Anandamide (N-arachidonoylethanolamine) is known to be an endogenous ligand of
cannabinoid and vanilloid receptors. Its congeners (collectively referred to as N-
acylethanolamines) also show a variety of biological activities. These compounds are
principally formed from their corresponding N-acyl-phosphatidylethanolamines by a
phosphodiesterase of the phospholipase D-type in animal tissues. We purified the enzyme
from rat heart, and by the use of the sequences of its internal peptides cloned its …