Study: Anti-Smoking Enzyme Eats Nicotine Like Pac-Man

LA JOLLA, Calif. (CBS Sacramento) - A nicotine-chomping bacteria could help millions stop smoking, reports Medical News Today.

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) isolated a bacterium in the soil of a tobacco field that can only get carbon and nitrogen by consuming nicotine.

In the lab, the scientists were able to isolate an enzyme, called NicA2, that eats the nicotine, "like a little Pac-Man," said lead author Kim Janda.

"Our research is in the early phase of drug development process," added Janda. "But the study tells us the enzyme has the right properties to eventually become a successful therapeutic."

They injected mice with an amount of nicotine that is equivalent to one cigarette. When they added the enzyme, the nicotine level in the mice leveled to half in just nine to 15 minutes. Normally it takes two to three hours for the level of nicotine in the bloodstream to drop that much.

With a few chemical modifications, the scientists said they could make a version of the enzyme that devours nicotine before it can reach the brain.

The team hopes to create a more effective anti-smoking enzyme therapy. They noted that anti-smoking therapies fail for about 80 to 90 percent of smokers.

After running more tests, they found the enzyme is not toxic and can be stabilized in a serum.

"Hopefully we can improve its serum stability with our future studies so that a single injection may last up to a month," said co-author Song Xue.

The study is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

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