Adrenalin is the flight or fight hormone. It constricts some blood vessels.It raises the level of blood sugar and of fatty acids. It increases heart rate. Adrenalin is used to treat allergic reactions and circulatory collapse.
It is the l-form of epinephrine (l-form, or laevo-form, because it rotates the light to the left).
The other enantiomer is the d-form of epinephrine (d-form, or dextro-form, rotates light to the right).
If synthetic epinephrine, a racemic mixture of d- and l-forms, is used as a replacement for adrenalin, the size of the dose must be nearly doubled as the physiological activity of the d-form is only one twentieth that of the l-form.
