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| Other names | N-Ethylcathinone; 2-Ethylaminopropiophenone |
| Routes of administration | By mouth, intranasal |
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| Formula | C11H15NO |
| Molar mass | 177.247 g·mol−1 |
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| Chirality | Racemic mixture |
| Melting point | 195 to 198 °C (383 to 388 °F) (hydrochloride) |
| Boiling point | 272.3 °C (522.1 °F) at 760 mmHg (hydrochloride) |
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Ethcathinone, also known asethylpropion orETH-CAT, is astimulantdrug of thephenethylamine,amphetamine, andcathinonechemical classes. It is an activemetabolite of theprodrugdiethylcathinone and is fully responsible for its effects. Ethcathinone has been identified as an ingredient in both quasi-legal "party pills",[3] and, along withmephedrone, has also been reported as having been sold as "ecstasy" in the Australian city ofCairns.[4][5]
The pharmacology for ethcathinone appeared alongside other psychostimulants in a paper by Rothman and Baumann in 2006.[6] The predominant two modes of action for ethcathinone is as a moderately activereleaser ofnoradrenaline (EC50 = 99.3 nM);[6] however it is only a relatively weakinhibitor of dopamine reuptake (Ki = 1,014 nM).[6]
Since diethylcathinone appears to be an inactiveprodrug and only becomes active after it has been further metabolized to ethcathinone,[6] it thereby would appear rational to consider that ethcathinone would also be expected to beN-dealkylated upon its consumption to the more active drugcathinone that is more able to reliably stimulate the release ofdopamine. However, in contrast to diethylcathinone, ethcathinone is not universally considered to be a prodrug since (as is the case with tramadol, codeine, and MDMA) it is already active in its own right, therefore being excluded from the category by some of the more strict definitions.
Ethcathinone, along withmephedrone andflephedrone, was banned inDenmark on December 18, 2008.
As of October 2015 Ethcathinone is a controlled substance in China.[7]
This compound is banned in the United States, being a positional isomer ofmephedrone.[8]
