DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38017/1657463X.686Keywords:
Catinone, Mephedrine, 4-methylmetcatinone, Pharmacology, ToxicologyAbstract
In the past 25 years in Europe, new synthetic drugs have emerged from the khat plant (Catha edulis), called Catinones, which is a very powerful alkaloid analogous to amphetamines. Among the derivatives of cathinone is mephedrine (4-methylmetcatinone (4-MMC)), which has pharmacological effects equivalent to those reported by ecstasy, amphetamines, or cocaine. This article presents an exhaustive review of the literature regarding the main detection methods of 4-MMC known as mephedrone, in addition to presenting the physicochemical, pharmacological, toxicological properties, and the main harmful effects on health. Of particular concern and interest is that this ephedrine-derived medicine comes from a plant and is considered legal in some Western European countries. It has been widely used in recent years for recreational purposes in several countries in Europe, North America, and most South American countries due to its ease of purchase and as a new alternative to ecstasy and cocaine. The effects of 4-MMC are associated with stimulant effects, such as increased concentration, psychomotor stimulation, decreased appetite, and insomnia. Recent studies have described compulsive use of mephedrone as primarily a juvenile phenomenon, and severe addiction, sudden changes in body temperature and heart rate, hallucinations, psychosis, and death from overdose are among the most dangerous side effects.
Based on the above, a review of the literature focusing on the chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and risk analysis for mephedrone is essential , to find strategies for rapid determination and mitigation of its adverse effects on addicts, as well as avoiding consumption.
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References
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Gibbons, S. & Zloh, M. 2010. An analysis of the ‘legal high’ mephedrone. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters (20): 4135–4139.
Glickstein, S., & Schmauss, C. 2004. Effect of methamphetamine on cognition and repetitive motor behavior of mice deficient for dopamine D2 and D3 receptors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (1025): 110–118.
Glicksberg, L. & Kerrigan, S. 2017. Stability of Synthetic Cathinones in Blood. J. Anal. Toxicol. (41): 711–719.
Glicksberg, L. & Kerrigan, S. 2018. Stability of Synthetic Cathinones in Urine. J. Anal. Toxicol. (42): 77–87.
Gygi, M., Gibb, J., & Hanson, G. 1996. Methcathinone: an initial study of its effects on monoaminergic systems. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (3): 1066–1072.
H. Torrance, 2010. The detection of mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone) in 4 fatalities in Scotland. Forensic Science International,. (10): 62-63.
Jankovics, P., Varadi, A., Tolgyesi, L., Lohner, S., Nemeth-Palotas, J., & Koszegi-Szalai, H. 2012. Identification and characterization of the new designer drug 40-methylethcathinone (4-MEC) and elaboration of a novel liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) screening method for seven different methcathinone analogs. Forensic Science International,(3): 213-220.
Jones, L., Reed, P., & Parrott, A. 2016. Mephedrone and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine: Comparative psychobiological effects as reported by recreational polydrug users. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 30 (12): 1313-1320.
Kapitány-Fövény, M., Kertész, M., Winstock, A., Deluca, P., & Corazza, O. 2013. Substitutional potential of mephedrone: an analysis of the subjective effects. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental (28): 308–316.
Kavanagh, P., O’Brien, J., Power, J. D., & Talbot, B. 2013. ‘Smoking’ mephedrone: The identification of the pyrolysis products of 4-methylmethcathinone hydrochloride. Drug Testing and Analysis (5):291–305.
Kehr, J., Ichinose, F., Yoshitake, S., Goiny, M., Sievertsson, T. & Nyberg, F. 2011. Mephedrone, compared to MDMA (ecstasy) and amphetamine, rapidly increases both dopamine and serotonin levels in nucleus accumbens of awake rats. British Journal of Pharmacology, 164 (8): 1949-1958.
Kelly J. P. 2011. Cathinone derivatives: A review of their chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology. Drug Testing and Analysis (3): 439-435.
Levitas, M.P., Andrews, E., Lurie, I., Marginean, I., 2018. Discrimination of synthetic cathinones by GC-MS and GC-MS/MS using cold electron ionization. Forensic Sci. Int. (288): 107–114.
Linharta, I., Himla, M., Židková, M., Balíková, M., Lhotkovác, E., & Pálenícek, T. 2016. Metabolic profile of mephedrone: Identification of nor-mephedrone conjugates with dicarboxylic acids as a new type of xenobiotic phase II Metabolites. Toxicology Letters, (204): 54.62.
Lisek, R., Xu, W., Yuvasheva, E., Chiu, Y., Reitz, A., Liu-Chen, L. & Rawls, S. 2014. Mephedrone (‘bath salt’) elicits conditioned place preference and dopaminesensitive motor activation. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, (3): 257-262.
López-Rabuñala, Á., Lendoiro, E., Concheiro, M., López-Rivadulla, M., Cruz, A., & de-Castro-Ríos, A. (2019). A LC-MS/MS method for the determination of common synthetic cathinones in meconium. Journal of Chromatography B, (5): 349-355.
Martinez-Clemente, J., Escubedo E, Pubill. & Camarasa. 2012. nteraction of mephedrone with dopamine and serotonin targets in rats. European Neuropsychopharmacology 3 (22): 231-236.
Martınez-Clemente, J., Lopez-Arnau, R., Abad, S., Pubill, D., Escubedo, E., & Camarasa, J. 2014. Dose and Time-Dependent Selective Neurotoxicity Induced by Mephedrone in Mice. Plos One (50): 1-11.
Mercieca, G., Odoardi, S., Cassar, M., & Strano Rossi, S. (2018). Rapid and simple procedure for the determination of cathinones, amphetamine-like stimulants and other new psychoactive substances in blood and urine by GC–MS. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, (149): 494-501.
Meyer, M. R., Wilhelm, J., Peters, F. T. & Maurer, H. H. 2013. Beta-keto amphetamines: studies on the metabolism of the designer drug mephedrone and toxicological detection of mephedrone, butylone, and methylone in urine using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 3 (397): 1225-1233.
Meyer M. R & Maurer H. H. 2010. Metabolism of designer drugs of abuse: an updated review. Current Drug Metabolism 11 (5): 468-482.
Mori, T., Ito, S., Kita, T. & Sawaguchi, T. 2007. Effects of dopamine- and serotoninrelated compounds on methamphetamine-induced self-injurious behavior in mice. Journal of Pharmacological Sciences (96): 459–464.
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2020-12-14
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Ángulo Florez, D. H., & Cipagauta Esquivel, E. C. (2020). Chemical Analysis Methods for the Detection of 4-methylmetcatinone (mefedrine), from a Pharmacological and Toxicological Perspective. Cultura científica, 1(18), 95–120. https://doi.org/10.38017/1657463X.686
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Article of scientific and technological research
