BSU alumni John French and Jared Seale combine efforts and expertise with 2022 Idaho INBRE summer fellow Emily Garden to address the hazards of tianeptine in dietary supplements. Tianeptine is a mu-opioid receptor agonist with high propensity for addiction.
John French is a medical doctor conducting a residency rotation at an addiction clinic in Missouri. He identified Tianaa as a dietary supplement frequently used by patients. He relayed concerning observations to Dr. Owen McDougal, professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Boise State University. Dr. McDougal accepted the project to analyze the tianeptine content in over the counter products. Jared Seale, now a PhD student at the University of Utah, mentored undergraduate student Emily Garden to obtain data for the project. Their findings are published in the journal Nutraceuticals, with the title “Analysis of Tianeptine in Dietary Supplements” (Nutraceuticals 2023, 3(3), 481-488).
Nutraceuticals is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal on the research and development of nutraceuticals (foods having medicinal benefits and containing health-giving additives). It is published online, quaterly by MDPI.