The extract was studied, and findings were reported in a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The tree, from the leguminosae family, is mainly found in parts of Central and Eastern Europe. The extract is also cheap and easy to procure, increasing its promise as a commercial solution.
According to the study, lead by Dr. Natalie Walker from the National Institute for Health Innovation, School of Population Health, University of Auckland, cystine has been found to be better than any nicotine replacement technique like patches or gums, available in the market currently. Cystine is also reported to be a natural remedy for anxiety, similar to the herb Valerian. The journal paper also reports that the extract has been in use in Eastern Europe as an alternative to tobacco because it stimulates the same receptors in the brain that nicotine works on.
The researchers gave half the 1310 smokers participating in the study a course of cytisine tablets, in reducing doses, over 25 days. The other half were given standard nicotine replacement therapy as patches, gums or lozenges, for two months. Six months after the trial, 143 of the 655 cystine recipients were still not smoking while only 100 of the standard therapy recipients were refraining.
Cytisine recipients were slightly more likely to experience mild side effects such as nausea, vomiting and sleep disturbance. “Of those people in the cytisine group experiencing a side effect, the majority said they’d still recommend cytisine to someone who wanted to stop smoking,” said Walker. However, when the participants’ response was broken down by gender, cystine seemed to work better than standard therapy for women, while for men, both seemed equally effective.
The real attraction of cytisine would be its low cost. It can be commercially viable at as little as $1 a day over 25 days. Nicotine replacement therapies can cost between $100 to $700. “We have asked the manufacturers if they can approach our [New Zealand] Government,” Dr Walker said. “My understanding is that they have had some initial discussions with [drugs regulator] Medsafe. The real appeal is for low- and middle-income countries because they can’t even afford nicotine replacement therapy but they could afford cytisine.”
