anandamide

Anandamide is an endogenous lipid mediator, classified as an endocannabinoid, structurally described as arachidonylethanolamide. It acts as an agonist of cannabinoid receptors, especially cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) and, to a lesser extent, cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2), and can also interact with other molecular targets such as G protein–coupled receptor 55 (GPR55). Anandamide is synthesized in the brain and other animal tissues and participates in physiological processes including pain regulation, mood, appetite, memory, and modulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. Unlike classic neurotransmitters, anandamide is produced on demand from membrane phospholipid precursors. After release and action, it is rapidly degraded by fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). It is not an approved pharmaceutical, but is widely used as a research tool to study the endocannabinoid system[1][2][3][5][6][7][9][10].

Other names

arachidonylethanolamideN-arachidonylethanolaminearachidonyl ethanolamidearachidonic acid N-(hydroxyethyl)amide