Anandamide (AEA)
AEAAnandamide is a fatty-acid messenger made by the body that binds cannabinoid receptors, making it one of the two best-studied endocannabinoids.
Chemically N-arachidonoylethanolamine, anandamide is built from a membrane lipid on demand rather than stored in vesicles like conventional neurotransmitters. Once released, it travels backward across a synapse, binds CB1 receptors on the sending neuron and reduces further neurotransmitter release, a form of feedback called retrograde signaling. It also acts at CB2 receptors and at the TRPV1 ion channel. Its activity is brief because the enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase, FAAH, breaks it down within minutes.
The name comes from the Sanskrit word ananda, meaning bliss, chosen by the researchers who identified it. Anandamide is discussed in relation to CBD because laboratory studies suggest CBD may slow its breakdown or transport, which could raise anandamide levels indirectly; whether this happens meaningfully in people is still being examined, and it is not an established mechanism.