Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Ephedrine works by inducing the release of norepinephrine and hence indirectly activating the α-and β-adrenergic receptors. [11] Chemically, ephedrine is a substituted amphetamine and is the (1R,2S)-enantiomer of β-hydroxy-N-methylamphetamine. [14] Ephedrine was first isolated in 1885 and came into commercial use in 1926.
There are alkaloids that do not have strong psychoactive effect themselves, but are precursors for semi-synthetic psychoactive drugs. For example, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are used to produce methcathinone and methamphetamine. [216] Thebaine is used in the synthesis of many painkillers such as oxycodone.
Some of amphetamine's substituted derivatives occur in nature, for example in the leaves of Ephedra and khat plants. [1] Amphetamine was first produced at the end of the 19th century. By the 1930s, amphetamine and some of its derivative compounds found use as decongestants in the symptomatic treatment of colds and also occasionally as ...
Ephedrine is the N-methyl analogue of phenylpropanolamine. Exogenous compounds in this family are degraded too rapidly by monoamine oxidase to be active at all but the highest doses. [51] However, the addition of the α-methyl group allows the compound to avoid metabolism and confer an effect. [51]
Ephedrine is the precursor of synthetic amphetamines. The diastereomer of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine is found in Ephedra sinica together along with ephedrine. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are both generally used for weight reduction and performance enhancement. They can also be reduced to methamphetamine. [2]
Drug precursors, also referred to as precursor chemicals or simply precursors, are substances used to manufacture illicit drugs. Most precursors also have legitimate commercial uses and are legally used in a wide variety of industrial processes and consumer products, such as medicines, flavourings, and fragrances.
Pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, phenylacetone, and phenylacetic acid are currently DEA list I, and acetic anhydride is list II on the DEA list of chemicals subject to regulation and control measures. This method can involve the use of mercuric chloride and leaves behind mercury and lead environmental wastes. [ 101 ]
In chemistry, a precursor is a compound that participates in a chemical reaction that produces another compound. In biochemistry , the term "precursor" often refers more specifically to a chemical compound preceding another in a metabolic pathway , such as a protein precursor .