Scientists at the University of Cologne carried out a study showing in animal models and human cells that the compound knicin, isolated from wild thistle (Cnicus benedictus), significantly accelerates the growth of axons (nerve fibers) news website EurekAlert on April 19, citing the university press service.
Thistle, a member of the Asteraceae family, also native to southern Europe, has been used for centuries in popular medicine in the form of an extract or tea, for example to improve the functioning of the digestive system.
However, a group of researchers from the Pharmacology Center of the Cologne University Hospital and the Faculty of Medicine, led by Dr. Philipp Gobrecht and Professor Dr. Dietmar Fischer, discovered new properties of the substance knitsin isolated from it.
They presented the results of their work in the article “Knitsin promotes functional nerve regeneration,” published in the journal Phytomedicine.
As the researchers point out, in the case of nerve injury, the limited regenerative capacity of the axons prevents their functional recovery after the injury. And currently, doctors do not have in their arsenal drugs that accelerate the regeneration of axons.
The Cologne scientists demonstrated the regenerative abilities of knitsin in axons in animal models of paralysis and neuropathy, injecting experimental animals with daily doses of this substance, which helped them get rid of the disease much faster.
An important advantage of knitsin is the ability to introduce it into the bloodstream orally (through the mouth), rather than by injection.
Dr. Fischer commented on the results: “The correct dosage is very important here, since knicin only acts within a certain therapeutic window. Doses that are too low or too high are ineffective. “That is why it is essential to carry out more clinical studies in humans.”. And they are already planned.
At the same time, the Center for Pharmacology at the University of Cologne continues to research and develop a drug to restore the damaged nervous system, researchers report.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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