leuenkephalin

L1E1U1E1N1K5E1P3H4A1L1I1N1

noun

An endogenous opioid peptide neurotransmitter found naturally in the brains of many animals, including humans; one of the two forms of enkephalin (the other being metenkephalin).

Scrabble 22
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Meanings

nounleuenkephalin (uncountable)

alternative leu-enkephalin

  1. uncountablebiochemistryAn endogenous opioid peptide neurotransmitter found naturally in the brains of many animals, including humans; one of the two forms of enkephalin (the other being metenkephalin).

    PRO, an endogenous opioid itself, is also the precursor of the opiate neuropeptides metenkephalin and leuenkephalin.

    2007 December 11, Craig Howard Kinsley, Massimo Bardi, Kate Karelina, Brandi Rima, Lillian Christon, Julia Friedenberg, Garrett Griffin, “Motherhood Induces and Maintains Behavioral and Neural Plasticity across the Lifespan in the Rat”, in Archives of Sexual Behavior, volume 37, number 1, →DOI

Origin

From Leu + enkephalin.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

leuenkephalin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leuenkephalin

MLA

“leuenkephalin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leuenkephalin. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “leuenkephalin,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leuenkephalin.

Source: leuenkephalin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.