Toxins of New Zealand Tree Could Help Produce Painkillers

Illustration photo shows various medicine pills in their original packaging in Brussels, Belgium August 9, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Illustration/File Photo
Illustration photo shows various medicine pills in their original packaging in Brussels, Belgium August 9, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Illustration/File Photo
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Toxins of New Zealand Tree Could Help Produce Painkillers

Illustration photo shows various medicine pills in their original packaging in Brussels, Belgium August 9, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Illustration/File Photo
Illustration photo shows various medicine pills in their original packaging in Brussels, Belgium August 9, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Illustration/File Photo

Researchers at The University of Queensland (UQ) have found that a native New Zealand stinging tree produces toxins that could hold clues for future pain medication. The findings were announced in the journal Biological Chemistry on July 27.

In a quest to find new molecules that affect pain pathways, Dr. Thomas Durek, Dr. Sam Robinson and a team from UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) studied toxins from the tree nettle known as ongaonga, one of New Zealand's most poisonous plants that can cause painful stings that last for days, and in severe cases can even be fatal.

Dr. Robinson and a team from UQ previously investigated toxins found in an Australian gympie-gympie stinging tree but found the New Zealand tree nettle toxins activated pain receptors in a new way.

"We discovered that the New Zealand nettle tree toxins target the same receptor as their Australian counterparts, but they cause pain in a different way, " Robinson said in a report published on the university’s website.

The Australian stinging tree and New Zealand tree nettle are both members of the nettle family but separated millions of years ago and have evolved differently.

The New Zealand tree nettle can grow up to four meters tall and its leaves and stems are covered with stinging hairs that pierce the skin and deliver venom which causes long-lasting pain.

Fossil remains show that the large flightless bird, the Moa, had a liking for eating the tree nettle and it's likely the strong toxins evolved to fend off the now-extinct bird.

The team faced challenges during the study due to international COVID travel restrictions.

"COVID made it difficult to source nettles, but to keep our research going through the pandemic, we managed to source seeds from the New Zealand tree nettle and grow the plant under quarantine in the lab," Robinson said.

Professor Irina Vetter, director of IMB's Centre for Pain Research and co-author on the study, said understanding pain pathways was key to finding new ways to treat chronic pain



Greece to Build Escape Port on Santorini as Quakes Continue

FILE PHOTO: People board a ferry to Piraeus, during an increased seismic activity on the island of Santorini, Greece, February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People board a ferry to Piraeus, during an increased seismic activity on the island of Santorini, Greece, February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo
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Greece to Build Escape Port on Santorini as Quakes Continue

FILE PHOTO: People board a ferry to Piraeus, during an increased seismic activity on the island of Santorini, Greece, February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People board a ferry to Piraeus, during an increased seismic activity on the island of Santorini, Greece, February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo

Greece will soon set up an evacuation port on the island of Santorini to facilitate the safe escape of people in case a bigger quake hits the popular tourist destination, a Greek minister said on Monday.
Santorini, a volcanic island in the Aegean Sea, has been shaken by tens of thousands of mild quakes since late January, forcing thousands of people to flee, and authorities to ban construction activity, and shut schools and nearby islands.
No major damage has been reported but scientists have said the seismic activity was unprecedented even in a quake-prone country like Greece and have not ruled out bigger tremors.
They have identified the main ferry port at the foot of a precipitous slope and other sites across Santorini as weak links, although they have not said they cannot be used in an emergency situation, Reuters reported.
Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said Greece will build an evacuation port for the safe docking of passenger ferries until a new port infrastructure is in place.
"Along with the new port in Santorini which is being prepared, there was a decision for setting up an escape port on the part of the island where passenger ferries would be able to dock in an emergency," he said in an interview with Greek ANT1 television.
Although the tremors lessened over the weekend, local authorities extended emergency measures for a third week on Sunday and reiterated calls for people to stay away from coastal areas and steep hillsides prone to landslides.
"This story is not over," Costas Papazachos, a seismology professor, and a spokesperson for the Santorini quakes told public broadcaster ERT.
"Both authorities and habitants should get used to a rather unpleasant situation for some time, it could be another two, three months."
Santorini took its current shape following one of the largest volcanic eruptions in history, around 1600 BC.
Seismologists have said the latest seismic activity, the result of moving tectonic plates and magma, has pushed subsurface layers of the island upwards.