Although most people prefer milk and cereal to start their day, many others like indulging in coffee and cigarettes immediately after they wake up. According to a new study by the University of Florida published in the Neuropharmacology journal, caffeine and nicotine have a connection.
Chemical compounds in coffee affect nicotine receptors in the brain.
Researchers have found that some chemical compounds in coffee beans could alleviate your morning cravings for a cigarette. The study authors employed a cell-based approach in identifying two coffee compounds that can directly influence sensitive nicotine receptors in your brain. Surprisingly for people that smoke frequently, the receptors are usually hypersensitive in the morning after going the whole night without smoking.
Although this discovery is yet to be evaluated in humans, Roger Papke, a pharmacology professor at UF College Medicine, explained that it is a massive step in understanding how nicotine and caffeine affect the brain’s nicotine receptors. Papke noted that most people love coffee in the morning, but certain molecules in roasted coffee beans could explain why smokers crave coffee in the morning.
Researchers used dark roasted coffee solution to certain cells that express the human nicotine receptor. From the findings, researchers noted that certain chemical compounds available in coffee are instrumental in restoring nicotine receptor dysfunction that triggers cravings in cigarette smokers.
The coffee component, n-MP, might help curb morning nicotine cravings.
Interestingly a certain coffee element, n-MP, could help address morning nicotine cravings. Dr. Papke explained that it was intriguing that smokers combine coffee with tobacco in the morning because of the caffeine. In the evening, smokers combine cigarettes with alcohol but based on past research, and alcohol doesn’t produce any effect on nicotine receptors.
Surprisingly in the past, there has been far less focus on coffee’s impact on the receptors. Papke said that their research focused on determining if coffee affected chronic smokers. He concluded that researchers wanted to establish if coffee’s components affect the nicotine receptors in the brains.
