CYTISINE: Smoking Cessation Aid

Smoking remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide with over a billion people being smokers and up to 7 million deaths annually being attributed to tobacco use

- Sheikh Uzma Farooq and Aditya Sharma

The compelling health and economic burdens of smoking necessitate the development and use of effective smoking cessation therapies. Cytisine is a natural alkaloid derived from the seeds of Laburnum anagyroides which has been used for centuries in Eastern Europe as a smoking cessation aid.

Cytisine is an alkaloid found in the seeds of plants in the Fabaceae family, especially the Golden Rain Tree (Laburnum anagyroides) and the Cytisus laburnum. It has been used as a traditional smoking cessation aid for centuries in Eastern Europe and Asia, and more recently has gained attention in Western countries as a potentially effective and affordable alternative to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and prescription medications for quitting smoking.

Pharmacodynamics of Cystisine: