to help improve both their physical and psychological wellbeing. Researchers at Teesside…
20 May 2014
NewsExtended-release medication offers significant promise for treating alcohol, opioid dependence
A comparatively new form of a medication for alcohol and opioid dependence that’s injected once a month instead of taken orally once a day appears to be significantly more effective than some other medications - because…
15 May 2014
NewsMRI shows disrupted connections in the brains of young people with ADHD
A new study has found that children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have disrupted connections between different areas of the brain that are evident on resting-state functional…
