Nicodicodine is an

opioid Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. Medically they are primarily used for pain relief, including anesthesia. Other medical uses include suppression of diarrhea, replacement therapy for opioid use ...

developed as a cough suppressant and

analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It ...

. Synthesized in 1904, it is not commonly used, but has activity similar to other opioids. Nicodicodine is metabolised in the liver by demethylation to produce 6-nicotinoyldihydromorphine, and subsequently further metabolised to

dihydromorphine Dihydromorphine (Paramorfan, Paramorphan) is a semi-synthetic opioid structurally related to and derived from morphine. The 7,8-double bond in morphine is reduced to a single bond to get dihydromorphine.Rama Rao Nadendla. Principles Of Organic ...

. Since the final active metabolite is the slightly stronger opiate dihydromorphine rather than morphine, nicodicodine can be expected to be marginally more potent and longer acting than

nicocodeine Nicocodeine (Lyopect, Tusscodin) is an opioid analgesic and cough suppressant, an ester of codeine closely related to dihydrocodeine and the codeine analogue of nicomorphine. It is not commonly used in most countries, but has activity simila ...

. Side effects are similar to those of other opioids and include

itching Itch (also known as pruritus) is a sensation that causes the desire or reflex to scratch. Itch has resisted many attempts to be classified as any one type of sensory experience. Itch has many similarities to pain, and while both are unpleasan ...

nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. While not painful, it can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of th ...

and

respiratory depression Hypoventilation (also known as respiratory depression) occurs when ventilation is inadequate (''hypo'' meaning "below") to perform needed respiratory gas exchange. By definition it causes an increased concentration of carbon dioxide (hypercapni ...

References

4,5-Epoxymorphinans Phenol ethers Nicotinate esters Mu-opioid receptor agonists Semisynthetic opioids {{analgesic-stub