2-Arachidonyl glyceryl ether (Noladin ether) is a putative ether-type endocannabinoid discovered by the group of Lumír Hanuš at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It is an ether formed from the alcohol analog of arachidonic acid and glycerol. In 2001, its isolation from the porcine brain and its structural elucidation and synthesis were described.
Prior to this discovery, it had been synthesized as a stable analog of 2-AG; indeed, some controversy remains over its classification as an endocannabinoid, as another group failed to detect the substance at “any appreciable amount” in the brains of several different mammalian species. It binds to the CB1 cannabinoid receptor (Ki = 21.2 nmol/L) and causes sedation, hypothermia, intestinal immobility, and mild antinociception in mice. It binds primarily to the CB1 receptor, and only weakly to the CB2 receptor.