Scientists who were looking for an effective solution to help smokers quit from the deadly addiction have finally found an answer. A new study conducted at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) reveals a bacterial enzyme called NicA2 which eats nicotine before it reaches the brain. The research offered a promising result and solution for anti-smoking through a nicotine-eating bacteria.
The bacterial enzyme works by preventing the addictive substance nicotine from reaching the brain. The enzyme drops the half-life of nicotine from 2-3 hours to 9-15 minutes the moment it enters the bloodstream. As a result, smokers will no longer feel any mental pleasure while smoking which will push them to quit from doing the activity.
Member of the Skaggs Institute for chemical biology at TSRI Kim Janda who is also a chemistry professor headed the study. He revealed the advantage and the promising future of the study.
"The bacterium is like a little Pac-Man. It goes along and eats nicotine. Our research is in the early phase of drug development process, but the study tells us the enzyme has the right properties to eventually become a successful therapeutic," said the professor.
Though the study is still at an early stage, the scientists are confident that it will offer results that will be very beneficial to mankind. For many years, they have been conducting the study in the lab.
The Pac-man bacterial enzyme can be extracted from bacterium Pseudomonas putida. The therapy offers an 80-90% of success rate to smokers who will choose to use it. The researchers calculate that increasing the dose will also increase the effectiveness rate.
Besides the promising effect, the enzyme is also safe since it does not produce toxic metabolites after eating and degrading the nicotine. The first author of the study Song Xue assured the therapeutic candidates that the bacteria is stable in serum. The team is still working on the study to improve the new found theraphy.
"Hopefully we can improve its serum stability with our future studies so that a single injection may last up to a month," said Xue.
