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Anandamide in Chocolate

The name anandamide is derived from ananda , a Sanskrit word for bliss, in combination with –amide . Its formal chemical name is arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA). William Devane and Lumir Hanus , scientists doing research at the Laboratory of Raphael Mechoulam at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem , were the ones who first discovered anandamide and managed to isolate it. Conveniently enough, chocolate also contain two cannabinoid breakdown inhibitors; the N-oleoylethanolamine and the N-linolenoylethanolamine.

The receptor that anandamide binds to is a part of the G protein-coupled receptor family, one of the largest known groups of receptors. Anandamide can affect us centrally (in the brain) as well as peripheral (in other parts of the body). Scientists have found out that the anandamide receptors play an important role in controlling our short term memory. The scientific community now suspects that these receptors might play a much larger role than initially assumed, and several studies have been launched to see if these hypotheses are right. The studies are trying to find out whether anandamide receptors affect other areas of human behaviour too, such as sleep patterns, hunger and pain. What we do know is that anandamide is imperative during the implantation of the embryo to the uterus. This is a process that takes place at an extremely early stage of the embryo development, in the blastocyst stadium. Strong and less targeted cannabinoids like tetra-hydro-cannabinol are therefore suspected to interfere with this delicate process.