The Nobel Prize molecule
In 1992, nitric oxide (NO) was named Molecule of the Year by Science magazine. 6 years later, Robert F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro and Ferid Murad received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discoveries around this already famous molecule.
In 1998, the work of the three American scientists on “Nitric Oxide as a Signaling Molecule in the Cardiovascular System” was awarded the coveted science prize.However, the exciting story of nitric oxide began much earlier, in 1863, when the Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel invented dynamite by mixing nitroglycerin and silicon dioxide.
A few years after this momentous invention, doctors discovered that this substance invented by Nobel could be used in the human body to lower high blood pressure and treat angina pectoris.
Then things got a little quieter about the molecule – until about 100 years after Alfred Nobel’s death, when Robert Furchgott, Louis Ignarro and Ferid Murad conducted independent research into the effects of various drugs on blood vessels. The results of their work suggested that the same substance that can be used to make explosives is converted in the human body into the gas nitric oxide, which in turn has surprisingly positive effects on the human cardiovascular system. This and the related discovery of the function and effect of nitric oxide was finally rewarded in 1998 with the prize donated by the dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel.
This discovery also actually had explosive power. It is now known for certain and the list is long. Nitric oxide works as a signal molecule in the nervous system and is not only involved in the fight against infections, it plays an essential role in the regulation of blood pressure and controls blood flow to various organs. It is used in atherosclerosis, sometimes added to breathing gas for intensive care patients, helps with impotence, and could potentially be useful in cancer therapy.
NO as a messenger thus plays an essential role in our immune system and is used in the body to actively fight pathogens, is essential for blood vessel health, promotes the formation of new blood vessels, dilates and relaxes them and thus promotes blood flow to the tissue itself. Cells are better supplied and diseases such as heart attack or stroke are also prevented.1
The fact that nitric oxide is found in bacteria had been known for some time – that it is also found in humans and mammals was unexpected, and the discovery that NO is responsible for a number of such important functions in the human body was simply a sensation.
The human body is capable of producing NO in several ways. Firstly, in the so-called endothelial cells, the innermost layer of the blood vessels, and secondly, in the macrophages, which are the body’s defense cells for fighting bacteria.
Above all, however, nitric oxide is produced in the sinuses. It is then transported into the lungs via the air we breathe. But this – correctly guessed – only happens during nasal breathing! When breathing, huffing and puffing through the mouth, our body – above all the lungs – has to do without the positive effects of NO.
Nitric oxide lowers vascular resistance in the lungs and improves oxygen uptake. Research suggests that increased NO production in the sinuses is a natural defense mechanism of the body against bacteria and viruses – all effects that we lose when we breathe through the mouth.
According to Nobel Prize winner Louis Ignarro, nitric oxide is the body’s natural defense to lower cholesterol, break down blood deposits, counteract blood clots, and thus reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. 2
The sufficient production of NO, e.g. through nasal breathing or respiratory training, allows our blood to flow more easily and better through the body, supplies our organs with sufficient oxygen in this way and is thus an essential factor for a healthy life.
Nitrogen monoxide, is known to this day mainly as a harmful air pollutant released into the atmosphere by car engines and other sources of combustion, but all these honors and awards have still not been able to correct this bad reputation.
Caution: All vasodilator, antihypertensive or antianginal drugs and drugs with antispasmodic properties should be taken only after consulting a doctor.
1) Hernan R. Chang M.D.; „Nitric Oxide, the Mighty Molecule: Its Benefits for Your Health and Well-Being“; 1st ed. Mind Society, 2012
2) Interview with Dr. Louis Ignarro (http://youtube.com/watch?v=FsA04n2k6xY)
Interview with Dr. Louis J. Ignarro: Dr. Louis Ignarro on Nitric Oxide 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4KHlP8Bttw
Dr. Louis J. Ignarro; „NO More Heart Disease: How Nitric Oxide Can Prevent — Even Reverse — Heart Disease and Strokes“;
1st ed. St. Martin’s Griffin (Reprint edition), 2006