Grant Funds University of Florida Research for Potential Opioid Relief

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded a $650,000 grant to a UF/IFAS researcher to study a plant that could help mitigate the opioid epidemic, a national health crisis responsible for more than 130 deaths each day.

Mitragyna speciosa, or kratom, is a tree belonging to the coffee family. The tree’s leaves produce unique compounds called monoterpene indole alkaloids, which are known for various beneficial pharmaceutical uses. Mitragynine, for example, has shown promise for treating pain, opioid use disorder and opioid withdrawal, and it does so without demonstrating addiction potential. Spirooxindole mitraphylline, another kratom alkaloid, is known for promoting anti-tumor activity.

But how kratom produces these alkaloids is unknown. Satya Swathi Nadakuduti, an assistant professor of plant biotechnology and biochemistry in the UF/IFAS environmental horticulture department, will lead a team of interdisciplinary researchers seeking to identify the genes involved and to decipher the multi-step process through which the plant produces the alkaloids. The team will do so by studying the kratom plant’s genome, gene expression and metabolites.

“Monoterpene indole alkaloids serve as an important source for potential drug discovery,” Nadakuduti said. “Understanding their biosynthesis makes it possible to support drug development, and they could meet emerging and future markets as a solution to the opioid crisis.”

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