chemistry

Oleamide

Oleamide is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Oleamide rather than just read about it. In short: Oleamide is an organic compound with the formula CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7CONH2. It is the amide derived from the fatty acid oleic acid.

Key takeaways

Oleamide belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Oleamide to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Oleamide from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Oleamide is an organic compound with the formula CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7CONH2. It is the amide derived from the fatty acid oleic acid. It is a colorless waxy solid and occurs in nature. Sometimes labeled as a fatty acid primary amide (FAPA), it is biosynthesized from N-oleoylglycine.

Biochemical and medical aspects In terms of natural occurrence, oleamide was first detected in human plasma. It was later shown to accumulate in the cerebrospinal fluid during sleep deprivation and induces sleep in animals. It has been considered as a treatment for mood and sleep disorders, as well as cannabinoid-regulated depression. In terms of its sleep inducing effects, it is speculated that oleamide interacts with multiple neurotransmitter systems. Some in-vitro studies show that cis-oleamide is an agonist for the cannabinoid receptor CB-1 with an affinity around 8 micromolar. However, given oleamide's relatively low affinity for CB-1 and uncertainty about the concentration and biological role of oleamide in-vivo, it has been argued that it is premature to classify oleamide as an endocannabinoid. At larger doses oleamide can lower the body temperature of mice by about 2 degrees, with the effect lasting about two hours. The mechanism for this remains unknown. Oleamide has been found to enhance PPARα-dependent increase in doublecortin, a marker of neurogenesis in the hippocampus Oleamide is rapidly metabolized by fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), the same enzyme that metabolizes anandamide. It has been postulated that some effects of oleamide are caused by increased concentrations of anandamide brought about through the inhibition of FAAH. It has been claimed that oleamide increases the activity of choline acetyltransferase, an enzyme that is critical in the production of acetylcholine. Oleamide and analogues have been found to act as positive allosteric modulators of the serotonin 5-HT2A, 5-HT2C, and 5-HT1A receptors and as negative allosteric modulators of the serotonin 5-HT7 receptor. Synthetic derivatives of oleamide acting as selective dual serotonin 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptor positive allosteric modulators, such as JPC0323, have been developed.

Other occurrences Oleamide has been found in Ziziphus jujuba, also known as Jujube fruit. Synthetic oleamide has a variety of industrial uses, including as a lubricant. Oleamide was found to be leaching out of polypropylene plastics in laboratory experiments, affecting experimental results. Since polypropylene is used in a wide number of food containers such as those for yogurt, the problem is being studied. Oleamide is "one of the most frequent non-cannabinoid ingredients associated with Spice products." Analysis of 44 products synthetic cannabinoid revealed oleamide in 7 of the products tested.

See also Anandamide Fatty acid amide hydrolase Virodhamine

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Oleamide

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Oleamide claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Oleamide before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Oleamide ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Oleamide

In research: Oleamide appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Oleamide in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Oleamide is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 5-HT2A receptor positive allosteric modulators, 5-HT2C receptor positive allosteric modulators, Eicosanoids, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Oleamide outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Oleamide in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Oleamide means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Oleamide out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Oleamide in simple terms?

Oleamide is an organic compound with the formula CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7CONH2. It is the amide derived from the fatty acid oleic acid.

Why does Oleamide matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Oleamide?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Oleamide.