ETH-CAT

ethylcathinone (also known as ethylpropion, ethcathinone, and commonly as eth-cat) is a stimulant substance of the cathinone chemical class that produces stimulating and focus enhancing effects when administered. it is structurally related to cathinone and methcathinone (mcat), which broadly shares the effects profile of amphetamine or methylphenidate.

of the substituted cathinones, eth-cat reportedly produces the most moderate and residually long-lasting stimulation, with subtle effects that persist well after the initial rush. it has been described as having a more functional than recreational character due to the limited euphoria it produces for a stimulant, although its short active duration can promote compulsive redosing.

very little data exists about the pharmacological properties, metabolism, and toxicity of eth-cat, and it has little history of human usage. it is primarily distributed as a research chemical on the online grey market. in 2008 it was identified as an ingredient in both quasi-legal “party pills”. it has also been reported as having been sold as “ecstasy” along with another substituted cathinone, mephedrone. it is highly advised to use harm reduction practices if using this substance.

chemistry

ethylcathinone, or eth-cat, is a synthetic alkaloid of the substituted cathinone class. substituted cathinones are all derivatives of cathinone, a stimulant substance which is structurally and functionally related to amphetamine and the principal active psychoactive component present in the khat plant (catha edulis). the cathinone molecule is comprised of a phenethylamine core featuring a phenyl ring bound to an amino (nh₂) group at the end of an ethyl side-chain that contains ketone group in the beta position.

in distinction to its n-methylated lower homolog, methcathinone (m-cat), eth-cat possesses an additional ethyl substitution at r_α. eth-cat can be thought of as the cathinone analog of ethylamphetamine given it has the same general formula, differing only by the addition of a single double-bonded oxygen (i.e. the ketone group).

pharmacology

although the effects of eth-cat have not been formally studied on the same level as traditional amphetamines or other substituted cathinones like methcathinone, it is possible to speculate that like other simple substituted cathinone, it most likely acts principally as a dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor.

the result of this is an effective increase in the levels of catecholamine neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain by binding to and partially blocking the transporter proteins that normally clear these neurotransmitters from the synaptic cleft. this enables dopamine and norepinephrine to accumulate between the synaptic clefts of key regions of the brain associated with reward, motivation, satisfaction and pleasure to extra-endogenous levels. this mechanism is thought to account for the stimulating, motivation enhancing and euphoric effects that this substance produces.