Abuse liability of the dietary supplement dimethylamylamine

Abstract

Background Dimethylamylamine (DMAA) is a component of many dietary supplements and has recently been associated with numerous adverse effects, prompting the US military and World Anti-Doping Agency to ban its use as a supplement. The current study aimed to elucidate the abuse liability profile of DMAA. Methods Dose-response studies of DMAA were performed with Swiss-Webster mice in locomotor and conditioned place-preference assays. The discriminative stimulus effects of DMAA were investigated in Sprague-Dawley rats trained to discriminate either cocaine or methamphetamine from saline. Results DMAA produced dose-dependent locomotor depression and fully substituted for cocaine and partially substituted for methamphetamine. In the conditioned place-preference assay, DMAA produced an inverted-U-shaped dose-response curve, with intermediate doses producing significant place preference. Conclusions The cocaine- and methamphetamine-like discriminative stimulus effects and the conditioned place preference produced by DMAA suggest that is has potential for abuse. These findings in combination with reports of substantial adverse effects of DMAA in humans suggest that control of DMAA may warrant further consideration.

“Plant or poison”: A netnographic study of recreational use of 1,3-dimethylamylamine (DMAA)

“…We note that studies have observed DMAA's long half-life, with repeated doses within 24-36 h and dosages of greater than 100-200 mg increasing risk of adverse effects (Venhuis & de Kaste, 2012). Abuse liability of DMAA is reported to be similar to stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine (Dolan & Gatch, 2015). Adverse sympathomimetic symptoms reported by these users are similar to those described by Gee et al (2010Gee et al ( , 2012 in New Zealand, and deterred follow-up or chronic use.…”

“…The compound was originally patented by Eli Lilly for use as nasal decongestant (Venhuis & de Kaste, 2012). DMAA is banned by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Dolan & Gatch, 2015) and by World Anti-Doping Agency in their 2010 Prohibited list (listed under its synonym 'methylhexaneamine'). Emerging analogues on legislative controls have included '1,3-dimethylbutylamine' (DMBA) found in dietary supplements (Cohen, Travis, & Venhuis, 2014).…”

Locomotor, discriminative stimulus, and place conditioning effects of MDAI in rodents

“…In the present study, both compounds produced rapid onset locomotor depression at lower doses, and slower onset, long-lasting locomotor stimulation at higher doses. In addition, the cathinone flephedrone (Gatch et al, 2013), the sympathomimetic dimethylamylamine (Dolan & Gatch, 2015), and the phenethylamine hallucinogens 2C-D and DOC (Eshleman et al, 2014) produced a profile similar to that of MDAI and MDMA: depressant effects followed by rebound stimulant effects. In contrast, a wide range of psychostimulants produce locomotor stimulation, often in an-inverted U-shaped function, such that increasing doses produce increases in locomotor activity, with the highest doses producing marked decreases in locomotor activity (Carroll et al, 2009; Gatch et al, 2013; 2015a; 2015b; Katz, 2001).…”

Effects of controlled doses of Oxyelite Pro on physical performance in rats

“…Registered as geranamine the DMAA reappeared on the market in 2006 as an ingredient in various dietary supplements [10]. However, several adverse effects began to be associated with the use of products containing DMAA.…”

“…Although some studies have already been performed in humans as described, only 1 study was performed in animal model and only 1 study in cell culture [6, 10], showing the lack of mechanistic studies. Also, studies showing that those supplements are safe and well tolerated were from groups sponsored by its manufacturer, the USP labs [1, 3, 17, 18].…”