Question

Is Epinephrine an amino acid derived hormone?

Answer 1

Hint: Hormones are chemical messengers that help to establish communication between the different tissues/cells of the body. Epinephrine is also known as Adrenalin. As the name suggests, this hormone is produced by the adrenal gland (adrenal medulla region).

Complete answer:
Hormones are classified into 3 main types:
Proteinaceous Hormones: This category includes hormones derived of proteins (e.g., Insulin and Glucagon), peptides (e.g., Oxytocin and vasopressin), glycoproteins (e.g., Luteinizing Hormone and Follicle stimulating hormone). These hormones exhibit their action by binding to cell membrane-bound receptors where they initiate a complex set of secondary reactions within the cell which leads to alteration of metabolism and related functions.
Steroid Hormones: These include the adrenal corticoids, and the sex hormones like progesterone and estrogen in females and androgens like testosterone in males. These hormones exhibit their action by altering gene expression.
Amino Acid derivatives: These include the thyroid hormones (T₃ and T₄) and epinephrine, nor-epinephrine.
Miscellaneous: This is yet another category which includes eicosanoids like prostaglandins and others like cytokines.

Note:
One simple trick to identify hormones derived from amino acids is that these types of hormones will always end with the suffix -ine. Some people sometimes make a common mistake of considering adrenaline and noradrenaline as steroidal hormones since they are secreted by the adrenal gland and the corticoids are steroids. But it should be kept in mind that the adrenal corticoids are synthesized by the adrenal cortex and epinephrine and nor-epinephrine are synthesized by the adrenal medulla region.