The two drugs 4-MEC and 4-MePPP are synthetic derivatives of cathinone, a naturally occuring compound of the "khat" plant. Researchers discovered that each synthetic cathinone derivative has a unique mechanism of action. The drug 4-MEC was shown to work in two ways depending on the neurotransmitter it binds to in the brain. If 4-MEC binds to a serotonin transporter, it was found to act like an amphetamine-type stimulant. On the other hand, if 4-MEC binds to a dopamine transporter, it was found to act like cocaine. The researchers found that 4-MePPP not only blocks dopamine similar to cocaine, but also blocks serotonin transporters comparable to MDPV.
These findings, the authors comment, demonstrate how changing the N-alkyl substituent of cathinone drugs can profoundly influence their pharmacology. The authors of the study recommend that future studies should examine the neurotoxic potential and abuse liability of 4-MEC and 4-MePPP as well as other emerging synthetic cathinone derivatives.
Cerilliant provides Certified Spiking Solutions® for a wide selection of synthetic cathinone "bath salt" derivatives and their stable-labeled internal standards including 4-MEC, MDPV, α-PVP, α-PPP, mephedrone, methylone, ethylone, butylone, pentylone, pentedrone, and MDPBP among many others. Cerilliant also offers Certified Spiking Solutions® of the primary urinary metabolites of mephedrone, buphedrone, pentedrone, flephedrone, N-ethylcathinone, and 4-methylethcathinone and their stable-labeled internal standards. These drugs of abuse reference standards offer numerous applications in GC/MS or LC/MS testing from urine drug monitoring and forensic testing to clinical toxicology analysis.
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