Trimethoxyamphetamines (TMAs) are a family of positionally isomeric

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 ...

hallucinogenic Hallucinogens, also known as psychedelics, entheogens, or historically as psychotomimetics, are a large and diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, moo ...

drugs A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...

. There exist six different TMAs that differ only in the positions of the three

methoxy In organic chemistry, a methoxy group is the functional group consisting of a methyl group bound to oxygen. This alkoxy group has the formula . On a benzene ring, the Hammett equation classifies a methoxy substituent at the ''para'' position a ...

groups A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

: TMA (TMA-1), TMA-2, TMA-3, TMA-4, TMA-5, and TMA-6. The TMAs are

substituted amphetamine Substituted amphetamines, or simply amphetamines, are a chemical class, class of compounds based upon the amphetamine structure; it includes all derivative (chemistry), derivative compounds which are formed by replacing, or substitution reacti ...

s and are analogues 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 ...

cactus A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

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 ...

and the DOx drugs. The

mechanism of action In pharmacology, the term mechanism of action (MOA) refers to the specific biochemical Drug interaction, interaction through which a Medication, drug substance produces its pharmacological effect. A mechanism of action usually includes mention o ...

of the TMAs is different from that of the unsubstituted compound

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 ...

, probably involving

agonist An agonist is a chemical that activates a Receptor (biochemistry), receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are Cell (biology), cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an R ...

activity on

serotonin receptor 5-HT receptors, 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors, or serotonin receptors, are a group of G protein-coupled receptor and ligand-gated ion channels found in multiple tissues including the central and peripheral nervous systems. They mediate both ex ...

s such as the 5-HT_2A receptors instead of the

monoamine releasing agent A monoamine releasing agent (MRA), or simply monoamine releaser, is a drug that induces the release of one or more monoamine neurotransmitters from the presynaptic neuron into the synapse, leading to an increase in the extracellular concentrati ...

actions typical of most amphetamines. This action on serotonergic receptors likely underlies the psychedelic effects of these compounds. TMA was first synthesized by Hey, in 1947. Synthesis data as well as

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

activity data has been published by

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 his book ''

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 ...

''. The most important TMA compound from a pharmacological standpoint is TMA-2, as this isomer has been much more widely used as a

recreational drug Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an Sub ...

and sold on the

grey market A grey market or dark market (sometimes confused with the similar term "parallel import, parallel market") is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels that are not authorised by the original manufacturer or trademark proprietor. ...

as a so-called

research chemical Research chemicals are chemical substances which scientists use for medical and scientific research purposes. One characteristic of a research chemical is that it is for laboratory research use only; a research chemical is not intended for human ...

; TMA (sometimes referred to as "mescalamphetamine" or TMA-1) and TMA-6 have also been used in this way to a lesser extent. These three isomers are significantly more active as hallucinogenic drugs, and have consequently been placed onto the illegal drug schedules in some countries such as the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The other three isomers TMA-3, TMA-4, and TMA-5 are not known to have been used as recreational drugs to any great extent. According to Shulgin, at the doses tested, TMA-3 was completely inactive, whereas TMA-4 and TMA-5 were said to produce effects comparable 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). 2,4,6-TMA (TMA-6) is a potent

monoamine oxidase A Monoamine oxidase A, also known as MAO-A, is an enzyme ( E.C. 1.4.3.4) that in humans is encoded by the ''MAOA'' gene. This gene is one of two neighboring gene family members that encode mitochondrial enzymes which catalyze the oxidative dea ...

(MAO-A)

inhibitor Inhibitor or inhibition may refer to: Biology * Enzyme inhibitor, a substance that binds to an enzyme and decreases the enzyme's activity * Reuptake inhibitor, a substance that increases neurotransmission by blocking the reuptake of a neurotransmi ...

, with an of 400nM. Conversely, 2,4,5-TMA (TMA-2) and 3,4,5-TMA (TMA-1) are inactive as MAO-A inhibitors ( = >100,000nM). Other 6-substituted amphetamines also tend to be potent MAO-A inhibitors.

List of TMAs

Note: Because they are isomers, the TMAs have the same

chemical formula A chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, such as pare ...

, C₁₂H₁₉NO₃, and the same

molecular mass The molecular mass () is the mass of a given molecule, often expressed in units of daltons (Da). Different molecules of the same compound may have different molecular masses because they contain different isotopes of an element. The derived quan ...

, 225.28 g/mol.

Properties

Legality

Brazil

It is scheduled in the F2 class (prohibited psychotropics) of the

Brazilian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act The Brazilian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (), officially ''Portaria nº 344/1998'', is Brazil's federal drug control statute, issued by the Ministry of Health through its National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa). The act also serves ...

Sweden

''Sveriges riksdag'' added TMA-2 to schedule I (''"substances, plant materials and fungi which normally do not have medical use"'') as narcotics in Sweden as of Dec 30, 1999, published by ''Medical Products Agency'' in their regulation LVFS 2004:3 listed as 2,4,5-trimetoxiamfetamin (TMA-2).

United Kingdom

Illegal under the

Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 The Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 (c. 2) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to restrict the production, sale and supply of a new class of psychoactive substances often referred to as "legal highs". The bill was given R ...

United States of America

3,4,5-Trimethoxyamphetamine is listed as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, along with positional isomers 2,4,5-Trimethoxyamphetamine (TMA-2), 2,4,6-Trimethoxyamphetamine (TMA-6) and

escaline Escaline (E), also known as 3,5-dimethoxy-4-ethoxyphenethylamine, is a psychedelic drug of the phenethylamine and scaline families related to mescaline. It is the 4- ethoxy analogue of mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine) and the pheneth ...