Description

O-Desmethyltramadol (O-DSMT)

O-Desmethyltramadol (O-DSMT) is a metabolite of tramadol. O-Desmethyltramadol (O-DSMT) is an opioid analgesic and the main active metabolite of tramadol. (+)-O-Desmethyltramadol is the most important metabolite of tramadol produced in the liver after tramadol is consumed. This metabolite is considerably more potent as a μ-opioid agonist than the parent compound .

O-Desmethyltramadol (O-DSMT) is demethylated by the liver enzyme CYP2D6 in the same way as codeine, and so similarly to the variation in effects seen with codeine, individuals who have a less active form of CYP2D6 (“poor metabolizers”) will tend to get reduced analgesic effects from tramadol. This also results in a ceiling effect (dependent on CYP2D6 availability) which limits tramadol’s range of therapeutic benefits to the treatment of moderate pain.

The opioid medication tapentadol was developed to mimic the actions of desmetramadol in order to create a weak-moderate analgesic which is not dependent on metabolic activation. Tapentadol, however, is generally considered to be a stronger analgesic than tramadol. This may be illusory due to the metabolism-dependent effects of tramadol.

The metabolic conversion of tramadol to desmetramadol is highly dependent on individual metabolism, meaning that two users with an identical opioid tolerance can experience vastly different effects from the same dose. For this reason, tramadol is always initiated at the lowest possible dose in clinical settings and then titrated to the lowest effective dose. Recreational users tend to start with much higher doses without taking this into account, greatly increasing the risk of overdose.

Application: A metabolite of tramadol

CAS Number:73986-53-5

Purity:≥98%

Molecular Weight:285.81

Molecular Formula:C15H23NO2•HCl