WOULD you take a painkiller that had been developed from human saliva? As yucky as it may sound, recent study suggests that we might be doing [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] just that in future. Pain is an essential sensation. Sensory nerves with endings in our skin, tissues and organs are activated by heat, cold or pressure or by chemicals that are released from cells after tissue injury. A new painkilling substance has been discovered that is up to six times more potent than morphine and it’s produced naturally by the human body. So, what has this all got to do with saliva? Opiorphin is an endogenous chemical compound first isolated from human saliva and it may spawn a new generation of natural painkillers that relieve pain as well as morphine but without the addictive and psychological side effects of the traditional drug. When the researchers injected a pain-inducing chemical into rats’ paws, it was found that 1 milligram of opiorphin per kilogram of body weight achieved the same painkilling effect as 3 milligrams of morphine. In other words, this saliva based chemical is three times more powerful than morphine. Natural painkillers are very rare and researchers hope that this recent find might be harnessed as a clinical treatment and be used for the benefit of mankind. [/ihc-hide-content]
