FORTALEZA: Brazilian scientists have discovered a protein in coffee that has effects similar to pain reliever morphine, researchers at the state University of Brasilia (UnB) and state-owned Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation Embrapa .
Those peptides, the note said, “have a positive differential: their effects last longer in experiments with laboratory mice.”
The two institutions applied for patents to Brazilian regulators for the seven “opioid peptides” identified in the study.
The discovery of the molecules came through the doctorate research work of Felipe Vinecky of the Molecular Biology Department at UnB who with Embrapa were looking to combine coffee genes to improve the quality of the grain.
The studies also have the support of France’s Centre for International Cooperation on Agricultural Research and Development.
