Phenethylamine
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Phenethylamine (PEA) is a natural monoamine alkaloid, trace amine, and psychoactive drug with stimulant effects.[citation needed] In the mammalian central nervous system, phenethylamine is believed to function as a neuromodulator or neurotransmitter. It is biosynthesized from the amino acid phenylalanine by enzymatic decarboxylation. Besides mammals, phenethylamine is found in many other organisms and foods such as chocolate, especially after microbial fermentation. It is sold as a dietary supplement for purported mood and weight loss-related therapeutic benefits; however, orally ingested phenethylamine is usually inactive on account of extensive first-pass metabolism by monoamine oxidase (MAO) into phenylacetic acid, preventing significant concentrations from reaching the brain.[1][2]
The group of phenethylamine derivatives is referred to as the phenethylamines. Substituted phenethylamines, substituted amphetamines, and substituted methylenedioxyphenethylamines (MDxx) are a series of broad and diverse classes of compounds derived from phenethylamine that include stimulants, psychedelics, and entactogens, as well as anorectics, bronchodilators, decongestants, and antidepressants, among others.
Chocolate theory of loveIn the early 1980s, researcher Michael Liebowitz, author of the popular 1983 book The Chemistry of Love, remarked to reporters that "chocolate is loaded with PEA." This became the focus for an article in The New York Times, which was then taken up by the wire services, then by magazine free-lancers, and evolved into the now-eponymous "chocolate theory of love."[11] However, as noted earlier, phenethylamine is rapidly metabolized by the enzyme MAO-B, preventing significant concentrations from reaching the brain, thus contributing no perceptible psychoactive effect without the use of a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI).
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