Our bodies produce a small but steady amount of natural morphine, a new study suggests.
Traces of the chemical are often found in mouse and human urine, leading scientists to wonder whether the drug is being made naturally or being delivered by something the subjects consumed.
The new research shows that mice produce the “incredible painkiller”—and that humans and other mammals possess the same chemical road map for making it, said study co-author Meinhart Zenk, who studies plant-based pharmaceuticals at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
In the study, researchers injected mice with an extra dose of a natural brain chemical called tetrahydropapaveroline (THP), which humans and mice are known to produce.
Full story: FOXNews.com – Human Bodies Make Their Own Morphine