Casomorphin
Chemical compound
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Casomorphin is an opioid peptide (protein fragment) derived from the digestion of the milk protein casein.[1]
Health
Digestive enzymes can break casein down into peptides that have some biological activity in cells and in laboratory animals though conclusive causal effects on humans have not been established.[1]
Some practitioners of alternative medicine claim that casomorphin may cause some of the symptoms of autism, and promote casein exclusion diets as a supposed cure, as of 2008[update] there was a lack of evidence that these diets had any effect.[2][needs update]
If opioid peptides breach the intestinal barrier, typically linked to permeability and constrained biosynthesis of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4), they can attach to opioid receptors. Elucidation requires a systemic framework that acknowledges that public-health effects of food-derived opioids are complex with varying genetic susceptibility and confounding factors, together with system-wide interactions and feedbacks.[3]
List of known casomorphins (non-exhaustive)
β-Casomorphins 1–3
- Structure: YPF
- Chemical formula: C23H27N3O5
- Molecular weight: 425.48 g/mol
Bovine β-casomorphins 1–4
- Structure: YPFPGP
- Chemical formula: C28H35N4O6
- Molecular weight: 522.61 g/mol
Bovine β-casomorphin 1–4, amide
- Structure: YPFP-NH2
- Chemical formula: C28H35N5O5
- Molecular weight: 521.6 g/mol
Bovine β-casomorphin 5
- Structure: YPFPG
- Chemical formula: C30H37N5O7
- Molecular weight: 594.66 g/mol
Bovine β-casomorphin 7
- Structure: YPFPGPI
- Chemical formula: C41H55N7O9
- Molecular weight: 789.9 g/mol
bBCM7 is produced in when digesting bovine A1 beta-casein outside of the body using pancreatic enzymes, and inside of some animal bodies. The A2 form, which follows Ile with a Pro instead of a His, is more resistant to the release of bBCM7, presumably because the proline residue blocks the action of a carboxyl peptidase. bBCM7 has significant opioid effects when injected (and in more recent research, orally fed) into animals,[3] but human studies supporting the use of "bBCM7-free" A2 milk is still lacking.[1]
Human β-casomorphin 7
- Structure: YPFVQPI
Despite human beta-casein having a A2-like "P" after "I", human colostrum and early lactation-stage milk contains significant amounts of hBCM7. It is a much weaker opioid and the FVQ sequence renders it susceptible to further degradation.[3]
Bovine β-casomorphin 8
- Structure: YPFPGPIX
- Chemical formula (A2): C46H62N8O10
- Molecular weight (A2): 887.00 g/mol
X is H (histidine) in A1 and P (proline) in A2.
Bovine β-casomorphin 9
- Structure: YPFPGPIXN
X is H (histidine) in A1 and P (proline) in A2.
Produced from both A1 and A2. Opioid agonist, but apparently without the detrimental effect of bBCM7 in cell cultures and animal models, and in fact considered potentially beneficial.[3]