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The Toll of Benzofurans in the Context of Drug Abuse

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  • First Online:
Handbook of Substance Misuse and Addictions

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Abstract

Psychoactive benzofurans, also known as benzo fury, are new psychoactive substances (NPS) belonging to the phenethylamine family, one of the most numerous NPS groups. These substances share a structural similarity with the classical entactogen 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) and its main metabolite 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), and are often used as alternatives to these well-known drugs. In this chapter, the chemistry, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and biological effects of benzofurans, as well as their applications to areas of addiction and public health, are reviewed to provide the reader with a general comprehension and knowledge of what these drugs and their use entail and what might be expected of future benzofuran analogues reaching the (il)legal drug market.

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Abbreviations

5-APB:

5-(2-Aminopropyl)benzofuran

5-APDB:

5-(2-Aminopropyl)-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran

5-EAPB:

5-(2-Ethylaminopropyl)benzofuran

5-MAPB:

1-(1-Benzofuran-5-yl)-N-methylpropan-2-amine

5-MAPDB:

1-(2,3-Dihydrobenzofuran-5-yl)-N-methylpropan-2-amine

6-APB:

6-(2-Aminopropyl)benzofuran

6-APDB:

6-(2-Aminopropyl)-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran

6-EAPB:

6-(2-Ethylaminopropyl)benzofuran

6-MAPB:

1-(1-Benzofuran-6-yl)-N-methylpropan-2-amine

5-HT:

Serotonin

DA:

Dopamine

DAT:

Dopamine transporter

MDA:

3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine

MDMA:

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine

NA:

Noradrenaline

NAT:

Noradrenaline transporter

NPS:

New psychoactive substance(s)

SERT:

Serotonin transporter

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Acknowledgements

This work was financed by FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020 – Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), and by Portuguese funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) in the framework of the project POCI-01− 0145-FEDER- 029584. This work was also supported by the project UIDP/04378/2020 and UIDB/04378/2020 of the Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences–UCIBIO and the project LA/P/0140/2020 of the Associate Laboratory Institute for Health and Bioeconomy–i4HB.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. UCIBIO/REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Rita Roque Bravo & Diana Dias da Silva

  2. Associate Laboratory i4HB – Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Rita Roque Bravo, João Pedro Silva, Helena Carmo, Félix Carvalho & Diana Dias da Silva

  3. TOXRUN – Toxicology Research Unit, University Institute of Health Sciences, IUCS-CESPU, Gandra PRD, Portugal

    Diana Dias da Silva

  4. UCIBIO, Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    João Pedro Silva, Helena Carmo & Félix Carvalho

Authors
  1. Rita Roque Bravo
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  2. João Pedro Silva
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  3. Helena Carmo
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  4. Félix Carvalho
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  5. Diana Dias da Silva
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Rita Roque Bravo or Diana Dias da Silva .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, UK

    Vinood B. Patel

  2. School of Life Course and Population Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK

    Victor R. Preedy

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Roque Bravo, R., Silva, J.P., Carmo, H., Carvalho, F., Dias da Silva, D. (2022). The Toll of Benzofurans in the Context of Drug Abuse. In: Patel, V.B., Preedy, V.R. (eds) Handbook of Substance Misuse and Addictions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92392-1_168

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