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DMAA

Updated · 22 sources · Editorial policy

DMAA (1,3-dimethylamylamine, also called methylhexanamine or “geranamine”) is a synthetic stimulant. Eli Lilly developed it in 1944 as a nasal decongestant. It came back around 2006 as an ingredient in pre-workout and weight-loss products such as Jack3d and OxyELITE Pro, often combined with caffeine.

The single most important fact: FDA states that DMAA is not a lawful dietary ingredient and that products marketed as supplements containing it are illegal. A federal appeals court upheld that position in 2019. No medical use of DMAA is recognized today, and it is prohibited in competition by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

This page summarizes what FDA, the courts, the small number of controlled studies and published case reports describe. It is for education only and is not medical advice.

Property Detail
Class Aliphatic amine stimulant (sympathomimetic)
Chemical name 4-methylhexan-2-amine; C₇H₁₇N; 115.22 g/mol
Former medical use Nasal decongestant (Forthane, Eli Lilly); FDA says it is no longer approved for this use
Route Oral (as sold in supplements)
Dose in the only PK study Single 25 mg oral dose
Half-life 8.45 ± 1.9 h (7 healthy men, 25 mg dose)
Key mechanism fact Acts mainly indirectly, by releasing noradrenaline (rat data)
US status Not a lawful dietary ingredient per FDA; not on the DEA controlled-substance schedules
WADA Prohibited in competition, S6.B specified stimulant

What it is

DMAA is a small, simple amine with no ring structure: 4-methylhexan-2-amine, formula C₇H₁₇N (PubChem). The molecule has two chiral centers, so commercial material is a mixture of stereoisomers. In the 2013 pharmacokinetic study, the material showed up as a double peak on chromatography for this reason (Schilling et al., BMC Pharmacol Toxicol 2013).

Its history in brief, as summarized by Dolan and Gatch (Drug Alcohol Depend 2015):

  • 1944. Developed by Eli Lilly as a nasal decongestant (US Patent 2,350,318).
  • 1983. Its use as a decongestant ended.
  • About 2006. It reappeared as an ingredient in workout and weight-loss supplements such as Jack3d and OxyELITE Pro.

DMAA is also known as methylhexanamine, 1,3-dimethylpentylamine, 2-amino-4-methylhexane and geranamine. FDA notes that labels may list it as “geranium extract” or “Pelargonium graveolens extract” (FDA).

Is DMAA from geranium? Supplement makers argued that DMAA is a natural constituent of geranium, which would make it a dietary ingredient. A multi-centre study split 18 plant samples from 6 Pelargonium species and 9 geranium oils among 4 laboratories. None detected DMAA at a detection limit of about 10 ppb (ElSohly et al., Drug Test Anal 2015). FDA states it is “not aware of any reliable science” that DMAA occurs naturally in plants.

How it works

Research on its mechanism is limited and comes from animal and cell studies:

  • Noradrenaline release (in rats). In anesthetized rats, DMAA raised heart rate and blood pressure at similar doses. These effects were largely abolished after chemical destruction of sympathetic nerves, which points to an indirect action through noradrenaline release rather than direct receptor stimulation (Alsufyani and Docherty, Eur J Pharmacol 2019).
  • Dopamine transporter (in cell culture). In human kidney cells expressing the human dopamine transporter, DMAA competitively inhibited dopamine uptake and behaved like a transporter substrate, similar in some respects to amphetamine (Small et al., J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2023).
  • Abuse-related behavior (in rodents). DMAA fully substituted for cocaine and partially for methamphetamine in drug-discrimination tests in rats, and intermediate doses produced conditioned place preference in mice. The authors concluded it has potential for abuse (Dolan and Gatch 2015).

FDA describes DMAA as an amphetamine derivative that narrows blood vessels and arteries, which can raise blood pressure (FDA).

Pharmacokinetics

Only one study has measured DMAA’s pharmacokinetics in people. Eight healthy men took a single 25 mg oral dose after an overnight fast, with blood sampled for 24 hours (Schilling et al. 2013). One man was excluded because he had high DMAA levels before dosing. Results for the other seven:

Parameter Value (mean ± SD)
Terminal half-life 8.45 ± 1.9 h
Lag time before appearing in blood ≈ 8 min (0.14 ± 0.13 h)
Time to peak 3–5 h
Peak plasma level ≈ 70 ng/mL
Oral clearance 20.02 ± 5 L/h
Oral volume of distribution 236 ± 38 L

The authors noted that this half-life is longer than caffeine’s. At about 8.5 hours, roughly five half-lives (≈ 42 h) pass before a single dose is almost fully cleared.

Two limits apply. The study used one dose only, so it cannot show whether higher doses behave proportionally. It was also funded by USPlabs, the maker of Jack3d and OxyELITE Pro, which supplied the capsules.

Regulatory status

United States

FDA’s position, as set out on its DMAA page (FDA):

  • DMAA is not a dietary ingredient, and DMAA-containing products marketed as dietary supplements are illegal.
  • When DMAA is added to a supplement, FDA considers it an unsafe food additive.
  • DMAA was once approved as a nasal decongestant, but it is no longer approved and no medical use is recognized.

Enforcement history, from the same FDA page:

Date Action
April 24, 2012 Warning letters to 10 companies, including USPLabs; more letters followed through 2017
2013 FDA detained OxyElite Pro and Jack3d; USPLabs destroyed products worth more than $8 million at retail and agreed to stop using DMAA
2013 FDA seized DMAA products from Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals
April 2017 A federal district court ruled the seized products adulterated
August 2019 The Eleventh Circuit affirmed, finding DMAA is not a dietary ingredient and is not generally recognized as safe (United States v. Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals, 11th Cir. 2019)
2020 The Supreme Court declined to hear the case; the products were destroyed on November 12, 2020

DMAA is not named in the DEA’s controlled-substance schedules (21 CFR Part 1308). US enforcement has instead relied on food and supplement law.

Sport

WADA lists 4-methylhexan-2-amine (1,3-dimethylamylamine, methylhexaneamine) by name under S6.B, specified stimulants, prohibited in competition (WADA 2026 Prohibited List). Several close analogs are also listed by name, including 1,4-DMAA and 1,3-dimethylbutylamine (DMBA).

What the research shows

Performance and body composition

DMAA was marketed for workout performance and fat loss, but the human evidence is thin. A 2017 critical review found 16 eligible studies: 8 case reports and 8 experimental studies (Dunn, Int J Drug Policy 2017). The experimental studies were low powered, and several came from one research group with industry ties. Their findings were mixed: blood pressure rose with acute dosing, and some studies reported decreases in body weight and body fat measures.

We found no controlled trial showing that DMAA alone improves strength, muscle gain or endurance. The authors of the pharmacokinetic study noted that a performance benefit of DMAA plus caffeine on running had “not yet been supported” (Schilling et al. 2013). The review concluded that the evidence on harms, and on the dose above which harms occur, is “shallow.”

Blood pressure and heart rate

The controlled human studies are summarized below. All were small, and most were run by the same University of Memphis group.

Study Design and n Dose Main finding
Bloomer et al., Phys Sportsmed 2011 Randomized, double-blind crossover; 10 men and women; single doses DMAA 50 or 75 mg, with or without caffeine 250 mg Heart rate unchanged; blood pressure rose, mostly dose-dependent. Peak with DMAA 75 mg + caffeine at 60 min: systolic ≈ +20%, diastolic ≈ +17%
Schilling et al. 2013 Open, single dose; 7 men analyzed DMAA 25 mg Heart rate, blood pressure and temperature “largely unaffected”
Whitehead et al., Nutr Metab Insights 2012 Randomized; 25 men; 10 weeks DMAA-containing product (Jack3d) on training days No significant blood pressure difference vs placebo, though systolic pressure rose ≈ 6 mmHg on the product
Bloomer et al., Hum Exp Toxicol 2013 Randomized; 50 men; 12 weeks Placebo, caffeine 250 mg/day, DMAA 50 mg/day, or both No significant change in blood pressure, ECG, blood counts, metabolic or lipid panels

The 10-week trial and the pharmacokinetic study were funded by USPlabs, the maker of Jack3d. These studies used healthy young adults resting in a lab. They do not test the conditions in which most serious events were reported: higher doses, other stimulants, alcohol, heat and hard exercise.

Side effects and risks

Cardiovascular and neurological events

FDA warns that DMAA, especially with other stimulants such as caffeine, can raise blood pressure and lead to problems “ranging from shortness of breath and tightening in the chest to heart attack,” as well as arrhythmias, seizures and other neurological and psychological conditions (FDA). A US Army research group reported that FDA acted after more than 100 reports of illness attributed to DMAA, including six deaths (Lieberman et al., Public Health Nutr 2018).

Published case reports include:

  • Cerebral hemorrhage. A 21-year-old man had a brain bleed shortly after taking two DMAA “party pill” capsules in New Zealand (Gee et al., N Z Med J 2010). Lab analysis later found 278 mg of DMAA per capsule, about 556 mg in total, taken with 150 mg of caffeine and a can of beer (Schilling et al. 2013). A 2012 report described three adults with cerebral hemorrhage after DMAA use (Gee et al., Ann Emerg Med 2012).
  • Deaths in soldiers. Two US soldiers taking multi-ingredient supplements containing DMAA collapsed from cardiac arrest during physical exertion and died (Eliason et al., Mil Med 2012).
  • Marathon death. A UK report described a death during a marathon associated with DMAA use (Archer et al., Drug Test Anal 2015).

Case reports cannot prove that DMAA caused these events. Many patients also took caffeine, alcohol or other ingredients. The plasma DMAA levels measured in the New Zealand patients, 760–2,310 ng/mL, were far above the ≈ 70 ng/mL peak seen after a 25 mg dose (Schilling et al. 2013). The industry-funded authors suggested that these patients had probably taken doses roughly 15–30 times higher. Either way, the dose at which serious harm begins is not known.

Symptoms in regular users

During 2010–2011, when DMAA was still sold, a survey of 4,374 US service members found that 11% used DMAA-labeled supplements at least once a week (Lieberman et al. 2018). Compared with non-users, regular users were:

  • more than twice as likely to report a fast heartbeat, tremors and dizziness;
  • more than three times as likely to report numbness or tingling.

Abuse potential

The rodent findings above (cocaine-like discrimination and place preference) suggest DMAA has abuse potential (Dolan and Gatch 2015). DMAA has also been sold as a recreational “party pill” stimulant (Gee et al. 2012). No human abuse-liability study exists.

False-positive amphetamine tests

DMAA can trigger positive amphetamine immunoassay screens. In 134 urine samples that screened positive for amphetamines at US Department of Defense labs but confirmed negative, DMAA was found in 92.3% (Vorce et al., J Anal Toxicol 2011). Confirmatory testing by mass spectrometry tells the two apart.

Quality and contamination

DMAA and close analogs have continued to appear in supplements after the FDA action:

  • US products, 2018. Testing of six supplement brands found 24–35 mg of 1,3-DMAA per serving in some products, alongside new untested analogs such as 1,4-DMAA (21–94 mg per serving) and octodrine (Cohen et al., Clin Toxicol 2018).
  • Dutch web shops, 2021. Of 66 high-risk sports supplements, 25 (38%) contained undeclared doping substances, and DMAA was among the stimulants found (Duiven et al., J Sports Sci Med 2021).

For athletes, this means a product that does not list DMAA can still cause a positive doping test. Related stimulant pages in this library: ephedrine, synephrine and yohimbine.

Key takeaways

  • A former decongestant, not a plant extract. DMAA was a 1944 synthetic drug, and multi-lab testing found no DMAA in geranium plants or oils.
  • Illegal in US supplements. FDA says DMAA is not a dietary ingredient, and a federal appeals court upheld that view in 2019. WADA prohibits it in competition.
  • Long-acting for a stimulant. The only human pharmacokinetic study found a half-life of about 8.5 hours after 25 mg.
  • Raises blood pressure. Small, mostly industry-funded trials found acute blood pressure rises, especially with caffeine, and no consistent changes over 10–12 weeks at modest doses.
  • Serious events reported. Case reports describe brain hemorrhage, cardiac arrest and deaths, often with other stimulants, high doses or heavy exertion. A safe dose has never been established.
  • Still found in products. DMAA and untested analogs keep appearing in supplements, sometimes unlabeled.

Sources

  1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. DMAA in products marketed as dietary supplements. Content current as of February 22, 2023. FDA.
  2. United States v. Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 936 F.3d 1341 (11th Cir. 2019), No. 17-13376, decided August 30, 2019. Opinion PDF.
  3. National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Summary for CID 7753, methylhexanamine. PubChem.
  4. World Anti-Doping Agency. The 2026 Prohibited List: International Standard. In effect January 1, 2026. WADA.
  5. Drug Enforcement Administration. Schedules of controlled substances. 21 CFR Part 1308. eCFR.
  6. Dolan SB, Gatch MB. Abuse liability of the dietary supplement dimethylamylamine. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2015;146:97–102. PubMed.
  7. Schilling BK, Hammond KG, Bloomer RJ, et al. Physiological and pharmacokinetic effects of oral 1,3-dimethylamylamine administration in men. BMC Pharmacol Toxicol. 2013;14:52. PubMed.
  8. ElSohly MA, Gul W, Tolbert C, et al. Methylhexanamine is not detectable in Pelargonium or Geranium species and their essential oils: a multi-centre investigation. Drug Test Anal. 2015;7(7):645–654. PubMed.
  9. Alsufyani HA, Docherty JR. Methylhexaneamine causes tachycardia and pressor responses indirectly by releasing noradrenaline in the rat. Eur J Pharmacol. 2019;843:121–125. PubMed.
  10. Small C, Cheng MH, Belay SS, et al. The alkylamine stimulant 1,3-dimethylamylamine exhibits substrate-like regulation of dopamine transporter function and localization. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2023;386(2):266–273. PubMed.
  11. Dunn M. Have prohibition policies made the wrong decision? A critical review of studies investigating the effects of DMAA. Int J Drug Policy. 2017;40:26–34. PubMed.
  12. Bloomer RJ, Harvey IC, Farney TM, et al. Effects of 1,3-dimethylamylamine and caffeine alone or in combination on heart rate and blood pressure in healthy men and women. Phys Sportsmed. 2011;39(3):111–120. PubMed.
  13. Whitehead PN, Schilling BK, Farney TM, Bloomer RJ. Impact of a dietary supplement containing 1,3-dimethylamylamine on blood pressure and bloodborne markers of health: a 10-week intervention study. Nutr Metab Insights. 2012;5:33–39. PubMed.
  14. Bloomer RJ, Farney TM, Harvey IC, et al. Safety profile of caffeine and 1,3-dimethylamylamine supplementation in healthy men. Hum Exp Toxicol. 2013;32(11):1126–1136. PubMed.
  15. Lieberman HR, Austin KG, Farina EK. Surveillance of the armed forces as a sentinel system for detecting adverse effects of dietary supplements in the general population. Public Health Nutr. 2018;21(5):882–887. PubMed.
  16. Gee P, Jackson S, Easton J. Another bitter pill: a case of toxicity from DMAA party pills. N Z Med J. 2010;123(1327):124–127. PubMed.
  17. Gee P, Tallon C, Long N, et al. Use of recreational drug 1,3 dimethylamylamine (DMAA) associated with cerebral hemorrhage. Ann Emerg Med. 2012;60(4):431–434. PubMed.
  18. Eliason MJ, Eichner A, Cancio A, et al. Case reports: death of active duty soldiers following ingestion of dietary supplements containing 1,3-dimethylamylamine (DMAA). Mil Med. 2012;177(12):1455–1459. PubMed.
  19. Archer JR, Dargan PI, Lostia AM, et al. Running an unknown risk: a marathon death associated with the use of 1,3-dimethylamylamine (DMAA). Drug Test Anal. 2015;7(5):433–438. PubMed.
  20. Vorce SP, Holler JM, Cawrse BM, Magluilo J Jr. Dimethylamylamine: a drug causing positive immunoassay results for amphetamines. J Anal Toxicol. 2011;35(3):183–187. PubMed.
  21. Cohen PA, Travis JC, Keizers PHJ, et al. Four experimental stimulants found in sports and weight loss supplements: 2-amino-6-methylheptane (octodrine), 1,4-dimethylamylamine (1,4-DMAA), 1,3-dimethylamylamine (1,3-DMAA) and 1,3-dimethylbutylamine (1,3-DMBA). Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2018;56(6):421–426. PubMed.
  22. Duiven E, van Loon LJC, Spruijt L, et al. Undeclared doping substances are highly prevalent in commercial sports nutrition supplements. J Sports Sci Med. 2021;20(2):328–338. PubMed.