Octopamine ((±)-p-Octopamine) hydrochloride, a biogenic monoamine structurally related to noradrenaline, acts as a neurohormone, a neuromodulator and a neurotransmitter in invertebrates. Octopamine hydrochloride can stimulate alpha2-adrenoceptors (ARs) in Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with human alpha2-ARs. Octopamine hydrochloride increased glycogenolysis, glycolysis, oxygen uptake, gluconeogenesis and the portal perfusion pressure.