Butylone

1-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-2-(methylamino)butan-1-one

Overview

Butylone belongs to Entactogens/Empathogens / Cathinones.

Key safety note: Butylone carries the combined sympathomimetic and serotonergic risks of an MDMA-like cathinone: raised heart rate and blood pressure, hyperthermia, serotonin toxicity (especially combined with other serotonergic drugs) and hyponatraemia (dangerously low blood sodium from drinking too much plain water).[2][5]
Effects
Subjective effects vary. What a substance feels like depends on dose, individual physiology, mindset, and setting. The points below describe commonly reported effects, not guaranteed, uniform, or desirable outcomes.
  • An MDMA-like entactogen: euphoria, emotional warmth, sociability and stimulation, but generally described as milder and more stimulant/less empathogenic than MDMA or methylone.
  • Relatively short-lived (≈3–5 hours) with a rapid onset.
  • A harsh comedown and a strong urge to redose are commonly reported, as with other cathinones.
  • Common unwanted effects overlap with MDMA: jaw tension, raised heart rate and body temperature, anxiety, insomnia and next-day fatigue.
Dosing & duration
Harm-reduction note: These are commonly cited reference ranges, not a recommendation or a “safe” dose. Potency, purity, body chemistry, tolerance, and drug combinations vary widely. Start low, go slow, wait for full effects before redosing, and never assume an unknown product matches these figures. Missing data is not evidence of safety.

Oral. Not a recommendation. Butylone has never been studied in controlled human trials, so these are only commonly cited community ranges. Its serotonin-toxicity, hyponatraemia and cardiovascular risks, and the strong cathinone urge to redose, make repeated dosing especially dangerous. It is usually handled as the hydrochloride salt.

Dose ranges

Threshold

≈20 mg

Light

≈40–80 mg

Common

≈80–125 mg

Strong

≈125–225 mg

Duration

onset

≈15–60 min

peak

≈1–2 h

total

≈3–5 h

Chemical & Physical Properties
FormulaC12H15NO3
Molar mass221.25 g/mol
StateSolid (usually the hydrochloride salt)
Melting pointNot reported
Boiling pointNot reported
DensityNot reported
Vapor pressureNot reported
pKaNot reported
LogP1.9 (predicted, XLogP3)
SolubilityNot reported
Refractive indexNot reported
Identifiers & Synonyms
CAS802575-11-7
CAS (enantiomer)
PubChem CID56843046
InChIKeyCGKQZIULZRXRRJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N
InChIInChI=1S/C12H15NO3/c1-3-9(13-2)12(14)8-4-5-10-11(6-8)16-7-15-10/h4-6,9,13H,3,7H2,1-2H3
SMILESCCC(C(=O)C1=CC2=C(C=C1)OCO2)NC

Synonyms

  • Butylone
  • βk-MBDB
  • β-Keto-MBDB
  • 3,4-Methylenedioxy-α-ethyl-N-methylcathinone
Pharmacodynamics & Biochemistry

Butylone (βk-MBDB) is a substituted cathinone entactogen: the β-keto analogue of MBDB and the ethyl homologue of methylone (βk-MDMA), making it a cathinone cousin of MDMA. Like MDMA and methylone it raises extracellular serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine, producing entactogenic and stimulant effects, but it is markedly less potent: acting in the low-micromolar range at the monoamine transporters versus low-nanomolar for MDMA. Its transporter action is mixed and asymmetric. At the noradrenaline and dopamine transporters it is a reuptake inhibitor / blocker (uptake IC50 ≈2.0 µM at NET, ≈2.9 µM at DAT) and does NOT release dopamine (release EC50 >100 µM). At the serotonin transporter it behaves instead as a substrate-type releaser (release EC50 ≈5.5 µM) as well as an uptake inhibitor (IC50 ≈6.2 µM). This 'DAT-blocker but SERT-substrate' profile distinguishes butylone from classical amphetamine-type releasers and underlies its comparatively mild, serotonin-tilted entactogenic character.

Biological targets

  • SERT
  • NET
  • DAT

Binding & functional measurements

TargetMeasurementSpecies
Serotonin transporterEC50 5,500 nMHuman
Dopamine transporterKi 440 ± 30 nMHuman
Noradrenaline transporterKi 8,130 ± 700 nMHuman
Pharmacokinetics
BioavailabilityOral
TmaxNot well characterised (onset ≈15–60 min)
Half-lifeNot established in humans (duration ≈3–5 h)
VdNot reported
Protein bindingNot reported
MetabolismHepatic (demethylenation/O-methylation, β-ketone reduction, N-demethylation)
ExcretionRenal (hydroxy metabolites as urinary conjugates)
Toxicology & Safety
Harm-reduction note: Toxicity and risk depend on dose, route, purity, combinations, setting, and individual health factors. Missing harms should never be interpreted as evidence of safety.

Not reported

Butylone carries the combined sympathomimetic and serotonergic risks of an MDMA-like cathinone: raised heart rate and blood pressure, hyperthermia, serotonin toxicity (especially combined with other serotonergic drugs) and hyponatraemia (dangerously low blood sodium from drinking too much plain water). As with other cathinones its relatively short duration and harsh comedown encourage compulsive redosing, which compounds cardiovascular and neurotoxic strain. It has never been studied in controlled human trials and its safety margin is unknown. Missing data must never be read as evidence of safety.[2][5]

Legal Status
Legal note: Legal status can change over time and may vary by country, region, formulation, analogue status, prescription context, and enforcement practice. Always confirm with current official sources before relying on this section.
Interactions & Contraindications

Drug interactions

MAOIs Serotonin toxicity, potentially life-threatening.[2]
SSRIs, SNRIs, Other serotonergic drugs Serotonin-toxicity risk, other releasers included.[2]
Stimulants (amphetamines, cocaine) Additive cardiovascular strain.[2]
Excess plain water (without electrolytes) Excess plain water without electrolytes carries a hyponatraemia risk, as with MDMA.[2]

Contraindications

Cardiovascular disease, hypertension or arrhythmia uncontrolled hypertension.[2]
Concurrent MAOI, SSRI/SNRI or other serotonergic medication concurrent MAOIs or serotonergic medication.[2]
Personal or family history of psychosis, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder
Pregnancy or breastfeeding
Usage & Context
  • First synthesised in 1967 (Koeppe, Ludwig & Zeile) but remained obscure until it entered the designer-drug / 'research chemical' market around 2005.
  • Sold as a 'bath salt' / legal-high powder and used as an MDMA or methylone substitute before being scheduled in most jurisdictions.
Sources & Evidence

Further Information