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1 Acute Β-PEA Significantly Increased Circling And Head-Twitching Behaviors In Mice
Effects from use of 2C-E are reportedly more intense compared to 2C-B and 2C-I 3. Studies examining the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of 2Cs are limited. The 2Cs are generally available in tablet, capsule, powder, or liquid form, depending on the 2C, and they are ingested orally or insufflated 3, 6–9, 17.
Phenylethylamine Side Effects
It is believed that some individuals may develop an addiction to Phenethylamine. As a central nervous system Stimulant, Phenethylamine stimulates the body to create some chemicals that may help with depression and other mental illnesses. As a central nervous system stimulant, phenethylamine is used to treat depression and many other mental illnesses. Most importantly, it is used for weight loss, sports performance, and improving mood and concentration. Taking phenethylamine as a supplement can help those who cannot produce enough phenethylamine naturally. However, using too much of phenethylamine may cause side effects that are known to be similar to those of amphetamine (2)(3).
However, cheese and sausage also contain phenethylamine but do not have the same reputation for causing cravings. Chocolate also has small amounts of other stimulants like caffeine and theobromine 53. Excess phenethylamine in the urine of patients with specific types of schizophrenia has been reported, indicating it is being removed the body at an increased rate 18, 19. It is metabolized by the enzymes monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) and aldehyde dehydrogenase to phenylacetic acid, which is then excreted in the urine 4.
In addition, phenethylamine injected intravenously in rats was absorbed mainly by the lungs, liver, and kidneys, and less than 1% reached the brain 55. Phenethylamine’s effect is limited when supplemented orally because it is likely quickly broken down in the body by the enzyme monoamine oxidase 4. Moreover, some scientists hypothesize that chocolate cravings may, in fact, be an attempt by the body to “self-medicate,” increasing phenethylamine levels and improving mood 51, 52. Phenethylamine can be used to indicate food quality and freshness since large amounts of phenethylamine are produced by bacteria 47.
Healthy School Lunch Ideas (Plus Snacks & Other Meals)
- However, cheese and sausage also contain phenethylamine but do not have the same reputation for causing cravings.
- The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
- A detailed discussion on optical isomerism is provided, along with the short- and long-term physical and psychological effects of abuse.
- The same phenomenon occurs not only with antibiotics, but also with other groups of drugs, such as catecholamines.
Several naturally occurring alkaloids, i.e., morphine, (S)-reticuline or berberine, embedded in the 2-phenethylamine unit form more complex cyclic frameworks derived from its natural biosynthetic pathways (Figure 1). Β-PEA is a primary amine with the amino group attached to a benzene ring through a two-carbon or ethyl group. Some derivatives of β-PEA, such as 3C-E, 3C-P, allylescaline, escaline, isoproscaline, and methallylescaline, are designer drugs (Dean et al., 2013). A designer drug is a structural or functional analog of a controlled substance that has been designed to mimic the pharmacological effects of the original drug while avoiding classification as illegal and/or detection in standard drug tests (Wohlfarth and Weinmann, 2010; Weaver et al., 2015).
- Cytotoxicity assay was performed as previously described by Lenzi et al. 46,47.
- Open-chain, flexible alicyclic amine derivatives of this motif are enumerated in key therapeutic targets, listing medicinal chemistry hits and appealing screening compounds.
- These derivatives often exhibit psychoactive properties and may be deemed illegal.
- However, all three of the compounds studied here experimentally, 25B-NBF, 25C-NBF, and DMBMPP, are derivatives of the phenethylamine psychedelic 2C-B, which is indicated to have psychedelic effect at dosages between 12 and 24 mg42.
- Numerous endogenous compounds – including hormones, catecholamines such as dopamine and noradrenaline, and many trace amines (e.g. adrenaline, phenethylamine itself, tyramine, thyronamine, and iodothyronamine) – are substituted phenethylamines.
After 3 washes for 10 min, the stop solution was added into the wells, and then the absorbance was measured at 450 nm in a GloMax microplate multimode reader (Promega, Madison, WI, USA). A second group of food or food product that contains elevated levels of amines is meat and/or fish (Kulawik et al., 2013; Li et al., 2012; Liu et al., 2013), where amine production is part of the food spoilage reaction and can be used as an indicator of food freshness and quality. Specifically, bacteria from the families Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonadaceae can produce cadaverine and putrescine in spoiled turkey meat. It was suggested to use tyramine, putrescine, and cadaverin to quantify meat freshness (Fraqueza et al., 2012). In vegetables, high levels of tyramine were only seen in brine, unless the vegetables were contaminated prior to processing or the temperature and storage time were extreme (Moret et al., 2005). In several bacterial species, the above reaction is catalyzed by the enzyme tyrosine decarboxylase, which also converts tyrosine to another trace amine, tyramine (Marcobal et al., 2012; Pessione et al., 2009).
Potential Substance Interactions With Phenylethylamine (PEA)
In accordance with this hypothesis, studies from mouse brain showed that DAT exerts inhibitory activities on D2R signaling activities (Ghisi et al., 2009) but the presynaptic D2R exerts stimulatory influences on DAT activity (Meiergerd et al., 1993; Dickinson et al., 1999). To determine whether the β-PEAs that inhibited the DAT activity altered the functional activity of D2R, we selected two β-PEAs and determined their effects on the endocytosis of D2R. Dopamine transporter (DAT) plays a key role in terminating DA neurotransmission by reuptaking DA released into synapses (Carroll et al., 1999; Enyedy et al., 2003). DAT belongs to the solute carrier superfamily and is characterized by twelve transmembrane domains. It reuptakes synaptic DA released from presynaptic neurons by utilizing the energy of the sodium gradient generated by Na+/K+-ATPase (Kilty et al., 1991; Shimada et al., 1991).
Figure 8
Exercise may improve mood and it has been linked to increased brain phenethylamine in limited studies 36, 37. If your goal is to increase phenethylamine to improve your mood-related issues — including those of depression or anxiety — it’s important to talk to your doctor, especially your symptoms are significantly impacting your daily life. Scientists are investigating whether phenethylamine can curb appetite, increase metabolism, and affect weight loss based on its influence on neurotransmitter levels. Since dopamine and other catecholamines are released during excitement or arousal, phenethylamine has been linked to sexual drive and feelings of pleasure. Phenethylamine is therefore sometimes referred to as the “love drug,” though clinical trials are completely lacking 30, 31. Increasing these neurotransmitters in certain brain areas may, in theory, promote a positive mood and lead to a greater sense of well-being.
7 Blockade Of DAD1R Attenuated Acute Β-PEA-Induced Circling Behavior In Mice
Ortho or meta positions enhanced activity, whereas the para substitution reduced it. One of the best derivatives was 140, which was compared with its tryptamine congener 141, less potent overall in the 5-HT2 assays performed (Figure 17c). Based on these catecholamines, several studies were performed to investigate the effect of chirality, further functionalization, and activity on different derivatives 25,26,27,28,29,30,31.
Phenylethylamine
Beta-phenylethylamine (β-PEA) is well known as an endogenous neuroactive trace amine and is widespread throughout the central nervous system of rodents 1. In particular, β-PEA is synthesized within nigrostriatal and mesolimbic dopamine (DA) regions, such as the striatum and nucleus accumbens 2, and the highest level of β-PEA is found in these brain regions 3,4. Thus, it is known that β-PEA inhibits the uptake of DA and promotes the release of DA in the mesocorticolimbic pathway 5,6. Hossain et al. also showed that β-PEA increased extracellular DA via the DA transporter (DAT) and that increased DA levels induced by β-PEA were inhibited by a DAT inhibitor in Caenorhabdits elegans DAT-1 expressing LLC-pk1 cells 7. In addition, in previous studies, systemic injection or intrastriatal infusion of β-PEA increased DA levels in the striatum 8 and nucleus accumbens 9, and β-PEA and amphetamine induced similar levels of DA release in neuronal culture 10. Β-phenylethylamine (PEA) is a small molecule that exhibits an array of intriguing and seemingly unrelated functions.
At the end of the phenethylamines treatment time, 2 × 105 cells were centrifuged, resuspended in PBS1X to measure intracellular ROS level and stained at 37 °C in the dark for 20 min with 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescin diacetate (DCFH2-DA). After, a total of 5000 events, derived from viable cells, were acquired and analyzed using Guava Incyte software. The apoptotic cell percentages recorded in the cultures treated with phenethylamines different concentrations were normalized on those recorded in the untreated control cultures, accounted equal to 1 and expressed as apoptotic fold increase. These results were used to check that the apoptosis induction for each phenethylamine was similar or corresponding at most to a doubling of that recorded in the untreated control cultures. The study ended by analyzing the phenethylamines ROS induction in order to identify a possible mechanism underlying the genotoxic activity demonstrated.
Insights For Phenethylamines
Phenylisopropylamines (i.e., α-methyl analogs of phenylethylamines) are a class of phenylalkylamines that includes amphetamine (8) and methamphetamine (52; Figure 11). By introduction of the β-OH function, phenylpropanolamines now possess two chiral centers and four optical isomers are possible (Figure 11). Depending upon stereochemistry, norephedrine is the β-OH analog of amphetamine whereas ephedrine is the β-OH analog of methamphetamine; the other two optical isomers are referred to using the prefix “pseudo” (Figure 11).
