Lophophine (MMDPEA or 3-methoxy-4,5-methylenedioxyphenethylamine) is a putative psychedelic and entactogen drug of the methylenedioxyphenethylamine class. It is the α-demethylated homologue of MMDA, and is also closely related to mescaline.
Alexander Shulgin originally suggested that lophophine may be a natural constituent of peyote (Lophophora williamsii) due to it being the only logical chemical intermediate for the biosynthesis of several tetrahydroisoquinolines known to be present in this cactus species.[1] Subsequently, lophophine was indeed shown to be a minor component of both peyote and San Pedro cactus.[2]
Shulgin reports that lophophine is active in the dosage range of 150–250 mg. He states that at these doses, lophophine has some similarity to mescaline in action, in producing a peaceful elevation of mood, euphoria, and mild enhancement of visual perception, but without the generation of closed-eye mental imagery. Shulgin also notes that (in contrast to mescaline), lophophine causes no nausea.[1]