In the course of lengthy experiments, it was possible to develop a new effective method of taking drugs that have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects. It is known that any, even expensive, medication has a list of undesirable consequences and side effects that it causes when taken orally.
To this day, intensive work is underway to create new medicines that have a minimal negative effect on the body. The idea is that the drug should only work on sick, disease-damaged tissues and organs. At the same time, healthy organs must remain healthy without being exposed to chemicals. In order to reduce the distribution of these substances to healthy body systems, it was decided to reduce the dosage of one or another drug.
In laboratory conditions, scientists still managed to ensure that the medicinal substance spread only to a certain place, while other organs of the body do not suffer. However, the use of these methods increases the cost of drugs several times, which is not entirely acceptable for their use in everyday practice.
Nevertheless, the problem was solved thanks to the joint work of American and Russian specialists from the Novosibirsk University. The new method turned out to be less expensive and more effective in relation to unhealthy tissues and organs.
What is the problem with modern medicines?
As has already been proven, a certain dose of the active substances of medicines is not used for its intended purpose, falling on organs and tissues that do not require medical intervention.
Most of the drugs used are not completely absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract. Another problem that prevents the penetration of the necessary substances into the cell is the selectivity of the cell membrane. Often, to overcome this problem, patients need to increase the doses of drugs so that at least some of them get to their destination. This situation can be resolved with the help of injections that deliver the drug to the desired organs and tissues, bypassing the digestive tract. However, this method is not always safe and difficult in everyday home use.
The solution has been found. Now clathrates are responsible for the passage into the cell through its membrane.
Nature itself helped to find this method to solve the problem. Professor of the Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, biologist Tatyana Tolstikova explained that there are special protein compounds in the body that help undissolved substances to penetrate to the desired organ. These proteins, which are called transporters, can not only move substances around the body, but also penetrate inside the cell, breaking the membrane.
With the help of these proteins, scientists at the Novosibirsk University experimented with the movement of drug molecules. After several experiments, it became clear that glycyrrhizic acid, which can be synthesized from licorice root, is the best way to transport the necessary substances.
This compound has unique properties. By connecting 4 molecules of this acid, a framework is obtained, hollow inside. Inside this framework, the idea arose to place the molecules of the desired drug. Substances capable of forming this structure are called clathrates in chemistry.
Substance test results
For the development and research, many scientists were involved in the work, including those from the IHTTMC and IHKG of the Siberian branch of the Academy of Sciences. They identified a specific technology for generating clathrates and solved the problem of their penetration through the cell membrane wall. The theory of action of this substance has been tested in experiments with animals. Experiments have shown that this method really has a minimal effect on healthy body systems, affecting only unhealthy cells. This makes the treatment as effective as possible and allows you to significantly reduce the dosage of medications, which is not always possible with traditional methods of treatment. Another positive aspect of this method is that the negative impact on the digestive system is significantly reduced.
Preparations based on licorice root are predicted to be widespread in numerous fields of medicine. For example, the use in vision preparations containing lutein. It has a positive effect on the retina, but the body does not absorb it well. When it is in the shell of the conveyor, the effect of the drug will improve hundreds of times.