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I desire to learn whether levomenthol is superior to Menthol as a pain killer in humans.

I didn't find a wiki article about levomenthol and the article Menthol doesn't mention this molecule.

The chemical formulas are the same but I understand that the only difference is the spatial position of chemical bonds between the atoms, as can be learnt in pubchem:

My problem

I don't know what are the main ways for chemists to decide which one should work better in humans but hope for a simple explanation for non chemists.

I thought about this after reading that Strepsils, the famous British sore throat lozenges, contain levomenthol.

I think about this because I know some other medicines are "levo" versions of others (for example, cetrizine and levocetrizine).

My question

Is levomenthol superior to Menthol as pain killer in humans and what are the ways to determine this?

matt_black
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    Oookay, I can see you try there, but menthol isn't exactly a painkiller and l- (levo) is just a description of isomer, another being d- (dextro) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dextrorotation_and_levorotation – Mithoron Jan 26 '20 at 22:11
  • @Mithoron Here is a starting point to read on the analgesic properties of menthol, and the channel it binds to: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29524352 – Karsten Feb 08 '20 at 14:46
  • Another paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6600640/ – Karsten Feb 08 '20 at 16:31
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    @KarstenTheis Tell that to House M.D. Strepsils isn't exactly Vicodin. – Mithoron Feb 08 '20 at 17:11

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