Palmitoyl ethanolamide (PEA) is an endogenous cannabinoid found in brain, liver, and other mammalian tissues. PEA has also been isolated from egg yolk, and found to have anti-anaphylactic and anti-inflammatory activity in vitro. R-Palmitoyl-(1-methyl) ethanolamide is a synthetic analog of PEA which incorporates an (R)-methyl group vicinal to the alcohol on the ethanolamine moiety. The analogous modification to arachidonoyl ethanolamide (AEA) protects the molecule from hydrolysis by fatty acid amide hydrolase. This leads to prolonged duration of action and enhanced potency in vivo. R-palmitoyl-(1-methyl) ethanolamide would be expected to show enhancement of the inhibitory action of PEA on mast cells and other cells known to express the CB2 receptor. However, there are no published studies on the use of this compound to date.
