6-Methoxytryptamine

6-Methoxytryptamine
Clinical data
Other names6-Methoxy-T; 6-MeO-T; PAL-263; PAL263
Drug classMonoamine releasing agent; Serotonin–norepinephrine–dopamine releasing agent; Serotonin receptor modulator
ATC code
  • None
Identifiers
IUPAC name
  • 2-(6-methoxy-1H-indol-3-yl)ethanamine
CAS Number
PubChem CID
ChemSpider
UNII
ChEMBL
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
ECHA InfoCard100.020.708
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC11H14N2O
Molar mass190.246 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
SMILES
  • COC1=CC2=C(C=C1)C(=CN2)CCN
InChI
  • InChI=1S/C11H14N2O/c1-14-9-2-3-10-8(4-5-12)7-13-11(10)6-9/h2-3,6-7,13H,4-5,12H2,1H3
  • Key:VOCGEKMEZOPDFP-UHFFFAOYSA-N

6-Methoxytryptamine (6-MeO-T; developmental code name PAL-263) is a monoamine releasing agent and serotonin receptor modulator of the tryptamine family.[1] It is a positional isomer of 5-methoxytryptamine.[1]

Pharmacology

6-Methoxytryptamine is a potent serotonin–norepinephrine–dopamine releasing agent (SNDRA), with EC50Tooltip half-maximal effective concentration values for monoamine release induction of 53.8 nM for serotonin, 113 nM for dopamine, and 465 nM for norepinephrine in rat brain synaptosomes.[1] It is also a full agonist of the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor, but with very low potency; its EC50 and EmaxTooltip maximal efficacy at this receptor were 2,443 nM and 111%, respectively.[1] In a series of tryptamine derivatives, 6-methoxytryptamine was the least potent serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonist, while 5-methoxytryptamine was the most potent serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonist, with 5-methoxytryptamine showing approximately 4,857-fold higher potency in terms of serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonism than 6-methoxytryptamine.[1] Conversely, whereas 6-methoxytryptamine was a potent monoamine releasing agent, 5-methoxytryptamine showed very low potency in this regard.[1]

History

6-Methoxytryptamine was first described in the scientific literature by the 1950s.[2]

Derivatives

Certain β-carbolines and harmala alkaloids, such as harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine, are notable in being naturally occurring cyclized tryptamine derivatives of 6-methoxytryptamine.[3][4] The same is true of certain iboga alkaloids, such as tabernanthine and ibogaline.[5][6][7][8] Tabernanthalog (DLX-007) is a synthetic simplified ibogalog analogue of tabernanthine that is under development for use as a potential pharmaceutical drug in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders.[9][10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Blough BE, Landavazo A, Partilla JS, Decker AM, Page KM, Baumann MH, et al. (October 2014). "Alpha-ethyltryptamines as dual dopamine-serotonin releasers". Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters. 24 (19): 4754–4758. doi:10.1016/j.bmcl.2014.07.062. PMC 4211607. PMID 25193229.
  2. Vane JR (March 1959). "The relative activities of some tryptamine analogues on the isolated rat stomach strip preparation". British Journal of Pharmacology and Chemotherapy. 14 (1): 87–98. doi:10.1111/j.1476-5381.1959.tb00933.x. PMC 1481817. PMID 13651584.
  3. Shulgin A, Shulgin A (September 1997). TiHKAL: The Continuation. Berkeley, California: Transform Press. ISBN 0-9630096-9-9. OCLC 38503252.
  4. Grella B, Dukat M, Young R, Teitler M, Herrick-Davis K, Gauthier CB, et al. (April 1998). "Investigation of hallucinogenic and related beta-carbolines". Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 50 (2): 99–107. doi:10.1016/s0376-8716(97)00163-4. PMID 9649961.
  5. Skolnick P, Popik P (1999). "Pharmacology of Ibogaine and Ibogaine-Related Alkaloids". The Alkaloids: Chemistry and Biology. Vol. 52. Elsevier. pp. 197–231. doi:10.1016/s0099-9598(08)60027-9. ISBN 978-0-12-469552-8. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  6. Lavaud C, Massiot G (2017). "The Iboga Alkaloids" (PDF). Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products. Vol. 105. pp. 89–136. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-49712-9_2. ISBN 978-3-319-49711-2. PMID 28194562.
  7. Iyer RN, Favela D, Zhang G, Olson DE (March 2021). "The iboga enigma: the chemistry and neuropharmacology of iboga alkaloids and related analogs". Natural Product Reports. 38 (2): 307–329. doi:10.1039/d0np00033g. PMC 7882011. PMID 32794540.
  8. Chen MJ, Chen-Li D, Chisamore N, Husain MI, Di Vincenzo JD, Mansur RB, et al. (July 2025). "Non-hallucinogenic psychedelics for mood and anxiety disorders: A systematic review". Psychiatry Research. 349 116532. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116532. PMID 40354769.
  9. Cameron LP, Tombari RJ, Lu J, Pell AJ, Hurley ZQ, Ehinger Y, et al. (January 2021). "A non-hallucinogenic psychedelic analogue with therapeutic potential". Nature. 589 (7842): 474–479. Bibcode:2021Natur.589..474C. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-3008-z. PMC 7874389. PMID 33299186.