Casomorphin From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jump to: _navigation_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casomorphin#column-one) , _search_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casomorphin#searchInput) Casomorphin is a _peptide_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peptide) sequence that is found in _whey_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whey) _protein_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein) called _casein_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casein) , and which can be addictive to humans and cause an _opiate_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opiate) effect. All proteins are chains of _amino acids_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amino_acid) . In the human digestive system, these proteins are chopped up into small segments of amino acid sequences. When casein is broken down by this mechanism, casomorphin is one of the small sequences produced. This sequence travels to the brain, where it may bind to opiate receptors and cause an effect similar to that produced by _endorphins_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endorphin) and the other similar peptides. There are several different casomorphins, which are all _opioid_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opiate) _peptides_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peptide) . They are formed during digestion of the _casein_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casein) protein from bovine milk. They are usually broken down into _amino acids_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amino_acid) by digestion _enzymes_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enzyme) , but in some individuals they are not. They are then accumulated in the body over time and can lead to a peptide poisoning. This is particularly often reported in patients with _ADHD_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADHD) , _autism_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism) and _schizophrenia_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia) . Withdrawal symptoms are quite common, more so than in the case of _gluten_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten) peptides (_gluten exorphines_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten_exorphine) and _gliadorphin_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliadorphin) ).
