Abuse liability of the dietary supplement dimethylamylamine

Background: Dimethylamylamine (DMAA) is a component of many dietary supplements and has recently been associated with numerous adverse effects, prompting the US military and World Anti-Doping Agency to ban its use as a supplement. The current study aimed to elucidate the abuse liability profile of DMAA. Methods: Dose-response studies of DMAA were performed with Swiss-Webster mice in locomotor and conditioned place-preference assays. The discriminative stimulus effects of DMAA were investigated in Sprague-Dawley rats trained to discriminate either cocaine or methamphetamine from saline. Results: DMAA produced dose-dependent locomotor depression and fully substituted for cocaine and partially substituted for methamphetamine. In the conditioned place-preference assay, DMAA produced an inverted-U-shaped dose-response curve, with intermediate doses producing significant place preference. Conclusions: The cocaine- and methamphetamine-like discriminative stimulus effects and the conditioned place preference produced by DMAA suggest that is has potential for abuse. These findings in combination with reports of substantial adverse effects of DMAA in humans suggest that control of DMAA may warrant further consideration.