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Endogenous morphine

S Hosztafi¹, Z Fürst

¹Alkaloida Chem. Co. Ltd, Tiszavasvári, Hungary.

Pharmacological Research

|July 1, 1995

Summary

Mammalian brains contain morphine, an endogenous alkaloid. Its biosynthesis pathway mirrors that found in the opium poppy, challenging previous assumptions.

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Area of Science:

Biochemistry
Neuroscience
Pharmacology

Background:

Endogenous alkaloids in mammals were historically unconfirmed.
Morphine formation in mammalian brain was hypothesized in 1970.
The presence of morphine in mammals remained to be definitively proven.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the discovery of endogenous morphine in mammals.
To investigate the origin and biosynthesis of mammalian morphine.
To compare mammalian morphine biosynthesis with plant pathways.

Main Methods:

Radioimmunoassay (RIA) was used to demonstrate the existence of morphine.
Spectroscopic methods were employed for morphine identification.
Isolation techniques were utilized to obtain mammalian morphine.

Main Results:

The existence of morphine in mammalian brain was confirmed.
Morphine was successfully identified using spectroscopic analysis.
The biosynthetic pathway for mammalian morphine was elucidated.
The mammalian pathway was found to be similar to the poppy pathway.

Conclusions:

Endogenous morphine exists in mammalian brains.
Mammalian morphine shares a biosynthetic pathway with the opium poppy.
This finding opens new avenues for understanding endogenous opioid systems.

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