Ellagic acid apparently helps with withdrawal symptoms from morphine, too

Last time I posted about ellagic acid possibly being a help to overcome addiction. Afterwards, I came across this study from two years ago finding that it helped alleviate morphine withdrawal symptoms:

Abstract
According to our previous study, ellagic acid has both dose-related central and peripheral antinociceptive effect through the opioidergic and l-arginine-NO-cGMP-ATP sensitive K⁺channel pathways. In the present study, the systemic antinociceptive effects of ellagic acid in animal models of pain, and functional interactions between ellagic acid and morphine in terms of analgesia, tolerance and dependence were investigated. Ellagic acid (1–30 mg/kg; i.p.) showed significant and dose-dependent antinociceptive effects in the acetic acid-induced writhing test. Intraperitoneal ellagic acid acutely interacted with morphine analgesia in a synergistic manner in this assay. Ellagic acid (1–10 mg/kg; i.p.) also exerted analgesic activity in the hot-plate test. Pre-treatment with naloxone (1 mg/kg; i.p.) significantly reversed ellagic acid, morphine as well as ellagic acid-morphine combination-induced antinociceptin in these two tests. More importantly, when co-administered with morphine, ellagic acid (1–10 mg/kg) effectively blocked the development of tolerance to morphine analgesia in the hot-plate test. Likewise, ellagic acid dose-dependently prevented naloxone-precipitated withdrawal signs including jumping and weight loss. Ellagic acid treatment (1–30 mg/kg; i.p.) had no significant effect on the locomotion activity of animals using open-field task. Therefore, these results showed that ellagic acid has notable systemic antinociceptive activity for both tonic and phasic pain models. Altogether, ellagic acid might be used in pain relief alone or in combination with opioid drugs because of enhancing morphine analgesia and preventing morphine-induced tolerance to analgesia and dependence.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014299914006293

Naloxone (trade name Narcan) causes opioid-withdrawal symptoms in those who are dependent on opioids.

Opiate withdrawal symptoms can be extremely unpleasant:

Early symptoms of withdrawal include:

• Agitation

• Anxiety

• Muscle aches

• Increased tearing

• Insomnia

• Runny nose

• Sweating

• Yawning

Late symptoms of withdrawal include:

• Abdominal cramping

• Diarrhea

• Dilated pupils

• Goose bumps

• Nausea

• Vomiting

Opioid withdrawal reactions are very uncomfortable but are not life-threatening. Symptoms usually start within 12 hours of last heroin usage and within 30 hours of last methadone exposure.

http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/opiate-withdrawal/overview.html

If ellagic acid, a component of easily-obtainable berries and walnuts, can reduce opiate withdrawal symptoms, that seems like something that should become common knowledge, doesn't it? I hope someone tests ellagic acid in humans for relief from opiate addiction withdrawal symptoms.