In a nutshell: a compound behind allergic reactionsChemical Formula: C5H9N3
IUPAC name: 2-(3H-imidazol-4-yl)ethanamine
Appearance: colorless crystals
Uses: neurotransmitter
What’s so interesting about it? Depending on what receptor is receiving it, histamine serves different roles to the body. Aside from its involvement in the immune system, it regulates sleep, following a cycle of reception of histamine and its antagonists by different receptors.
As many people know, histamine is the compound behind allergic reactions. In the presence of allergens, i.e. the things that cause allergy, complex reactions occur in the body, leading to the activation of certain white blood cells, called the mast cells and the basophils. Mast cells and basophils contain histamine. Allergic reactions are characterized by the excessive activation of those cells. When certain receptors receive histamine, this triggers some of the manifestations of allergy we know - itching, sneezing, redness of the eyes, rashes,... and the long list goes on.
People experiencing allergic reactions usually take antihistamines. Antihistamines block histamine molecules from being received by its receptors. Watch out for our future posts about the common and the not-so-popular antihistamine compounds!
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3 comments:
Some of this I knew and some I didn't. The daily lessons continue. Have a great day. :)
I'm curious about the regulate sleep part...is it just that histamine can screw up a good nights sleep if your allergies are bothering you?
@PlancksPost, being a neurotransmitter, histamine can really "regulate" sleep in the very sense of the word. Well of course the allergy-bothering-a-good-night's-sleep thing also plays a role. :)
Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histamine#Sleep_regulation for more information. :)
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