Benzscaline (BZ), also known as 4-benzyloxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (4-BzlO-3,5-DMPEA), is a

serotonin receptor agonist A serotonin receptor agonist is an agonist of one or more serotonin receptors. They activate serotonin receptors in a manner similar to that of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT), a neurotransmitter and hormone and the endogenous ligand of t ...

and possible

serotonergic psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

of the

phenethylamine Phenethylamine (PEA) is an organic compound, natural monoamine alkaloid, and trace amine, which acts as a central nervous system stimulant in humans. In the brain, phenethylamine regulates monoamine neurotransmission by binding to trace ami ...

and scaline families. It is a potent

serotonin Serotonin (), also known as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), is a monoamine neurotransmitter with a wide range of functions in both the central nervous system (CNS) and also peripheral tissues. It is involved in mood, cognition, reward, learning, ...

5-HT_2A receptor

partial agonist In pharmacology, partial agonists are drugs that bind to and activate a given Receptor (biochemistry), receptor, but have only partial Intrinsic activity, efficacy at the receptor relative to a full agonist. They may also be considered Ligand (bio ...

, with an

affinity Affinity may refer to: Commerce, finance and law * Affinity (law), kinship by marriage * Affinity analysis, a market research and business management technique * Affinity Credit Union, a Saskatchewan-based credit union * Affinity Equity Pa ...

(K_i) of 150nM, an activational

potency Potency may refer to: * Potency (pharmacology), a measure of the activity of a drug in a biological system * Virility * Cell potency, a measure of the differentiation potential of stem cells * In homeopathic dilutions, potency is a measure of ho ...

() of 27nM, and an

efficacy Efficacy is the ability to perform a task to a satisfactory or expected degree. The word comes from the same roots as '' effectiveness'', and it has often been used synonymously, although in pharmacology a distinction is now often made betwee ...

() of 77%. Its affinity and activational potency were 63- and 370-fold more potent than those of

mescaline Mescaline, also known as mescalin or mezcalin, and in chemical terms 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine, is a natural product, naturally occurring psychedelic drug, psychedelic alkaloid, protoalkaloid of the substituted phenethylamine class, found ...

, respectively, and it was the most potent assessed mescaline analogue. In addition, benzscaline was more efficacious in activating the receptor than mescaline ( = 56% vs. 77%, respectively). Benzscaline does not activate the serotonin 5-HT_2B receptor ( = >10,000nM), but does show affinity for the serotonin 5-HT_2C receptor (K_i = 440nM). It also shows high affinity for the rat

trace amine-associated receptor 1 Trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) is a trace amine-associated receptor (TAAR) protein that in humans is encoded by the ''TAAR1'' gene. TAAR1 is a primarily intracellular amine-activated and G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that is p ...

(TAAR1) (K_i = 110nM), but not for the mouse TAAR1 (K_i = 2,400nM), and does not activate the human TAAR1 ( = >10,000nM). The drug does not appear to bind to the

monoamine transporter Monoamine transporters (MATs) are proteins that function as integral Cell membrane, plasma-membrane Neurotransmitter transporter, transporters to regulate concentrations of extracellular monoamine neurotransmitters. The three major classes are se ...

s (K_i = >7,500–9,700nM). According to

Alexander Shulgin Alexander Theodore "Sasha" Shulgin (June 17, 1925 – June 2, 2014) was an American biochemist, broad researcher of synthetic psychoactive compounds, and author of works regarding these, who independently explored the organic chemistry and ph ...

in ''

PiHKAL ''PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story'' is a book by Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin published in 1991. The subject of the work is Psychoactive drug, psychoactive phenethylamine Derivative (chemistry), chemical derivatives, notably those that act ...

'' as well as

Daniel Trachsel Daniel Trachsel is a Swiss people, Swiss chemist who studies psychedelic drug, psychedelics and entactogens. He has developed and published on a large number of novel psychedelic and entactogen chemical compound, compounds, including their psycho ...

and colleagues, benzscaline is not known to have been tested in humans but may be active as a serotonergic psychedelic with predicted potency similar to that of

proscaline Proscaline (4-propoxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine or 4-propoxy-3,5-DMPEA) is a Psychedelic drug, psychedelic and hallucinogenic drug. It has structural properties similar to the drugs mescaline, isoproscaline, and escaline. In ''PiHKAL'', Alexan ...

(which is active at 30–60mg orally). It is notable in this regard that the

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from Alpha and beta carbon, alpha-methylphenethylamine, methylphenethylamine) is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, an ...

(α-

methyl In organic chemistry, a methyl group is an alkyl derived from methane, containing one carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms, having chemical formula (whereas normal methane has the formula ). In formulas, the group is often abbreviated as ...

) analogue of benzscaline,

3C-BZ 3C-BZ, also known as 4-benzyloxy-3,5-dimethoxyamphetamine or as 3C-benzscaline, is a lesser-known psychedelic drug and a substituted amphetamine. 3C-BZ was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin. Use and effects In Shulgin's book ''PiHKAL'', the ...

, is active as a psychedelic with similar effects to

lysergic acid diethylamide Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a Semisynthesis, semisynthetic, Hallucinogen, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and ...

(LSD) or 3,4,5-trimethoxyamphetamine (TMA), and is said to be 9-fold more potent than mescaline but with marked interindividual variability (3C-BZ being active at 25–200mg orally). The high interindividual variability of 3C-BZ is said to have discouraged further investigation into benzscaline. Benzscaline was reportedly eventually assayed in humans at Hyperlab and this was published in 2014. Benzscaline was first

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

ed in 1931 and was intended for therapeutic use.

References

External links

BZ - Isomer Design
{{Phenethylamines 5-HT2A agonists Benzyl compounds O-methylated phenols Scalines Serotonin receptor agonists TAAR1 modulators

See also

References

External links