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 antianaphylactic and anti-inflammatory activity in vitro. Heptadecanoyl ethanolamide is a synthetic analog of PEA which incorporates an odd-numbered (17-carbon) fatty acid chain. This analog is unlikely to be present in any natural tissue, and so can be used as an internal standard for quantitative analysis. Heptadecanoyl ethanolamide potentiates the Ca2+ influx response to arachidonyl ethanolamide several fold in cells expressing human recombinant VR1.
