Endocannabinoid
EndogenousNADAN-arachidonoyl-dopamine
(5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z)-N-[2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethyl]icosa-5,8,11,14-tetraenamide
Aliases.N-arachidonoyl dopamine · NADA · N-arachidonoyldopamine · AA-DA
Endogenous brain lipid, a moderate CB1 agonist and a potent agonist of the TRPV1 channel.
Updated on
Level of detail
Identifiers
- Formula
- C₂₈H₄₁NO₃
- Molar mass
- 439.60 g·mol⁻¹
- CAS
- 199875-69-9
- PubChem CID
- 5282105
- First described
- Décrit en 2000 par l'équipe de Vincenzo Di Marzo (Bisogno et coll., Biochemical Journal), d'abord comme ligand du récepteur CB1 au sein d'une série de N-acyl-dopamines préparées comme outils pharmacologiques. En 2002, Huang et ses collègues (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) ont mis en évidence sa présence dans le tissu nerveux de mammifère et sa forte activité sur le canal vanilloïde TRPV1, ce qui lui a valu le statut d'endovanilloïde en plus de celui d'endocannabinoïde.
- Origin
- An endogenous mammalian molecule, entirely absent from hemp. It has been measured in the rodent brain, with the highest concentrations in the striatum, the hippocampus and the cerebellum, as well as in the substantia nigra, at levels on the order of picomoles per gram of fresh tissue. Chromatographic analyses of human plasma and of post-mortem human brain have not found NADA there, so that its physiological relevance in humans remains an open question.
- InChIKey
- MVVPIAAVGAWJNQ-DOFZRALJSA-N
In plain terms
NADA is a small molecule the body makes itself by joining a fatty acid to dopamine. It is found in the brains of rodents, never in hemp. In animals it acts both on the receptors of the endocannabinoid system and on TRPV1, the biological sensor for heat and chilli, but nothing in the literature supports any use in humans.
Receptors and activity
- TRPV1CE50 = 40 nM (récepteur humain), 48 nM (récepteur de rat) ; Huang et coll., 2002Agonist
- CB1Ki = 250 nM ; sélectivité d'environ 40 fois sur CB2 (Bisogno et coll., 2000)Agonist
- CB2Agonist
- TRPM8Antagonist
- PPARγAgonist
- Agonist
- Partial agonist
- Antagonist
- Modulator
- Inverse agonist
Hover over a row for the precise value (Ki, EC50…)
Subjective signature
Hover over an axis to read its definition.
- Calm10
- Clarity8
- Sleep10
- Appetite8
- High8
Editorial estimate, not clinical.
Pharmacology
NADA belongs to the N-acyl-dopamines, a family of endogenous lipids sitting at the boundary between the endocannabinoid and the vanilloid systems. At the CB1 receptor, the affinity measured by Bisogno and colleagues in 2000 remains moderate, with an inhibition constant near 250 nM and a selectivity of about 40-fold over CB2. The bulk of its activity plays out at the TRPV1 channel: Huang and colleagues showed in 2002 an activation with a median effective concentration of 40 to 48 nM, comparable to that of capsaicin, which makes NADA the best known candidate for the role of endogenous vanilloid agonist. In mice, administration of 1 to 10 mg per kilogram reproduces the classical cannabinoid tetrad, combining hypothermia, reduced locomotion, catalepsy and analgesia. In vitro, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties have been described in glial and neuronal cultures, while cytotoxicity appears at high micromolar concentrations, via TRPV1 and CB2. The literature remains almost entirely preclinical: human data are lacking, NADA has not been reliably detected in human plasma or brain, and no therapeutic indication is established.
Key sources.
- Bisogno T. et coll., N-acyl-dopamines: novel synthetic CB1 cannabinoid-receptor ligands and inhibitors of anandamide inactivation with cannabimimetic activity in vitro and in vivo, Biochemical Journal, 2000PMID 11042139
- Huang S.M. et coll., An endogenous capsaicin-like substance with high potency at recombinant and native vanilloid VR1 receptors, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2002
- Grabiec U., Dehghani F., N-Arachidonoyl Dopamine: A Novel Endocannabinoid and Endovanilloid with Widespread Physiological and Pharmacological Activities, Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 2017PMID 29082315
- The PM20D1-NADA pathway protects against Parkinson's disease, Cell Death and Differentiation, 2024PMID 39174646
- PubChem CID 5282105, N-Arachidonoyldopamine, National Library of Medicine
Biosynthetic pathway (in vivo)
The route of formation long remained uncertain. A direct enzymatic conjugation between arachidonic acid and dopamine has been proposed, as well as a route via N-arachidonoyl-tyrosine transformed by tyrosine hydroxylase and then by aromatic amino acid decarboxylase. Work published in 2024 identified the enzyme PM20D1 as capable of condensing dopamine and arachidonic acid into NADA, in cultured neurons as in the mouse striatum, which provides the first biosynthetic pathway documented with a named enzyme.
Legal framework
France
NADA is a compound produced by the mammalian body and is covered by no French text. It appears by name on no ANSM list of narcotics or psychotropic substances, and it does not fall within the generic clause of annex IV of the decree of 22 February 1990, which covers tetrahydrocannabinols, their esters, their ethers, their salts and the salts of those derivatives: NADA is neither a tetrahydrocannabinol nor a tetrahydrocannabinol derivative, but an amide of a fatty acid and a catecholamine. Its only documented circulation is as a laboratory reagent, with no food, cosmetic or medicinal status in France.
European Union
No member state classifies NADA under the international conventions on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, and the molecule is not the subject of a notification to the European early warning system on new psychoactive substances, whose scope covers products appearing on the recreational market. An endogenous compound used as a pharmacological tool, it remains outside the perimeter of Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA. No marketing authorisation as a medicine and no assessment under the Novel Food regulation concern it.
Sources: EUR-Lex, UNODC, CND, ANSM, IUPHAR/BPS, ChEBI, EUDA. Our method.
Structural classification
- Class
- Endocannabinoid
- Origin
- An endogenous mammalian molecule, entirely absent from hemp. It has been measured in the rodent brain, with the highest concentrations in the striatum, the hippocampus and the cerebellum, as well as in the substantia nigra, at levels on the order of picomoles per gram of fresh tissue. Chromatographic analyses of human plasma and of post-mortem human brain have not found NADA there, so that its physiological relevance in humans remains an open question.
- Status
- Endogenous
Conjugué de la famille des N-acyl-dopamines : amide formé entre l'acide arachidonique et la dopamine. Le NADA partage avec l'anandamide la même chaîne grasse tétra-insaturée en C20, mais porte un noyau catéchol à la place du groupement éthanolamine, ce qui lui donne à la fois un caractère lipidique et un caractère catécholaminergique.
Pharmacokinetics
Aucun paramètre pharmacocinétique humain n'a été établi, faute d'administration documentée chez l'humain. Chez le rongeur, une activité systémique est observée après injection intrapéritonéale dans la gamme de 1 à 10 mg par kilogramme, et l'administration intracérébrale a été employée en recherche pour contourner une disponibilité centrale limitée. Comme les autres amides d'acides gras, le NADA est très lipophile, s'associe fortement aux membranes cellulaires et subit une inactivation enzymatique rapide, ce qui explique le caractère bref de ses effets dans les préparations biologiques.
Metabolism
Deux voies d'inactivation sont documentées. L'hydrolase des amides d'acides gras (FAAH) rompt la liaison amide et libère l'acide arachidonique et la dopamine. La catéchol-O-méthyltransférase (COMT) méthyle le noyau catéchol et produit un O-méthyl-NADA nettement moins actif sur TRPV1. L'oxydation de la chaîne arachidonique par des cytochromes P450 et par les lipoxygénases est décrite comme une voie mineure. Aucune donnée de métabolisme humain in vivo n'est disponible.
Toxicology and risks
Le profil toxicologique humain est inconnu, aucune exposition n'ayant été documentée. En culture cellulaire, le NADA provoque une mort cellulaire à partir de quelques micromolaires, avec une concentration efficace médiane rapportée autour de 30 µM sur cellules mononucléées du sang périphérique, effet attribué au TRPV1 et au CB2 ; une mort cellulaire indépendante des caspases a été observée sur cellules SH-SY5Y exprimant le TRPV1 humain. Chez le rongeur, les doses actives entraînent hypothermie et réduction de la locomotion, signes attendus d'une activation cannabinoïde centrale. En l'absence de toute évaluation réglementaire de sécurité, aucun usage humain ne peut être envisagé.
Detection and analysis
La quantification repose sur la chromatographie liquide couplée à la spectrométrie de masse, appliquée à des extraits lipidiques de tissu nerveux, avec une sensibilité de l'ordre du picomole par gramme de tissu frais. Des dosages immunoenzymatiques ont également été utilisés sur tissu striatal de souris. Il n'existe pas de méthode toxicologique de routine ciblant le NADA : la molécule étant endogène et non classée, elle ne figure pas dans les criblages forensiques usuels.
References
- 1.Bisogno T. et coll., N-acyl-dopamines: novel synthetic CB1 cannabinoid-receptor ligands and inhibitors of anandamide inactivation with cannabimimetic activity in vitro and in vivo, Biochemical Journal, 2000PMID 11042139
- 2.Huang S.M. et coll., An endogenous capsaicin-like substance with high potency at recombinant and native vanilloid VR1 receptors, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2002
- 3.Grabiec U., Dehghani F., N-Arachidonoyl Dopamine: A Novel Endocannabinoid and Endovanilloid with Widespread Physiological and Pharmacological Activities, Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 2017PMID 29082315
- 4.The PM20D1-NADA pathway protects against Parkinson's disease, Cell Death and Differentiation, 2024PMID 39174646
- 5.PubChem CID 5282105, N-Arachidonoyldopamine, National Library of Medicine
Structured data
- InChIKey
- MVVPIAAVGAWJNQ-DOFZRALJSA-N
- SMILES
- CCCCC/C=C\C/C=C\C/C=C\C/C=C\CCCC(=O)NCCC1=CC(=C(C=C1)O)O
- Formula
- C28H41NO3
- Molar mass
- 439.60 g·mol⁻¹
- CAS
- 199875-69-9
- PubChem CID
- 5282105
LLM ingestion format: a structured superset of the entry (identifiers, binding, versioned legal status). Full corpus.