Phenethylamine Stats & Data

Measured binding and functional data for β-phenylethylamine, curated by the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY. Each row cites the paper it came from. Lower concentrations mean tighter binding — a value in the sub-nanomolar range indicates a very potent interaction.

Reading this. pKi, pEC50 and pIC50 are negative log molar values, so a higher number means a tighter interaction; the concentration column converts them for you. Values from non-human species are laboratory measurements and do not translate directly to human effect. Receptor affinity is not a dose — it describes what a molecule binds, not how much of it is safe to take.

Receptor data from the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY (v2026.2), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Matched to this substance by InChIKey.

Phenethylamine has long held a special place in psychopharmacological research due to its status as the simplest member of the phenethylamine chemical class. Its clean molecular structure, natural presence in human tissues and bodily fluids, and close chemical relationship to both amphetamine and endogenous neurotransmitters have made it a subject of sustained scientific interest. The compound occurs widely throughout nature in both plants and animals, produced as a metabolic byproduct during the bacterial decomposition of phenylalanine in tissue. Multiple synthetic routes for phenethylamine were established in the mid-twentieth century. In 1948, R. F. Nystrom and W. G. Brown first reported a convenient synthesis involving the reduction of ω-nitrostyrene using lithium aluminium hydride in ether. An alternative method was later published in 1955 by J. C. Robinson and H. R. Snyder in Organic Syntheses, which employed the reduction of benzyl cyanide with hydrogen in liquid ammonia using a Raney-Nickel catalyst under high temperature and pressure conditions. Phenethylamine gained popular attention through its association with chocolate, where it occurs as a significant component, particularly following microbial fermentation. This led to its characterization in mainstream media as "the love-sickness chemical," spawning a popular myth that individuals experiencing heartbreak compulsively consume chocolate to replenish depleted phenethylamine levels. While some researchers have speculated that phenethylamine may play a role in romantic affection, these claims have not been substantiated by direct experimental evidence. The compound has also been implicated in the euphoric effects of vigorous physical activity; research has demonstrated that thirty minutes of moderate- to high-intensity exercise significantly elevates urinary levels of phenylacetic acid, the primary metabolite of phenethylamine. Similar increases have been observed following skydiving, suggesting phenethylamine may contribute to the subjective pleasure associated with intense physical exertion.

PEA poisonings may be severe in young and healthy individuals. The most frequently reported symptoms included anxiety and hallucinations (49%), mydriasis and headache (41%), tachycardia (40%) and hypertension (15%).

Effects aggregated from 5 experience reports (5 single-substance Erowid)

Each bar is the share of reports mentioning the effect; its whisker, and the band on the rows below, is the 95% interval: where the share could plausibly be with other reports of the same kind.

Too few reports for bars: these effects come from 5 single-substance Erowid reports, and a bar is drawn only from 20 reports or more. With fewer, a percentage cannot tell a common effect from a rare one. Counts are shown instead. Why 20?

Also reported in combinations. In the 8 Phenethylamine reports where another drug was taken too, 1 mentions hospital, emergency services or an overdose, 0 a seizure and 0 psychosis (too few reports for percentages). In the 5 single-substance reports: 0, 0 and 0. These are not in the figures above: they cannot be put down to Phenethylamine alone, and a mention is not always something that happened to the writer.

From 11 of 19 recorded dose entries: those that state a weight (mg, g or µg), in routes with at least five of them. Values above Q3 + 3×IQR, far above what people typically take, are left out; they can include real heavy doses and overdoses, not only mistakes.

Most co-occurring substances, as a share of all 13 reports filed under Phenethylamine

Too few reports for bars: these combinations come from 13 reports, and a bar is drawn only from 20 reports or more. With fewer, a percentage cannot tell a common effect from a rare one. Counts are shown instead. Why 20?

• Selegiline 3 of 13

Most common forms and preparations, as a share of the 5 reports that give one

Too few reports for bars: these forms come from 5 reports, and a bar is drawn only from 20 reports or more. With fewer, a percentage cannot tell a common effect from a rare one. Counts are shown instead. Why 20?

• Capsule 3 of 5
• Powder / Crystals 2 of 5