MAOI's and phenethylamines

[leapfrog]

i was doing some reading and i found that in order for your body to pass phenethylamine into your brain, but, why is it that maoi's aren't needed to process phenethylamine compounds? is it that there are other molecules on the chain other than phenethylamine?

leapfrog added 429 Minutes and 5 Seconds later...

Originally Posted by leapfrog

i was doing some reading and i found that in order for your body to pass phenethylamine into your brain, but, why is it that maoi's aren't needed to process phenethylamine compounds? is it that there are other molecules on the chain other than phenethylamine?

that's supposed to say in order to pass phenethylamine to your brain you need an maoi...

[Felix Guattari]

I think you're getting a few things mixed up here.

MAO - monoamine oxidase - is an enzyme (big complicated chemical) which breaks down (oxidizes) monoamines (a class of chemicals which includes phenethylamines and tryptamines). MAO prevents some of the aforementioned from getting to the brain, and is present in the brain as well.

An MAOI (MonoAmine Oxidase Inhibitor) is an inhibitor of MAO. If you take an MAOI more chemicals get to the brain, because the enzyme that digests them, MAO is inhibited.

There are quite a few different MAOI's, and they all inhibit MAO to different degrees and in different ways.

Hope this helped.

[RaverHippie]

Because the body naturally takes in the phenethylamine compounds already without needing the MAO being inhibited. So when the MAO is inhibited the phenethylamine compounds get into the brain in severely unhealthy amounts and the body is unable to process them, leaving you defenseless and liable to potential harm.

[leapfrog]

yeah, i know that part. that's not what i was asking. why is it that you have to take maoi's in order to have straight phenethylamine effect you, but not phenethylamine compounds