Researchers in Brazil have discovered a protein in coffee with effects similar to morphine.
Livestock research company Embrapa said its genetics and biotechnology resources division and the University of Brasilia (UnB) successfully "identified previously unknown fragments of protein - peptides - in coffee that have an effect similar to morphine, in other words they have an analgesic and sedative activity."
Those peptides, the note said, "have a positive differential: their effects last longer in experiments with laboratory mice."
The two institutions applied for patents to Brazilian regulators for the seven "opioid peptides" identified in the study.
The discovery of the molecules came through the doctorate research work of Felipe Vinecky of the Molecular Biology Department at UnB who with Embrapa were looking to combine coffee genes to improve the quality of the grain.
The studies also have the support of France's Centre for International Cooperation on Agricultural Research and Development.
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