Abstract
Aim:
To investigate the mechanism of action of a potent analgesic, (±)-Meptazinol.
Methods:
The structure of meptazinol enantiomers were compared with opioid pharmacophore and tramadol.
Results:
Neither enantionmer of meptazional fitted any patterns among the opioid pharmacophore and tramadol, although they did share some structural and pharmacological similarities. However, the structure superpositions implied that both enantiomers of meptazinol might share some similar analgesic mechanisms with typical opiate analgesics.
Conclusion:
Meptazionol should have a different mechanism of action to known analgesics, which would be helpful in further investigations of meptazional in the search for non-addictive analgesics.
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Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No 30271539, 2003-2005).
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Li, W., Hao, Jl., Tang, Y. et al. Structural comparisons of meptazinol with opioid analgesics. Acta Pharmacol Sin 26, 334–338 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-7254.2005.00045.x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-7254.2005.00045.x