An ingredient traced from traditional Chinese natural treatments has been found good at relieving pain. Aiming the way to a different no addictive analgesic for chronic inflammatory and nerve pain, according to UC Irvine pharmacological medicine researchers.

Working with Chinese scientists, Olivier Civelli and his UC Irvine co-workers separated a compound called Dehydrocorybulbine (DHCB) from the roots of the Corydalis yanhusuo plant.

In tests on mice, DHCB turned out to reduce both inflammatory pain, which is associated with damaged tissues and the infiltration of immune cells, and damage-induced neuropathic pain, which is a result of injury to the nervous system. This will be significant because there are no current enough treatments for neuropathic pain.

Corydalis yanhusuo plants
Credit: herbalextractok

However, the study found that DHCB did not produce the threshold seen with continuing use of most conventional pain cures, such as morphine.

“Nowadays the pharmaceutical industry battles to find new medicines. Yet for centuries, people have applied herbal treatments to address variety health problems, including pain. The purpose was to find out substances in these herbal cures that may help us discover new ways to treat health conditions,” said Civelli, the Eric L. & Lila D. Nelson Chair in Neuropharmacology. “We’re enthusiastic this one shows promise as an effective pharmaceutical. It also shows a different way to understand the pain process.”