Octopamine (hydrochloride)

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^[1][2][3]. In Vitro: Octopamine has a prominent role in influencing multiple physiological events: (a) as a neuromodulator, it regulates desensitization of sensory inputs, arousal, initiation, and maintenance of various rhythmic behaviors and complex behaviors such as learning and memory; (b) as a neurotransmitter, it regulates endocrine gland activity; and (c) as a neurohormone, it induces mobilization of lipids and carbohydrates. Octopamine exerts its effects by binding to specific proteins that belong to the superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors and share the structural motif of seven transmembrane domains^[1].