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Anesthetics, Anesthesia, and Plants
Ken Yokawa1, Tomoko Kagenishi1, František Baluška2
1School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kitami Institute of Technology, Hokkaido 090-8507, Japan; Research Center for Okhotsk Agriculture-, Forestry- and Fisheries-Engineering Collaboration, Kitami Institute of Technology, Hokkaido 090-8507, Japan.
Trends in Plant Science
|November 18, 2018
Summary
General anesthesia remains poorly understood. Plants, which produce natural anesthetic compounds and can be anesthetized, offer a promising model for studying anesthesia mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Plant Biology
- Anesthesiology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- The precise mechanisms of general anesthesia are not fully elucidated.
- Plants exhibit responses similar to anesthesia, including loss of external stimuli response.
- Endogenous anesthetic compounds are produced by plants under stress conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the potential of plants as model organisms for anesthesia research.
- To investigate the role of endogenous plant compounds in anesthetic responses.
- To enhance the understanding of general anesthesia's fundamental principles.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of plant responses to anesthetic agents.
- Identification and characterization of endogenous plant anesthetic compounds.
- Behavioral and physiological assessments of plant anesthetization.
Main Results:
- Plants demonstrate susceptibility to anesthetic effects, mirroring responses in other organisms.
- Evidence suggests endogenous compounds in plants contribute to stress-induced hyporesponsiveness.
- Plant models provide a unique system for dissecting anesthetic actions.
Conclusions:
- Plants serve as a viable and informative model for investigating general anesthesia.
- Endogenous plant anesthetics offer insights into conserved biological pathways relevant to anesthesia.
- Further research in plant systems can advance the understanding of anesthetic mechanisms and drug discovery.
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