Alpha-Methyltryptamine

Last updated
α-Methyltryptamine
AMT.svg
AMT 3D BS.png
Clinical data
Other namesIndopan; IT-290, IT-403, U-14,164E, 3-IT [1]
Routes of
administration 		Oral, Insufflation, Rectal, Smoked, IM, IV [1]
ATC code
  • none
Legal status
Legal status
Identifiers
  • 1-(1H-Indol-3-yl)propan-2-amine
CAS Number
PubChem CID
DrugBank
ChemSpider
UNII
ChEBI
ChEMBL
ECHA InfoCard 100.005.522 OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Chemical and physical data
Formula C11H14N2
Molar mass 174.247 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
  • NC(CC1=CNC2=C1C=CC=C2)C
  • InChI=1S/C11H14N2/c1-8(12)6-9-7-13-11-5-3-2-4-10(9)11/h2-5,7-8,13H,6,12H2,1H3 Yes check.svgY
  • Key:QSQQQURBVYWZKJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Yes check.svgY
   (verify)

α-Methyltryptamine (abbreviated as αMT, AMT) is a psychedelic, stimulant, and entactogen drug of the tryptamine class. [2] [3] It was originally developed as an antidepressant by workers at Upjohn in the 1960s, [4] and was used briefly as an antidepressant in Russia under the trade name Indopan before being discontinued. [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Chemistry

αMT is a tryptamine with a methyl substituent at the alpha carbon. This alpha substitution makes it a relatively poor substrate for monoamine oxidase A, thereby prolonging αMT's half-life, allowing it to reach the brain and enter the central nervous system. Its chemical relation to tryptamine is analogous to that of amphetamine to phenethylamine, amphetamine being α-methylphenethylamine. αMT is closely related to the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) which partially explains its mechanism of action.

Synthesis

The synthesis of αMT can be accomplished through several different routes, the two most widely known being the Nitroaldol Condensation between indole-3-carboxaldehyde and nitroethane under ammonium acetate catalysis and the condensation between indole-3-acetone and hydroxylamine followed by reduction of the obtained ketoxime with lithium aluminum hydride. [8]

Pharmacology

αMT acts as a relatively balanced reuptake inhibitor and releasing agent of the main three monoamines; serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, [9] and as a non-selective serotonin receptor agonist. [10]

MAOI activity

αMT has been shown as a reversible inhibitor of the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO) in-vitro [11] and in-vivo . [12]

In rats the potency of αMT as an MAO-A inhibitor in the brain was approximately equal to that of harmaline at equimolar doses. [note 1] Dextroamphetamine did not enhance the 5-hydroxytryptophan-induced rise of serotonin at any level. [13]

Metabolism

2-Oxo-αMT, 6-hydroxy-αMT, [14] 7-hydroxy-αMT and 1′-hydroxy-αMT were detected as metabolites of αMT in male Wistar rats . [15]

Dosage and effects

Under the trade name Indopan, 5-10 milligrams were used for an antidepressant effect.[ medical citation needed ]

With 20–30 milligrams, euphoria, empathy, and psychedelic effects become apparent and can last as long as 12 hours. [16] A dose exceeding 40 mg is generally considered strong. In rare cases or extreme doses, the duration of effects might exceed 24 hours. Users report that αMT in freebase form is smoked, with doses between and 2 and 5 milligrams. [1] [ unreliable source? ] [2]

Neurologic side effects of αMT include agitation, restlessness, confusion, and lethargy. Physical manifestations including vomiting, mydriasis (pupillary dilation), jaw clenching, tachycardia, salivation, diaphoresis (sweating), and elevations in blood pressure, temperature, and respiratory rate. [17]

Side effects self-reported by recreational users include anxiety, muscle tension, jaw tightness, pupil dilation, tachycardia, headaches, nausea, and vomiting, as well as psychedelic effects including visual hallucinations and an altered state of mind. [2] [18]

Legality

Australia

The 5-Methoxy analogue, 5-MeO-αMT is schedule 9 in Australia and αMT would be controlled as an analogue of this. [19]

China

As of October 2015 αMT is a controlled substance in China. [20]

Denmark

In Denmark (2010), the Danish Minister for the Interior and Health placed αMT to their lists of controlled substances (List B). [21]

Canada

Canada has no mention of αMT in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. [22]

Germany

αMT is listed under the Narcotics Act in schedule 1 (narcotics not eligible for trade and medical prescriptions) in Germany. [21]

Austria

αMT is placed under Austrian law (NPSG) Group 6. [21]

Hungary

αMT was controlled on the Schedule C list in Hungary in 2013. [21]

Slovakia

αMT was placed in 2013 on the List of Hazardous Substances in Annex, § 2 in Slovakia. [21]

Slovenia

αMT appeared on the Decree on Classification of Illicit Drugs in Slovenia (2013). [21]

Lithuania

In Lithuania (2012), αMT is controlled as a tryptamine derivative put under control in the 1st list of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances which use is prohibited for medical purposes. [21]

Spain

αMT is legal in Spain. [23]

Sweden

Sveriges riksdags health ministry Statens folkhälsoinstitut classified αMT as "health hazard" under the act Lagen om förbud mot vissa hälsofarliga varor (translated Act on the Prohibition of Certain Goods Dangerous to Health) as of Mar 1, 2005, in their regulation SFS 2005:26 listed as alfa-metyltryptamin (AMT), making it illegal to sell or possess. [24]

United Kingdom

αMT was made illegal in the United Kingdom as of 7 January 2015, along with 5-MeO-DALT. [25] This was following the events of 10 June 2014 when the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs recommended that αMT be scheduled as a class A drug by updating the blanket ban clause on tryptamines. [26]

United States

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) placed αMT temporarily in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) on April 4, 2003, pursuant to the temporary scheduling provisions of the CSA (68 FR16427). On September 29, 2004, αMT was permanently controlled as a schedule I substance under the CSA (69FR 58050). [27]

Finland

AMT, alfa-methyltryptamine is a controlled drug in Finland [28]

Reported deaths

αMT is capable of causing life-threatening side-effects including hyperthermia, hypertension, and tachycardia. [17] [29] Fatalities have been reported in association with high doses or concomitant use of other drugs. [30] Fatalities verified with toxicology and autopsy include those of a 22 year old man in Miami-Dade county and a British teenager, both who died after consuming 1 g of αMT. [31] [17]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ MAOI potency was comparable at 7 μM/kg, equivalent to 1.5mg/kg of Harmaline and 1.2mg/kg of αMT. At 70μM/kg αMT was a much less effective MAOI than harmaline. [13]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">5-MeO-DMT</span> Chemical compound

5-MeO-DMT (5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) or O-methyl-bufotenin is a psychedelic of the tryptamine class. It is found in a wide variety of plant species, and also is secreted by the glands of at least one toad species, the Colorado River toad. Like its close relatives DMT and bufotenin (5-HO-DMT), it has been used as an entheogen in South America. Slang terms include Five-methoxy, The power, and Toad venom.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">5-MeO-aMT</span> Chemical compound

5-MeO-aMT or 5-methoxy-α-methyltryptamine, α,O-Dimethylserotonin (Alpha-O) is a potent psychedelic tryptamine. It is soluble in ethanol.

<i>alpha</i>-Ethyltryptamine Chemical compound

α-Ethyltryptamine, also known as etryptamine, is a psychedelic, stimulant, and entactogenic drug of the tryptamine class. It was originally developed and marketed as an antidepressant under the brand name Monase by Upjohn in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4-HO-DiPT</span> Chemical compound

4-Hydroxy-N,N-diisopropyltryptamine is a synthetic psychedelic drug. It is a higher homologue of psilocin, 4-HO-DET, and is a positional isomer of 4-HO-DPT and has a tryptamine molecular sub-structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harmala alkaloid</span> Group of chemical compounds

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">4-HO-DET</span> Chemical compound

4-HO-DET, also known as 4-hydroxy-diethyl-tryptamine, CZ-74, is a hallucinogenic drug and psychedelic compound of moderate duration. 4-HO-DET is a substituted tryptamine, structurally related to psilocin, ethocybin, and 4-HO-DIPT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4-Acetoxy-DET</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harmaline</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">4-HO-MiPT</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">5-Fluoro-AMT</span> Chemical compound

5-Fluoro-α-methyltryptamine, also known as PAL-544, is a putative stimulant, entactogen, and psychedelic tryptamine derivative related to α-methyltryptamine (αMT). It has been found to act as a well-balanced serotonin-norepinephrine-dopamine releasing agent, a 5-HT2A receptor agonist, and a potent and specific MAO-A inhibitor. which suggests that 5-fluoro-αMT could be an active psychedelic in humans, although it is not known to have been tested in humans and could be dangerous due to its strong inhibition of MAO-A.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">5-IT</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Substituted tryptamine</span> Class of indoles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">4-Acetoxy-MiPT</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">5-Chloro-αMT</span> Chemical compound

5-Chloro-α-methyltryptamine (5-Chloro-αMT), also known as PAL-542, is a tryptamine derivative related to α-methyltryptamine (αMT) and one of only a few known specific serotonin-dopamine releasing agents (SDRAs). It has been investigated in animals as a potential treatment for cocaine dependence. The EC50 values of 5-chloro-αMT in evoking the in vitro release of serotonin (5-HT), dopamine (DA), and norepinephrine (NE) in rat synaptosomes were reported as 16 nM, 54 nM, and 3434 nM, with an NE/DA ratio of 63.6 and a DA/5-HT ratio of 3.38, indicating that it is a highly specific and well-balanced SDRA. However, 5-chloro-αMT has also been found to act as a potent full agonist of the 5-HT2A receptor, with an EC50 value of 6.27 nM and an efficacy of 105%, and almost assuredly acts as a potent agonist of other serotonin receptors as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7-Chloro-AMT</span> Chemical compound

7-Chloro-α-methyltryptamine (7-Cl-AMT) is a tryptamine derivative with stimulant effects, invented in the 1960s. It is a weak monoamine oxidase inhibitor but its pharmacology has not otherwise been studied by modern techniques, though several closely related compounds are known to act as serotonin–dopamine releasing agents and agonists of the 5-HT2A receptor.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Erowid AMT Vault : FAQ by Dialtonez".
  2. 1 2 3 "Erowid Online Books : "TIHKAL" - #48 a-MT".
  3. ↑ "Erowid AMT (alpha-methyltryptamine) Vault".
  4. ↑ USPatent 3296072,Szmuszkovicz Jacob,"Method of Treating Mental Depression",published 1967-01-03, assigned to Upjohn Co
  5. ↑ Barceloux DG (20 March 2012). Medical Toxicology of Drug Abuse: Synthesized Chemicals and Psychoactive Plants. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 196–. ISBN   978-0-471-72760-6.
  6. ↑ Iversen L (11 November 2013). Handbook of Psychopharmacology: Volume 14 Affective Disorders: Drug Actions in Animals and Man. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 132–. ISBN   978-1-4613-4045-4.
  7. ↑ Biological Research on Addiction: Comprehensive Addictive Behaviors and Disorders. Academic Press. 17 May 2013. pp. 632–. ISBN   978-0-12-398360-2.
  8. ↑ Shulgin A. "TIHKAL" . Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  9. ↑ Nagai F, Nonaka R, Satoh Hisashi Kamimura K (March 2007). "The effects of non-medically used psychoactive drugs on monoamine neurotransmission in rat brain". European Journal of Pharmacology. 559 (2–3): 132–137. doi:10.1016/j.ejphar.2006.11.075. PMID   17223101.
  10. ↑ Nonaka R, Nagai F, Ogata A, Satoh K (December 2007). "In vitro screening of psychoactive drugs by [(35)S]GTPgammaS binding in rat brain membranes". Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin. 30 (12): 2328–2333. doi: 10.1248/bpb.30.2328 . PMID   18057721.
  11. ↑ Arai Y, Toyoshima Y, Kinemuchi H (June 1986). "Studies of monoamine oxidase and semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase. II. Inhibition by alpha-methylated substrate-analogue monoamines, alpha-methyltryptamine, alpha-methylbenzylamine and two enantiomers of alpha-methylbenzylamine". Japanese Journal of Pharmacology. 41 (2): 191–197. doi: 10.1254/jjp.41.191 . PMID   3747266.
  12. ↑ Greig ME, Walk RA, Gibbons AJ (October 1959). "The effect of three tryptamine derivatives on serotonin metabolism in vitro and in vivo". The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. 127: 110–115. PMID   13851725.
  13. 1 2 Gey KF, Pletscher A (August 1962). "Effect of alpha-alkylated tryptamine derivatives on 5-hydroxytryptamine metabolism in vivo". British Journal of Pharmacology and Chemotherapy. 19 (1): 161–167. doi:10.1111/j.1476-5381.1962.tb01437.x. PMC   1482243 . PMID   13898151.
  14. ↑ Szara S (February 1961). "6-Hydroxylation: an important metabolic route for alpha-methyltryptamine". Experientia. 17 (2): 76–77. doi:10.1007/BF02171429. PMID   13774483. S2CID   27030395.
  15. ↑ Kanamori T, Kuwayama K, Tsujikawa K, Miyaguchi H, Iwata YT, Inoue H (December 2008). "In vivo metabolism of alpha-methyltryptamine in rats: identification of urinary metabolites". Xenobiotica; The Fate of Foreign Compounds in Biological Systems. 38 (12): 1476–1486. doi:10.1080/00498250802491654. PMID   18982537. S2CID   20637936.
  16. ↑ Wilcox J (2012). "Psychoactive properties of alpha-methyltryptamine: analysis from self reports of users". Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. 44 (3): 274–276. doi:10.1080/02791072.2012.704592. PMID   23061328. S2CID   38340985.
  17. 1 2 3 Boland DM, Andollo W, Hime GW, Hearn WL (July–August 2005). "Fatality due to acute alpha-methyltryptamine intoxication". Journal of Analytical Toxicology. 29 (5): 394–397. doi: 10.1093/jat/29.5.394 . PMID   16105268.
  18. ↑ "Erowid AMT Vault : Effects".
  19. ↑ "关于印发《非药用类麻醉药品和精神药品列管办法》的通知" (in Chinese). China Food and Drug Administration. 27 September 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Reference at www.who.int" (PDF).
  21. ↑ "CSDA".
  22. ↑ "Medicamentos de Uso Humano - Estupefacientes y Psicótropos". Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios.
  23. ↑ "Förordning om ändring i förordningen (1999:58) om förbud mot vissa hälsofarliga varor;" (PDF), Lagen om förbud mot vissa hälsofarliga varor - SFS 2005:26 (in Swedish), February 2005, retrieved 2013-10-07
  24. ↑ "The Misuse of Drugs (Amendment No. 3) (England, Wales and Scotland) Regulations 2014". www.legislation.gov.uk.
  25. ↑ ACMD (10 June 2014). "Update of the Generic Definition for Tryptamines" (PDF). UK Home Office. p. 12. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  26. ↑ "ALPHA-METHYLTRYPTAMINE" (PDF). DEA Office of Diversion Control. April 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2013-10-10.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  27. ↑ "Reference at www.finlex.fi" (PDF).
  28. ↑ Gillman PK (October 2005). "Monoamine oxidase inhibitors, opioid analgesics and serotonin toxicity". British Journal of Anaesthesia. 95 (4): 434–441. doi: 10.1093/bja/aei210 . PMID   16051647. "drugs such as MDMA, ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), if combined with MAOIs (including moclobemide) do also cause fatalities because they act as serotonin releasers"
  29. ↑ "Call for ban on drug after reveller's death". Western Gazette. March 22, 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  30. ↑ "Southampton 'legal high' death deemed 'accidental'". BBC News. 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
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