Tyramine
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tyramine
[′tī·rə‚mēn] (pharmacology)
HOC6H4CH2CH2NH2 A crystalline compound with a melting point of 164-165°C; soluble in water and boiling alcohol; used in medicine as an adrenergic drug. Also known as tyrosamine.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Tyramine
(4-hydroxyphenylethylamine; HOC6H4CH2CH2NH2), an organic substance; one of the biogenic amines.
Tyramine is found in ergot, decaying tissues, and cheese. A toxic substance, tyramine is physiologically active: because of its vasoconstrictor effect, it increases blood pressure and influences processes of excitation and inhibition in the nervous system. It is formed from the amino acid tyrosine under the action of bacterial decarboxylases, particularly in the case of putrefactive processes in the intestines of humans and other mammals. Excess tyramine in the body is rendered harmless through oxidation by monoamine oxidase.
REFERENCE
Gorkin, V. Z. “Fermentativnoe dezaminirovanie biogennykh aminov.” In Khimicheskie faktory reguliatsii aktivnosti i biosinteza fermentov. Moscow, 1969.The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.