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Updated: Jul 28, 2026

Monitoring Changes in the Intracellular Calcium Concentration and Synaptic Efficacy in the Mollusc Aplysia
Published on: July 15, 2012
Presence of isoquinoline alkaloids in molluscan ganglia
Wei Zhu1, Yuliang Ma, George B Stefano
1Neuroscience Research Institute, State University of New York, College at Old Westbury, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA.
Unlabelled:
Tetrahydropapaveroline and reticuline, isoquinoline alkaloids, were purified and identified in the pedal ganglia of the marine mollusk Mytilus edulis.
Objectives:
To determine the presence of tetrahydropapaveroline and reticuline, isoquinoline alkaloids, in animal tissues previously shown to express opiate receptors.
Methods And Results:
This was achieved by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrochemical detection and finally identified by electro-spray ionization quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (Q-TOF). The expression of these two terahydroisoquinoline alkaloids in the animals neural tissue is at the level of 2.5+/-0.64 ng/ganglion and 1.8+/-0.52 ng/ganglion, respectively.
Conclusion:
This finding suggests that morphine biosynthesis may occur in Mytilus neural tissues, and that the biosynthesis pathway may be similar to that reported in the poppy plant.
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