Tick saliva drugs can replace painkillers, ease itching in people: Study

Votucalis, a protein found in tick saliva, can be used to make a drug that can replace painkillers and ease itching in people, as per research published in Frontiers in Pharmacology journal. The saliva of brown-ear tick, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, contains protein that binds with histamine, preventing it from activating cell surface receptors, thereby reducing itching or chronic pain responses.