Cotinine is an alkaloid found in tobacco and is also a dominant nicotine metabolite. Cotinine is used as a biomarker for exposure to tobacco smoke. Cotinine is currently being studied as a treatment for depression, PTSD, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Cotinine was developed as an antidepressant as fumaric acid salt, cotinine fumarate, for sale under the brand name Scotin but never marketed.
Similar to nicotine, cotinine binds, activates, and decreases the sensitivity of nicotinic acetylcholine neuronal receptors, albeit at a much lower potential than. It has shown effects such as isotropic and antipsychotic in animal models. Cotinine treatment has also been shown to reduce depression, anxiety, and behavior associated with fear and memory impairment in animal models of depression, PTSD, and Alzheimer's disease. Nonetheless, treatment with cotinine in humans is reported to have no significant physiological, subjective or performance effects in one study, although others suggest that this is unlikely.
Because cotinine is the main metabolite for nicotine and has been shown to be pharmacologically active, it has been suggested that some of the effects of nicotine in the nervous system may be mediated by cotinine and/or complex interactions with nicotine alone.
Video Cotinine
Pharmacology
Pharmacokinetics
Cotinine has an in vivo half-life of about 20 hours, and is usually detected for several days (up to a week) after tobacco use. The level of cotinine in blood, saliva, and urine is proportional to the amount of exposure to tobacco smoke, so this is a valuable indicator of exposure to tobacco smoke, including secondary (passive) smoke. People who smoke menthol cigarettes can maintain cotinine in the blood for longer periods because menthol can compete with cotinine enzymatic metabolism. African American smokers generally have higher plasma cotinine levels than Caucasian smokers. Men generally have higher plasma cotinine levels than women. This systematic difference in cotinine levels is associated with variations in CYP2A6 activity. In a stable state, plasma cotinine levels are determined by the amount of cotinine formation and cotinine removal levels, both of which are mediated by the CYP2A6 enzyme. Because CYP2A6 activity differs by sex (estrogen induces CYP2A6) and race (due to genetic variation), cotinine accumulates in individuals with slower CYP2A6 activity, resulting in substantial differences in cotinine levels for exposure to tobacco given.
Detection in body fluids
Drug tests can detect cotinine in the blood, urine, or saliva. Salivary cotinine concentrations are highly correlated with blood cotinine concentrations, and can detect cotinine in the low range, making it the preferred choice for less invasive tobacco exposure testing methods. Urine cotinine concentrations are on average four to six times higher than those in the blood or saliva, making urine a more sensitive matrix for detecting low concentration exposure.
Carinine & lt; 10 ng/mL is considered consistent without active smoking. Values ââof 10 ng/mL to 100 ng/mL were associated with mild to moderate smoking or exposure, and levels above 300 ng/mL were seen in heavy smokers - more than 20 cigarettes a day. In urine, values ââbetween 11 ng/mL and 30 ng/mL may be associated with mild smoking or passive exposure, and the rate of active smokers typically reaches 500 ng/mL or more. In saliva, values ââbetween 1 ng/mL and 30 ng/mL may be associated with mild smoking or passive exposure, and the rate of active smokers usually reaches 100 ng/mL or more. The Cotinine test provides an objective quantitative measure that is more reliable than smoking or counts the number of cigarettes smoked per day. Cotinine also allows measurement of exposure to secondhand smoke (second-hand smoke).
However, tobacco users who try to quit with the help of nicotine replacement therapy (ie chewing gum, sweets, patches, inhalers, and nasal sprays) will also test positive for cotinine, as all common NRT therapies contain nicotine metabolized in the same way.. Therefore, the presence of cotinine is not a conclusive indication of tobacco use. Casinin levels can be used in research to explore the irritating questions about the amount of nicotine sent to e-cigarette users, where laboratory lab machines have many problems that replicate real-life conditions.
Maps Cotinine
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia