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The following is from the web site: NutraIngredients.com
Nicotine link to ageing and cancer - new research
29/10/02 - US researchers have discovered that a
chemical called nornicotine - which is naturally
present in tobacco and is also produced as a
metabolite of nicotine - may contribute to the pathology of diabetes, cancer,
ageing, and
Alzheimer’s disease.
In an article to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, the
researchers from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have uncovered a
previously unrecognised
chemical process through which nornicotine reacts with the body’s proteins.
“Nornicotine permanently and irreversibly modifies proteins, which can affect
their overall
function,” said Dr Kim Janda.
This process is the chemical equivalent of cooking and is the same reaction that
causes food to age
and spoil. Furthermore, the 'cooking' of proteins is just the tip of the
iceberg. Nornicotine also reacts
with commonly prescribed steroids, like cortisone and prednisone, potentially
making them more
toxic or compromising the effectiveness and safety of these drugs, reported the
researchers.
In the so-called 'cooking' process, the chemical nornicotine attaches itself
'covalently' (permanently)
to steroids and to certain amino acids on the surface of proteins, the
scientists explained. These
modified steroids and proteins can then interact with other chemicals in the
body. Significantly,
nornicotine-modified proteins can react to form a variety of compounds known as
advanced
glycation end products.
“These advanced glycation endproducts are not supposed to be [present in your
body]
naturally,” said Tobin Dickerson, a Ph.D. student in TSRI's Kellogg School of
Science and
Technology. “Your body is not prepared for them.”
Advanced glycation end products have previously been implicated in numerous
diseases including
diabetes, cancer, atherosclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease. The study shows a
direct link between
tobacco use and the development of these advanced glycation end products.
When they tested the blood of smokers and non-smokers, the researchers found
that the smokers
had higher levels of the nornicotine-modified proteins than non-smokers. The
smokers also had
higher levels of the advanced glycation end products.
The persistence of nornicotine in the bloodstream, as opposed to nicotine, which
quickly disappears
after cessation of smoking may also suggest a role for nornicotine in
contributing to the biological
mechanisms of tobacco addiction, since the nornicotine provides a long-lived
source of nicotine-like
molecules.
The work highlights the need for more studies into the consequences of exposing
the human body to
nicotine metabolites, like nornicotine.
Source: roceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 28 October, online
edition
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