History of Plasma kinins:
Kinins in Greek means “to move” and their role is also such that it moves or takes forward the process of inflammation. Bradykinin one of the most important kinin and extensively studied has its roots originating from 1948 from biological institute at Sao Paulo which was discovered by a team of physiologists and pharmacologists led by Dr. Mauricio Rocha e silva.1 This research later on continued and led to the development of captopril initially referred as “Bradykinin potentiating factor “. The discovery of bradykinin has led to a new understanding of many physiological and pathological phenomena including circulatory shock induced by venoms and toxins.
The next in this group is referred as Tachykinins as the name suggests and in contrary to Bradykinins, they cause rapid action and also homologous to bradykinin it also helps to sustain inflammation. The discovery of this substance came during the early 20thcentury. In 1931, while investigating the tissue distribution of the newly characterized transmitter acetylcholine, Von Euler and Gaddum noted in acid ethanol extracts of equine intestine a hypotensive and spasmogenic activity that differed from acetylcholine in that it contracted the rabbit jejunum in the presence of atropine. The activity of this preparation, first referred to as P on kymograph tracings, was distinct from the biologically active principles known at that time. The active component was soon termed substance P (P for preparation), and early experiments suggested that SP was peptide or protein in nature.2 Tachykinins include 10-12 amino acid containing peptides that include Neurokinin k, Neurokinin A, substance P and Neuropeptide gamma. So, these kinins have an important role in various physiological processes and thereby they could be manipulated to produce various pharmacological effects.