Identification and characterization of plant-derived alkaloids, corydine and corydaline, as novel mu opioid receptor agonists.

ABSTRACT: Pain remains a key therapeutic area with intensive efforts directed toward finding effective and safer analgesics in light of the ongoing opioid crisis. Amongst the neurotransmitter systems involved in pain perception and modulation, the mu-opioid receptor (MOR), a G protein-coupled receptor, represents one of the most important targets for achieving effective pain relief. Most clinically used opioid analgesics are agonists to the MOR, but they can also cause severe side effects. Medicinal plants represent important sources of new drug candidates, with morphine and its semisynthetic analogues as well-known examples as analgesic drugs. In this study, combining in silico (pharmacophore-based virtual screening and docking) and pharmacological (in vitro binding and functional assays, and behav

SUBMITTER: Kaserer T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7427800 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature