Biochemistry
Phenylethanolamine was found to be an excellent substrate for the enzyme phenylethanolamine N-methyl transferase (PNMT), first isolated from monkey adrenal glands by Julius Axelrod, which transformed it into N-methylphenylethanolamine.
Subsequent studies by Rafferty and co-workers showed that substrate specificity of PNMT from bovine adrenal glands for the different enantiomers of phenylethanolamine was in the order R-(-)-PEOH > R,S-(racemic)-PEOH > S-(+)-PEOH.
Read more about this topic: 2-Hydroxyphenethylamine