Researchers patenting new treatment for nicotine addiction Premium

Currently Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) - nicotine patches or lozenges - relies on providing additional nicotine to the body. A new research turns to nicotine’s oxidative metabolite, cotinine, which may help target both nicotine addiction and detoxification simultaneously.

Researchers have demonstrated a practical approach for treating nicotine dependence. Currently Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) - nicotine patches or lozenges - relies on providing additional nicotine to the body. Researchers have now turned to nicotine’s oxidative metabolite, cotinine. Using ascorbic acid as a potential reducing agent, they converted cotinine in smokers’ plasma back to nicotine, targeting both nicotine addiction and detoxification simultaneously.

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Publishing the results of their study, Recirculating bioavailable nicotine metabolite using ascorbic acid : A pragmatic approach to treating nicotine dependence, a team of researchers from the Faculty of Pharmacy, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, have developed a dissolvable film containing Vitamin C that a smoker places on the tongue whenever tempted to smoke. Ascorbic acid in a specified dose (Vitamin C) converts cotinine back to nicotine within the smokers’ plasma, they claim.

Individuals find it difficult to quit smoking because of nicotine withdrawal. Current NRT products provide additional nicotine to the body. This turned researchers to cotinine. The results of the study were published in the indexed journal Advances in Redox Research. The team has filed for an Indian patent and has established an incubator for clinical application.

According to Murugesan Arumugam, first author: “Nicotine is metabolised into cotinine, an oxidative metabolite. Cotinine will stay in the body for six weeks (the quantity of cotinine depends on an individual’s tobacco consumption). Generally, 80% of nicotine accumulates as cotinine in the body, while the remaining 20% is eliminated in urine. Cotinine can cause cancer. So, for the first time, instead of adding on to the nicotine content in the body, we have showcased that vitamin C can be utilised to recirculate cotinine. Side effects are negligible, the person does not receive additional nicotine and detoxification occurs at the end of the cycle.” Raman Lakshmi Sundaram, Vishal Jayajothi, Manish Arul, Jerad A Suresh and Sathesh Kumar Kesavan are the other authors.

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For the study, the researchers screened and recruited volunteers - both non-smokers and smokers. A total of 41 volunteers were screened of whom 25 met the criteria and were enrolled. All of them were men and had a median age of 21 years. Nearly 64% of the volunteers attempted to quit smoking but were unable to do so because of the severity of their withdrawal symptoms; the major being depression.