Normorphine
Encyclopedia
Normorphine is an opiate
analogue that is derived from the N-demethylated derivative of morphine
first described in the 1950s when a large group of N-substituted morphine analogues were characterized for activity.
Normorphine has relatively little opioid activity in its own right, but is a useful intermediate which can be used to produce both opioid antagonist
s such as nalorphine
, and also potent opioid agonists such as N-phenethylnormorphine
. It is also produced as a major metabolite of morphine, with its formation from morphine catalysed by the liver enzymes CYP3A4 and CYP2C8.
Opiate
In medicine, the term opiate describes any of the narcotic opioid alkaloids found as natural products in the opium poppy plant.-Overview:Opiates are so named because they are constituents or derivatives of constituents found in opium, which is processed from the latex sap of the opium poppy,...
analogue that is derived from the N-demethylated derivative of morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
first described in the 1950s when a large group of N-substituted morphine analogues were characterized for activity.
Normorphine has relatively little opioid activity in its own right, but is a useful intermediate which can be used to produce both opioid antagonist
Opioid antagonist
An opioid antagonist is a receptor antagonist that acts on opioid receptors.Naloxone and naltrexone are commonly used opioid antagonist drugs which are competitive antagonists that bind to the opioid receptors with higher affinity than agonists but do not activate the receptors...
s such as nalorphine
Nalorphine
Nalorphine trade names Lethidrone and Nalline. Nalorphine acts at two opioid receptors, at the mu receptor it has antagonistic effects and at the kappa receptors it exerts agonistic characteristics. It is used to reverse opioid overdose and in a challenge test to determine opioid dependence....
, and also potent opioid agonists such as N-phenethylnormorphine
N-Phenethylnormorphine
N-Phenethylnormorphine is an opiate analgesic drug derived from morphine by replacing the N-methyl group with β-phenethyl. It is around eight to fourteen times more potent than morphine as a result of this modification, in contrast to most other N-substituted derivatives of morphine which are...
. It is also produced as a major metabolite of morphine, with its formation from morphine catalysed by the liver enzymes CYP3A4 and CYP2C8.