Met-enkephalin-Arg6-Phe7, present in high amounts in brain of rat, cattle and man, is an opioid agonist

The enkephalins Met-enkephalin and Leu-enkephalin were first isolated from porcine brain by Hughes and co-workers. We have recently isolated from bovine adrenals another enkephalin with the structure Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe-Met-Arg-Phe, or Met-enkephalin-Arg6-Phe7 (ref. 2). We report here that this new heptapeptide is found in human, rat and bovine striatum in concentrations comparable with or greater than that of Leu-enkephalin. This molecule should not be considered as a mere precursor of Met-enkephalin. A pharmacological study indicates that this naturally occurring enkephalin has similar properties to the two enkephalins characterized earlier.