First Algae-based Pain Medication

seagriculture.eu

N​ew Zealand’s Cawthron Institute has announced that they have developed a reliable and commercially scalable method for producing neosaxitoxin, a key ingredient of an algae-based pain medication. The potent toxin comes from the paralytic shellfish toxin family, found in the marine microalgae Alexandrium pacificum. Neosaxitoxin can be combined with existing local anesthetics for use as an improved long-term pain relief for patients following many types of surgeries and for treating severe local pain.

“It offers an alternative to opioids for the management of post-operative pain. Because it’s long-lasting, isn’t addictive and doesn’t depress the central nervous system it could transform surgical recovery,” said New Zealand’s Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “This is an excellent outcome from the Government’s Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures (SFF Futures) fund. We partnered with Cawthron in 2020 on the project, each investing $950,000.”

The local anesthetics currently on the market are of two chemical classes, amino-amides and amino-esters, and they have changed very little over the past 50 years. Neosaxitoxin is the first member of the class of molecules called site 1 sodium channel blockers to be used in human clinical trials as a local anesthetic.

All rights reserved. Permission required to reprint articles in their entirety. Must include copyright statement and live hyperlinks. Contact david@algaeplanet.com. Algae Planet accepts unsolicited manuscripts for consideration, and takes no responsibility for the validity of claims made in submitted editorial.

seagricultureusa 2023 Portland ME

Subscribe

Breaking-News

  • May 30, 2023: Following an extensive restructuring AlgaEnergy, of Madrid, Spain, has partnered with Europe’s De Sangosse Group in a deal that will enable a concentrated focus on the Group’s agricultural markets, specifically agribiological inputs including biostimulants, biofertilizers, and biocontrol. READ MORE
  • May 25, 2023: A marine research team led by Professor YAN Qingyun has proposed a method to assess the net carbon sink of marine macroalgae. Their research suggested that the net carbon sink of Gracilaria cultivation in China was about 32.1-92.4 kilotons per year from 2011 to 2020. READ MORE
  • May 23, 2023: A marine research team led by Professor Yan Qingyun has proposed a method to assess the net carbon sink of marine macroalgae (Gracilaria) cultivation. READ MORE
Seaweed Industry Job Board

A Beginner’s Guide

EABA AlgaeEurope23