Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA)
Fatty acid amide · also known as PEA, N-palmitoylethanolamine
Endogenous fatty acid amide studied for effects on mast cell and glial activation in neuroinflammation models.
- How it relates to mast cells
- Mast cells in the laboratory
- Types of studies cited
- Animal model
What this relationship means: Studied on mast cells directly, but in cell culture or animals rather than in people. The study-design field distinguishes human cells from non-human models. A mechanism demonstrated in a dish is a reason to investigate, not a result — and the concentrations used are frequently ones that human exposure does not reach.
Mechanism of action
Palmitoylethanolamide is a fatty acid amide produced endogenously and structurally related to the endocannabinoid anandamide. The neuroinflammation literature describes it as acting on the mast cell–glia axis, with mast cells identified as one of its cellular targets alongside glial cells.
The research context is neuroinflammatory and neuropathic pain models rather than mast cell activation syndrome. It is listed here because the proposed mechanism names mast cells directly and is published; that is what clears the inclusion bar, and it is the whole of what this entry claims.
Sources
- Glia and mast cells as targets for palmitoylethanolamide, an anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective lipid mediator Review article 2013 PMID 23813098 · link checked 20 Aug 2026
- Mast cell-glia axis in neuroinflammation and therapeutic potential of the anandamide congener palmitoylethanolamide Review article 2012 PMID 23108549 · link checked 20 Aug 2026