Tag: morphine

  • Glucuronic acid is a uronic acid that was first isolated from urine

    Glucuronic acid is a uronic acid that was first isolated from urine

    Glucuronic acid (from Greek γλεῦκος “wine, must” and οὖρον “urine“) is a uronic acid that was first isolated from urine (hence the name”uronic acid”). It is found in many gums such as gum arabic (approx. 18%), xanthan, and kombucha tea and is important for the metabolism of microorganisms, plants and animals. Not to be confused with Gluconic acid (Gluconic acid occurs naturally in fruit, honey, and wine. As a food additive E574, it is now known as an acidity regulator.…

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  • Leu-enkephalin and Met-enkephalin

    Leu-enkephalin and Met-enkephalin

    Leu-enkephalin is an endogenous opioid peptide neurotransmitter with the amino acid sequence Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe-Leu that is found naturally in the brains of many animals, including humans. It is one of the two forms of enkephalin; the other is met-enkephalin. The tyrosine residue at position 1 is thought to be analogous to the 3-hydroxyl group on morphine. Leu-enkephalin has agonistic actions at both the μ- and δ-opioid receptors, with significantly greater preference for the…

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  • Nucleus accumbens aka accumbens nucleus

    Nucleus accumbens aka accumbens nucleus

    The nucleus accumbens (NAc or NAcc; also known as the accumbens nucleus, or formerly as the nucleus accumbens septi, Latin for “nucleus adjacent to the septum“) is a region in the basal forebrain rostral to the preoptic area of the hypothalamus. The nucleus accumbens and the olfactory tubercle collectively form the ventral striatum. The ventral striatum and dorsal striatum collectively form the striatum, which is the main component of the basal ganglia. The dopaminergic neurons of the mesolimbic pathway project onto the GABAergic medium…

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