Phenylethylamines activity

Trace Amines. Figure 1 The main routes of trace amine metabolism. The trace amines (3-phenylethylamine (PEA), p-tyramine (TYR), octopamine (OCT) and tryptamine (TRP), highlighted by white shading, are each generated from their respective precursor amino acids by decarboxylation. They are rapidly metabolized by monoamine oxidase (MAO) to the pharmacologically inactive carboxylic acids. To a limited extent trace amines are also A/-methylated to the corresponding secondary amines which are believed to be pharmacologically active. Abbreviations AADC, aromatic amino acid decarboxylase DBH, dopamine b-hydroxylase NMT, nonspecific A/-methyltransferase PNMT, phenylethanolamine A/-methyltransferase TH, tyrosine hydroxylase. 

Example The discarded (-) phenylethylamine (3) from the resolution on page T 95 can be used to make other optically active compounds. 

Monoamine oxidase exists in two forms, MAOa and MAOb. The former is more active against NA and 5-HT than it is against DA, which is a substrate for both, even though, like S-phenylethylamine, it is more affected by MAOb. H seems likely that MAOb is the dominant enzyme in human brain and inhibitors of it, such as selegiline, have some value in the treatment of Parkinson s disease by prolonging the action of the remaining endogenous DA as well as that formed from administered levodopa. 

Molecules having only a sulfoxide function and no other acidic or basic site have been resolved through the intermediacy of metal complex formation. In 1934 Backer and Keuning resolved the cobalt complex of sulfoxide 5 using d-camphorsulfonic acid. More recently Cope and Caress applied the same technique to the resolution of ethyl p-tolyl sulfoxide (6). Sulfoxide 6 and optically active 1-phenylethylamine were used to form diastereomeric complexes i.e., (-1-)- and ( —)-trans-dichloro(ethyl p-tolyl sulfoxide) (1-phenylethylamine) platinum(II). Both enantiomers of 6 were obtained in optically pure form. Diastereomeric platinum complexes formed from racemic methyl phenyl (and three para-substituted phenyl) sulfoxides and d-N, N-dimethyl phenylglycine have been separated chromatographically on an analytical column L A nonaromatic example, cyclohexyl methyl sulfoxide, did not resolve. 

STRUCTURE-ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIPS AMONG PHENYLETHYLAMINE COMPOUNDS... 

The stimulation of locomotor activity by MDMA and the importance of mesolimbic dopamine in this response reflect similarities with the prototype phenylethylamine stimulant, amphetamine. It is important to note that these parameters are frequently associated with rewarding aspects of drugs and drug abuse. Additionally, the behavioral profiles of MDMA and I E share certain characteristics with hallucinogen-Iike agents. This unique mixture of stimulus properties and neurochemical actions may contribute to a dangerous behavioral toxicity and neurotoxic potential for drugs like MDMA. 

The catecholamine-releasing agent beta-phenylethylamine (PEA) also produces the 5-HT syndrome (156) by direct activation of 5-HT receptors. The 5-HT antagonists methysergide and mianserin blocked the syndrome-producing effects of PEA, while depletion of 5-HT by PCPA or 5,7-DHT treatments was not effective. A possible role of catecholamines in the syndrome-producing effects of PEA cannot presently be discounted. 

While the majority of studies have focused on LSD, some evidence suggests that hallucinogens derived from the phenylethylamine nucleus affect locomotion in a manner that is interpretable only by considering the environmental context. For example, the substituted amphetamine DOM produces a dose-dependent (0.5-10 mg/kg) reduction in locomotor activity when rats are tested in a novel open field, while a slight but significant increase in activity is observed in a familiar environment (171). This report corroborates the separate findings of DOM-induced hyperactivity in rats or mice in a familiar chamber (29,196) and hypoactivity in mice in an unfamiliar setting (92). Mescaline (10 mg/kg) has also been reported to increase locomotion in rats in a familiar environment (196). 

Equation 9.9 shows a remarkable example of the simultaneous asymmetric construction of three stereogenic centers by the aforementioned reaction of an enyne—titanium complex (see Scheme 9.4) [25], using imines derived from optically active phenylethylamine as the electrophile. 

In contrast to the allyltitaniums derived from acrolein cyclic acetals, such as 1,2-dicyclo-hexylethylene acetal shown in Scheme 9.8, those derived from acrolein acyclic acetals react with ketones and imines exclusively at the y-position. As shown in Eq. 9.29, the reaction with chiral imines having an optically active 1-phenylethylamine moiety proceeds with high diastereoselectivity, thus providing a new method for preparing optically active 1-vinyl-2-amino alcohol derivatives with syn stereochemistry [53], The intermediate allyltita-nium species has also found use as a starting material for a carbozincation reaction [54],... 

Asymmetric reactions have also been developed. The reactions of allyltitaniums with chiral aldimines derived from optically active 1-phenylethylamine afford optically active homoallylic amines with excellent diastereofacial selectivities. Thus, the Cram syn addition products are obtained highly predominantly when using crotyltitanium reagent 33, as exemplified in Scheme 13.30 [61]. 

Shihunine (57), previously isolated from Dendrobium lohohense Tang and Wang (99, 100) andD. pierardii Roxb. (Orchidaceae) (101), has been found as a racemate in Banisteriopsis caapi Morton (102). This plant species also contained the optically active dihydroshihunine 58, a compound only known before as a racemic synthetic material. Both 57 and 58 were identified by direct comparison with authentic samples. The absolute configuration of (+)-(58) was determined as 25 by comparison of the CD spectra of 58 and of the a-phenylethylamines (102). 

Monoalkylation of optically active 1-phenylethylamine with benzyl bromide in N,N-dimethylpropyleneurea (249a) at 100 °C in the presence of sodium carbonate gives the enantiomerically pure A-benzyl derivative. Isopropyl iodide and neopentyl iodide behave analogously275. 

Competitive inhibitors bind to specific groups in the enzyme active site to form an enzyme-inhibitor complex. The inhibitor and substrate compete for the same site, so that the substrate is prevented from binding. This is usually because the substrate and inhibitor share considerable stmctural similarity. Catalysis is diminished because a lower proportion of molecules have a bound substrate. Inhibition can be relieved by increasing the concentration of substrate. Some simple examples are shown below. Thus, sulfanilamide is an inhibitor of the enzyme that incorporates j9-aminobenzoic acid into folic acid, and has antibacterial properties by restricting folic acid biosynthesis in the bacterium (see Box 11.13). Some phenylethylamine derivatives, e.g. phenelzine, provide useful antidepressant drags by inhibiting the enzyme monoamine oxidase. The cA-isomer maleic acid is a powerful inhibitor of the enzyme that utilizes the trans-isomer fumaric acid in the Krebs cycle. 

The only aspect of octopaminergic transmission for which a relatively large amount of structure-activity data is available relates to the properties of OA-receptors themselves. Agonists that stimulate these systems and antagonists that block them, are known and such compounds exist in several structural groups. The three major groups of agonists currently identified are phenylethylamines amidines and imidazolines. 

On comparing the activities of the five compounds for which numerical estimates are available in all three assays (synephrine, octopamine, phenylethanolamine, norepinephrine and tyramine) the rank orders of potency in the three systems are Crayfish, 1,2,3t4,5 Cockroach, 2,1,3,4,5 Locust 1,2,3t5,4. This indicates a basic similarity in the responses of these preparations. In each case it was found that ring hydroxylation of the phenylethylamine nucleus was not essential for activity, although p-hydroxylation does yield the best activity. This is particularly evident in the crayfish study where a-MAMBA (a-methylaminomethyl benzyl alcohol), the analog of synephrine which lacks ring substitution, was one of the most active compounds tested, and 3-phenylethanolamine, the corresponding analog of OA, is almost as active as OA. The base compound for this series, phenylethylamine, also shows appreciable activity, but only in the crayfish assay. 

Table III. Comparative Activity of Substituted Phenylethylamines in Three Octopamine-sensitive Systems from Arthropods.

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