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Do you ever take some meds and immediately wonder ”What the hell is this stuff even?!!”
As someone who doesn’t take a lot of pills, I think about this every time I take something new. Yes, I know that antibiotics kill bacteria, but how does this specific antibiotic work? My doctor usually doesn’t know it, so I tend to end up googling it myself.
Recently, my boyfriend brought something home that was prescribed to him to relieve his cough. But it wasn’t something to soothe the irritation, no, this drug was supposed to completely stop him from coughing for a while. Not something I encountered before that day, I must say. My mom only ever gave us chamomile tea, milk with honey, such stuff.
Intrigued, I looked it up online and the name of the drug lead me to the chemical Noscapine, also known as Narcotine, also known as (3S)-6,7-dimethoxy-3-[(5R)-4-methoxy-6-methyl-7,8-dihydro-5H-[1,3]dioxolo[4,5-g]isoquinolin-5-yl]-3H-2-benzofuran-1-one. I hate chemists and the whole IUPAC naming system (that’s the system that is responsible for those incredibly long names).
Just as opium, it’s derived from the poppy Papaver somniferum. The kicker is, it’s not addictive or sedative, contrary to codeine (which I knew by name but never knew the effects. Now I do.).
In fact, noscapine has been in use for a while, they discovered that it’s good against a cough in 1930! One of the sources I linked below is a study from 1957 that analyzes the drug’s antitussive (= relieves or prevents cough) effects. It comes at no surprise that noscapine has been an oral drug for a while and is believed to be generally safe, at least as safe as medication can be. @suesa
But how, how does it work?
Noscapine activates the so-called sigma opioid receptors, which are found in a high number in several parts of the brain, especially in neurons. So technically, this drug suppresses a cough in the brain. Isn’t that neat?
The receptors, although called “opioid receptors”, aren’t opioid receptors. Typical case of “we thought it works like this, gave it a name and now it turns out it’s not like this”. Still, there are several drugs that affect these receptors, including some antidepressants, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
And before you ask me, I couldn’t find anything about cocaine to treat a cough (although it has been used in medicine in the past), but it seems like they used to put heroin into cough syrup. Please don’t start taking heroin to treat your cough. It’s just not worth it.
In addition to helping you to not cough the whole night and keep everyone awake, noscapine might just help in our fight against cancer.
There are studies that suggest antineoplastic effects, which means the drug could inhibit, halt or even prevent the development of a tumor. It seems to be able to bind to tubulin, which inhibits mitosis and causes the tumor cells to die.
Tubulin? Mitosis? Those who are already familiar with those two words can skip the next 2 paragraphs.
When a cell wants to divide, it needs to first replicate its DNA to guarantee that both new cells have the same set of genes. After this replication happened, the two sets of DNA are separated into two nuclei. That process is called mitosis. After the mitosis, the cell usually splits into two new cells.
For the process of DNA separation to work, the cell needs several cellular mechanisms and tools. One of these tools are the microtubules, which are made from the protein tubulin. The microtubules generally help the cell to keep its structure and serve as some kind of “railroad” to transport vesicles which contain important substances. During mitosis, they form the mitotic spindle which is needed for the separation of the DNA. When noscapine binds to tubulin, it disrupts the formation of microtubules and thus inhibits mitosis.
In one study, noscapine increased the death of tumor cells during chemotherapy, which is promising.
In the end, it’s always interesting to check what exactly the drugs you’re taking do in your body, except for the obvious things. Depending on how much you liked this post, I might write something about other drugs in the future too. Leave me a suggestion if you want!
Sources:
The Use of Noscapine (Narcotine) as an Antitussive Agent
Pharmacology and Therapeutic Potential of Sigma1 Receptor Ligands
The Sigma Receptor: Evolution of the Concept in Neuropsychopharmacology
Engineering biosynthesis of the anticancer alkaloid noscapine in yeast
Picture credit:
1 By Louise Joly, one half of AtelierJoly (Own work) [CC BY-SA 1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
2By Lordjuppiter (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Very informative post. Shared.
Steem On!
I think that's mostly bullshit. Then again, it might depend on the country. In Germany, modern medicine and natural medicine often coexist, there are doctors who specialize in both and then use whatever is appropriate for the given issue.
This is 100% true. In Holland aswell. It gets scary when regular healthcare denies any benefit of natural sources as medicine. The other thing that is even more hurtfull is when unofficial healthcare providers keep really sick people out of the regular system in order to make money.👀
t.
In the USA often doctors are not allowed to recommend "alternative" therapies when there are drugs designed to treat the problem. A medical doctor is literally not allowed to recommend natural alternatives
It’s very saddening to me. I am currently in pharmacy school and I have seen and experienced the benefits of natural medication overseas, yet have not learned any of these applications in school. Therefore self education is important!
Exactly! I've had to do a lot of research on problems I've had in the past to see if the supplements that are working for me have interaction problems with new meds that the doctors want me to take!
Good for you!!! Self-education in today’s world is one of the most important things to do!!
I see. Things can't be in black and white. They can co-exist. This makes sense to me. Thank You!
Medicine industry destroys our health. Particularly, anticancer drugs and fluorine tap water, This is true.
So true. As the meme goes: "100-200 years ago people ate organic unprocessed food and didnt have vaccines and lived to the ripe old age of died in childbirth ".
Very informative post. I suggest writing about what's in the vaccines we take, since there are many conspiracy theories that state that vaccines contain mercury and aluminium that damage our brains and cause Autism and ADHD
I wrote about vaccines twice and swore to myself never to touch that subject again on Steemit, too many anti-vaxxers. I need my mental energy too much to spend it on endless discussions with them. I tried it too many times ^^
This exactly. I have had that discussion with the mother of my ex-gf. Also the reason it's my ex now.
t.
I certainly hope you no one reading this believes those ideas... There's no evidence.
Great detail! I wish our pharma text books at med school were that easy to read :p
Maybe someone should pay me to rewrite those 🤔
Agreed lol
I usually take African herbs...roots. I am going back to our ancestor's ways :)
Organic chemistry and its long formulas make that part of chemistry a bit of a bother in high school.
Yes, switch pills with a controlled amount of one or two chemicals for plants with an uncontrolled amount of dozens if not hundreds of chemicals. Back to our ancestor's ways :P
Organic chemistry sucked, mostly because of the naming system. I mean I get why they're doing it like that but .... it still sucks.
I remember my English teacher telling us this in first year in high school, "This is not difficult, just wait till you are in senior class to do organic chemistry which you MUST CRAM."
If it was to scare us it didn't work as we still ended up doing it :)
And you're the one who has been taking chamomile tea with honey! ;) So talking about the ancestor's ways..
shhhhhh
I never research the drugs the doctor gives me. I would just get scared at the side effects
Everything has side effects, go hard or go home! :P But I understand you, sometimes it's better to not know all the things that can go wrong.
Ugh medicines! I rather not use them if I could. Anyway very useful and informative article, thank you.
You should write about some painkillers too.. I'm kinda addicted to them. OH WAIT THIS DIDNT SOUND RIGHT. :)
Crossed my mind, maybe I will :)
Try kratom, it's a leaf from a tree that grows in Indonesia. It has some of the same properties as an opiate, but it doesn't suppress breathing, you can't OD on it, and the withdrawl symptoms if you use large quantities for a long time are not anywhere near as severe as from prescription opiates or heroin. Often people use it to 'step down" from prescription or street opiates before quitting completely.
nice one. i could not agree more. and if you are unlucky some doctors may even get upset / angry at you for asking. happened to me before. anyway i find that the less medication you take the less prone you are to fall sick - kids especially. and the less you take them, the more effective they are at times when you REALLY need them. speaking from experience. looking forward to more stuff from you!
When I chose my doctor, I made it clear from the beginning that I study biology and want the facts, not some watered down version. The effect is that 1. She's always very honest about everything and 2. When I come in and say "this, this and this are the problems, I suspect it might be that" she takes me serious. So far, it always worked out as expected.
It's true that taking medicine when it's not really needed isn't that smart, ESPECIALLY when it comes to antibiotics. But one needs to recognize at which point medicine is necessary. A good and reliable doctor is crucial for that and they're way too rare.
Spot on.
Even thought we are not specialists in chemistry or anything that has to do with this , we must admit that we do not know what we put in our mouth once we take a pill . Even thought we have a description on the medicine there must be hidden facts that aren't told to us .
Not necessarily hidden but hard to understand. For someone with no medical, chemical or biological background, the mechanisms of certain drugs can be hard to understand.
Appreciate that also true.
I come from a place where we rarely question a doctor so whatever s/he prescribes becomes a fact. This post is like some eye opener on my end.
Because...
Yes I google drugs but not to question the doctor. It's always to lightly understand what they do. Sometimes I understand, sometimes I don't. But never have I ever worried about whats in them. Now I will always be. Thank you!
Sometimes it's just good to know what you're taking. A former doc once prescribed me something against my infected pierced ear. When I picked it up I noticed there's iodine in it - which is not good when you have thyroid issues. But I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't checked. The doc didn't know, it wasn't his fault, but it could have damaged me.
I will be checking everything trust me. I told you... You elevate my mind with your detailed explanations!
Well written once again @suesa. It's so true that doctors dont always know what they prescribe. We are thaught way to less about that. There is always the phone with the pharmacist around the corner. Come think of this, It's quite a shame indeed. 👀
t.
I have googled certain drugs before but a lot of the time I end up going and getting prescribed the same things (epinephrine, flovent HFA, etc) so I already know what the drugs do and everything. I like the idea of the post though and the drug in question sounds really interesting and useful!
Every medicine/drug has potential side effects in our body. so better to know what we are taking in.
Thanks for letting us know about this medicine in details.
And most sicknesses we are getting from viruses instead of bacteria. So the antibiotic have no effect on them what so ever.
That's another important point, yes
It really makes you think doesnt it! Next time I get perscribed something I might check whats in it before I take it.
I generally trust my doctor, as she rarely prescribes anything and tries to find other solutions first. But knowing what's in the medicine you take can't hurt, as long as you don't turn paranoid because of it.
Yea of course but its still healthy to know what your consuming. Thanks for an insightful article.
IUPAC naming is a pain. It was one of the biggest barriers for new organic chemistry students in college.
Great article. Too bad a lot of the comments are rambling tirades against scientific medicine, but at least you're doing your best to set them straight.
It isn't easy posting medical stuff on steemit. I don't know how those who only do that manage to stay sane.
Organic natural blueprint is the way. Everything else is foreign to the body, like satellites in space.
I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me with this.
There's a natural blueprint to our cells and all living things, and if someone (engineer,chemist,biophysicist,chef,etc.) doesn't include the blueprint of nature into their creation/discovery, well then, it isn't organic. It isn't in tune with how nature works. It isn't good for a natural organism/system. Partaking in the un/natural realms of things crosses over into cancers and bodily breakdown. Wait till we discover an organism's auric field, and what it can do for our mental/emotional hygiene and health facilitates. Happy New Year
Interesting proposition but sadly not true.
Additionally, noscapine is something that comes directly from a plant, making it "organic" according to your definition, so I still don't get what your comment has to do with my post.
I'd be interested in what you consider as this "blueprint" tho. Doesn't sound much like evolution and more like creative design.
Edit: You added something about "auric fields" after I replied and now I can't take you serious anymore ...
Its more of a mathematics. Based on perpetual-ism for lack of a better word. Anyway, I could've easily just said, going with plants to heal any afflictions is the way to go. =]
chamomile flower
To quote my mom: "The drugs that were the worst during chemotherapy were purely plant based".
"Grows in the wild" does not necessarily mean "Is better than something specifically built for this purpose".
But yeah, I mean, if I have a cold I will drink chamomile tea before I take meds.
Like mixing oil and water. heres a neat watch.
The essence of taking in drugs is to take control of what's going in you and change some chemical reactions and chemical structures in the body.. I value your opinion and give a thumps up. @ozumba
Most times drugs are not perfectly done to exactly do the exact things they ought to, sometimes they come with a complicated side effect and some other times they work for just a while to continue later.
Drugs are really not a certainty because they aren't perfect.
Nice analysis here by you
Thank you for news sharing
I like it post 👏👍
yeah i take and got sheet but that is can do nothing
good job dear keep it up I follow you for further information and visit your blog thanks for sharing this in steemit hope you also follow me thanks
Follow4Follow is one of the dumbest things ever.
Well who would have thought all this big chemistry names are in our drugs.
Am not a fan of big chemistry names. But obviously researching about the drugs we take will help us learn alot. Nice post once again
I dont know about the drugs ..i only used to tske a madicien from doctors prescribed...thank you for sharing a usefull info with us....@suesa
I have never used any pill or drug for 4 years and I am so happy about it . Because there is a lot of chemical and physical effects of drugs.
Good for you! I can't live without my hormonal supplements because the fact that my thyroid isn't producing enough means I'll suffer negative consequences. I hope you continue not needing drugs, but always remember: Sometimes it's okay to take medicine to help your body function properly, even if there are side effects.
Yes you’re right my dear friend .It depends on conditions and individuals . I hope you will be cured in near future .
If I want to check about medicines I generally open the page which attached with medicines and read it so in this way I got a little bit knowledge about that prescription
Nice post! Thanks for pointing out and sharing this vital information. We takes drugs that we don't know the ingredients use to produced the drugs. Last time I saw a documentary on tv how chinese firm uses cocroches to manufactures drugs. Only God can save us. I follow and upvote you.
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no favourites today?? :P
Fuck, forgot to delete it. I have it in my template but didn't have anybody to promote
This is so informative. Nice post, sue.
@suesa i also search the names of the drugs i get prescribed but mainly out of curiosity i am not a student of chemistry and all those terms usually dont relate
excellent post very interesting friend, and I follow you and I will reestaems this post.
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Science is so fascinating. I always try to figure out side effects from mixing certain chemicals. Thank you.
Such an informative post, thanks for sharing! Really annoying to think how difficult it is for normal people to reach easily understandable information like "this drug suppresses a cough in the brain". I wish they would write things like that more clearly on the box, so that the patient could decide whether they want the medication or not. This would perhaps give rise to some other issues about the patient compliance with doctors' treatment methods, but it is clearly wrong to prescribe people medication they don't have a clue about how it works...
Well... I'm not a fan of drugs. I hate taking drugs. I stick to our African herbs and eat well especially fruits. But we are propelled to take certain drugs instead of herbs by our doctors because they believe it works faster but it also can kill faster too. Thanks for the info dear.
Great topic,very nice thanks for good sharing,good job
ha ha nc man
I'm sorry that you can't write full sentences
