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In a study, extracts of wheat grains and potato tubers were found to contain a series of pharmacologically active benzodiazepines -- compounds displaying a high affinity to the central type benzodiazepine receptor (BZR) in the mammalian brain.
The chemicals are most likely biosynthesized within the plant tissue. This points to a possible source for the previously reported presence of benzodiazepine in the brains and peripheral tissues of several animal species and man. Its effects within the brain may be one reason why intense food addictions can be as strong as drug addictions.