Detailed Explanation
Endorphins are the body's natural painkillers, famously responsible for 'runner's high.' β-Endorphin is the most pharmacologically significant: a 31-amino-acid peptide cleaved from the precursor protein pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) in the anterior pituitary and arcuate nucleus. It binds μ-opioid receptors with high affinity, producing analgesia, euphoria, and reward. Unlike exogenous opioids (morphine, fentanyl), endogenous endorphins are quickly degraded by enkephalinases and don't accumulate. Exercise, stress, pain, acupuncture, laughter, and certain foods trigger endorphin release. The word 'endorphin' is a contraction of 'endogenous morphine,' coined in the 1970s during the discovery of opioid receptors.
Key Facts
- Endorphins are the body's natural painkillers, famously responsible for 'runner's high
- ' β-Endorphin is the most pharmacologically significant: a 31-amino-acid peptide cleaved from the precursor protein pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) in the anterior pituitary and arcuate nucleus
- It binds μ-opioid receptors with high affinity, producing analgesia, euphoria, and reward
- Unlike exogenous opioids (morphine, fentanyl), endogenous endorphins are quickly degraded by enkephalinases and don't accumulate
- Exercise, stress, pain, acupuncture, laughter, and certain foods trigger endorphin release
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