Mescaline-FLY

Pharmaceutical compound From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mescaline-FLY, also known as flyscaline, M-FLY, or MeO-2C-2,6-IFLY, is a putatively non-hallucinogenic serotonin receptor modulator of the phenethylamine, scaline, and FLY families.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] It is the FLY (benzodifuran) analogue of the psychedelic drug mescaline.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Other namesFlyscaline; M-FLY; MeO-2C-2,6-IFLY; BAT; 3,5-DHF-Mescaline; 3,5-Dihydrofuran-mescaline

Drug classSerotonin receptor modulator; Non-hallucinogenic serotonin 5-HT_2A receptor agonist

ATC code

None

CAS Number

194787-78-5

Quick facts Clinical data, Other names ...

Mescaline-FLY
Clinical data

Other names	Flyscaline; M-FLY; MeO-2C-2,6-IFLY; BAT; 3,5-DHF-Mescaline; 3,5-Dihydrofuran-mescaline
Drug class	Serotonin receptor modulator; Non-hallucinogenic serotonin 5-HT_2A receptor agonist
ATC code	None
Identifiers
IUPAC name 2-(8-methoxy-2,3,5,6-tetrahydrofuro[3,2-f][1]benzofuran-4-yl)ethanamine
CAS Number	194787-78-5
PubChem CID	10609802
ChemSpider	8785169
ChEMBL	ChEMBL316527
Chemical and physical data
Formula	C₁₃H₁₇NO₃
Molar mass	235.283 g·mol⁻¹
3D model (JSmol)	Interactive image
SMILES COC1=C2C(=C(C3=C1OCC3)CCN)CCO2
InChI InChI=1S/C13H17NO3/c1-15-13-11-9(3-6-16-11)8(2-5-14)10-4-7-17-12(10)13/h2-7,14H2,1H3 Key:NZPLNCQAEYLYII-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Use and effects

Mescaline-FLY is not known to have been tested in humans, and hence it is unknown whether it produces psychedelic effects in humans.^[1] However, based on its lack of psychedelic-like effects in animals, it may not be expected to be hallucinogenic in humans.^[3]^[4]

Pharmacology

Pharmacodynamics

Mescaline-FLY shows affinity for the serotonin 5-HT₂ receptors.^[3] Its affinities (K_i) were 335 to 4,443 nM for the serotonin 5-HT_2A receptor, 205 to 302 nM for the serotonin 5-HT_2B receptor, and 61.5 to 654 nM for the serotonin 5-HT_2C receptor.^[3] The affinity of mescaline-FLY for the serotonin 5-HT_2A receptor was only slightly higher than that of mescaline, whereas it showed several-fold higher affinity for the serotonin 5-HT_2C receptor and about 2-fold higher affinity for the serotonin 5-HT_2B receptor compared to mescaline.^[3] In a subsequent study, at the serotonin 5-HT_2A receptor, its affinity (K_0.5) was 243 nM and its EC₅₀Tooltip half-maximal effective concentration (E_maxTooltip maximal efficacy) was 3,470 nM (57%), relative to respective values for mescaline of 801 nM and 2,700 nM (88%).^[5] Hence, whereas mescaline is a full agonist of the serotonin 5-HT_2A receptor, mescaline-FLY is a moderate-efficacy partial agonist of the receptor.^[5]

The drug failed to substitute for LSD in rodent drug discrimination tests, producing a maximum substitution of 29% at a dose of 55.2 μmol/kg, whereas mescaline fully substituted for LSD with an ED₅₀Tooltip median effective dose of 33.5 μmol/kg.^[3]^[4]^[6]^[7]^[8] The lack of substitution with mescaline-FLY is in notable contrast to findings with other FLY drugs, such as 2C-B-FLY, DOB-FLY, and Bromo-DragonFLY.^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]

History

Mescaline-FLY was first described in the scientific literature by the lab of David E. Nichols and colleagues by 1995.^[3]^[4]

Society and culture

Legal status

Canada

Mescaline-FLY is not a controlled substance in Canada as of 2025.^[10]

United States

Mescaline-FLY is not an explicitly controlled substance in the United States.^[11] However, it could be considered a controlled substance under the Federal Analogue Act if intended for human consumption.

References

[1]
Shulgin A, Manning T, Daley PF (2011). "#68. FLY". The Shulgin Index, Volume One: Psychedelic Phenethylamines and Related Compounds. Vol. 1. Berkeley, CA: Transform Press. pp. 141–143. ISBN 978-0-9630096-3-0. OCLC 709667010.
[2]
Trachsel D, Lehmann D, Enzensperger C (2013). Phenethylamine: von der Struktur zur Funktion [Phenethylamines: From Structure to Function]. Nachtschatten-Science (in German) (1 ed.). Solothurn: Nachtschatten-Verlag. pp. 700–701, 721. ISBN 978-3-03788-700-4. OCLC 858805226.
[3]
Monte AP, Waldman SR, Marona-Lewicka D, Wainscott DB, Nelson DL, Sanders-Bush E, et al. (September 1997). "Dihydrobenzofuran analogues of hallucinogens. 4. Mescaline derivatives". J Med Chem. 40 (19): 2997–3008. doi:10.1021/jm970219x. PMID 9301661.
[4]
Monte AP (1995). Structure-activity relationships of hallucinogens: Design, synthesis, and pharmacological evaluation of a series of conformationally restricted phenethylamines. Purdue e-Pubs (Thesis). Archived from the original on 16 June 2025.
[5]
McCorvy JD (16 January 2013). Mapping the binding site of the 5-HT2A receptor using mutagenesis and ligand libraries: Insights into the molecular actions of psychedelics (Ph.D. thesis). Purdue University. Archived from the original on 25 March 2025 – via Purdue e-Pubs.
[6]
Nichols DE (2012). "Structure–activity relationships of serotonin 5-HT2A agonists". Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Membrane Transport and Signaling. 1 (5): 559–579. doi:10.1002/wmts.42. ISSN 2190-460X. Surprisingly, however, when this strategy was applied to mescaline analogs, activity of the tethered compounds was reduced. The mono furanyl compound 56 lost efficacy and mescaline-like potency in a rat behavioral model, and the difuranyl compound 57 suffered a further decrease in the activity.88 It was speculated that for 3,4,5-substituted compounds, perhaps the methoxy groups needed to be freely rotating in order to achieve the active binding orientation. In any event, these divergent results support the idea that the binding pose of 2,4,5-substituted compounds differs from that of 3,4,5-substituted compounds (Figure 23). [...] FIGURE 23 | Mescaline analogs with constrained methoxy groups. [...]
[7]
Nichols DE (2018). "Chemistry and Structure-Activity Relationships of Psychedelics". Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences. Vol. 36. pp. 1–43. doi:10.1007/7854_2017_475. ISBN 978-3-662-55878-2. PMID 28401524. When this strategy was applied to 3,4,5-substituted mescaline analogues, however, activity of the tethered compounds was reduced. Although affinity at the 5-HT2A receptor increased compared to mescaline, the monocyclic furano compound 58 lost both efficacy and mescaline-like potency in a rat behavioral model, and difuranyl compound 59 was even less active (Monte et al. 1997). These divergent results suggest that the binding pose of 2,4,5-substituted compounds differs from that of 3,4,5-substituted compounds. Mutagenesis studies support that conclusion, as mutations of polar residues in the orthosteric binding site of the human 5-HT2A receptor have different effects, depending on whether the ligand being examined is a 2,4,5- or a 3,4,5-substituted molecule (McCorvy 2012). [...]
[8]
Cassels BK, Sáez-Briones P (October 2018). "Dark Classics in Chemical Neuroscience: Mescaline" (PDF). ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 9 (10): 2448–2458. doi:10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00215. PMID 29847089. The result of tethering the C-3 methoxyl group or both the C-3 and C-5 groups of the isopropylamine analogue of mescaline (TMA) forming dihydrofuran rings was somewhat disappointing.131 In the 2,5-dimethoxy-4-X series, this modification had led to more potent derivatives, which was explained by the favorable orientation of the oxygen lone pairs for hydrogen bonding with serine residues in the 5-HT2A receptor's active site.132,133 In the case of the 3,4,5- trioxygenated compounds, binding studies at 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors revealed somewhat higher affinities than mescaline but, in phosphoinositide hydrolysis assays (only for 5-HT2A), lower efficacies relative to serotonin and the full agonist mescaline (60 and 45%, respectively). More striking, however, was the observation that the new compounds did not fully substitute for LSD in LSD-trained rats, and at doses well above the mescaline EC50, only 50 and 29% appropriate responding was recorded. In view of this unexpected result, 3,5- dimethoxy-4-ethoxyphenethylamine (escaline), which is considerably more potent than mescaline in humans,128 was also tested. It was found to have about twice the affinity of mescaline for 5-HT2A receptors and was a complete agonist with very similar functional potency, but again it failed to substitute completely for LSD in the drug discrimination experiments. [...] Figure 2. Mescaline and conformationally restricted analogues. [...]
[9]
Monte AP, Marona-Lewicka D, Parker MA, Wainscott DB, Nelson DL, Nichols DE (July 1996). "Dihydrobenzofuran analogues of hallucinogens. 3. Models of 4-substituted (2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)alkylamine derivatives with rigidified methoxy groups". J Med Chem. 39 (15): 2953–2961. doi:10.1021/jm960199j. PMID 8709129.
[10]
"Controlled Drugs and Substances Act". Department of Justice Canada. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
[11]
Orange Book: List of Controlled Substances and Regulated Chemicals (January 2026) (PDF), United States: U.S. Department of Justice: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA): Diversion Control Division, January 2026