Overdose from opiates has skyrocketed. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, on average, 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.1 The high cost of antidotes such as NARCAN prevents many first responders from having access to lifesaving antidotes when they need it most.2 Researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have identified a new method of producing these compounds using a microorganism discovered in a waste stream associated with the processing of opium poppy. This green chemistry process has the potential to greatly reduce the cost of the antidote drugs as well as decrease chemicals currently used that result in large amounts of harmful waste. Details of the discovery were published as the cover story in the journal Nature Sustainability: “Enzyme morphinan N-demethylase for more sustainable opiate processing”.
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Source: Phys.org