This page describes pharmacological agents that may have legal restrictions, side effects, and drug interactions in your jurisdiction. Information is for educational research only — consult a clinician before considering any compound.
Hordenine
N,N-dimethyltyramine | Reversible MAO-B inhibitor + TAAR1 agonist | Canonical PEA pre-workout potentiator
Aliases (6)
Overview
What is Hordenine?
Hordenine (N,N-dimethyltyramine) is a phenethylamine-class trace amine found naturally in barley sprouts (the name origin), certain cacti including peyote, bitter citrus peels, and sotol. It is sold as an OTC dietary supplement ingredient, most commonly as a component of pre-workout blends. It is NOT FDA-approved as a drug, NOT WADA-prohibited, and NOT DEA-scheduled. The compound is functionally a reversible MAO-B inhibitor and a weak TAAR1 agonist, which makes its primary practical use case as a competitive MAO-B substrate that extends the duration of co-administered phenylethylamine (PEA) from minutes to hours.
Key Benefits
Mild stimulation, slight appetite suppression, modest mood lift at 50-100 mg oral. Most useful in stacks: pre-loading hordenine 30-45 min before PEA extends PEA's otherwise-useless 5-15 min half-life to 1-3 hours of usable focus/euphoria. Common pre-workout supplement ingredient. Cardiovascular signal is modest at typical supplement doses but variable.
Mechanism of Action
Three convergent modest effects: (1) reversible competitive MAO-B substrate that partially occupies MAO-B for several hours, prolonging the half-life of MAO-B substrates including PEA, dopamine, and tyramine; (2) TAAR1 agonist (the modulator GPCR for phenethylamine trace amines) contributing mild dopamine-modulating effects; (3) weak indirect sympathomimetic activity (norepinephrine release) at higher doses producing dose-dependent mild HR/BP elevation.
Pharmacokinetics
Peptide Interactions
The canonical hordenine stack. Hordenine's reversible MAO-B competition extends PEA's 5-15 min half-life to 1-3 hours, producing a smoother, longer focus/eup…
Common pre-workout pairing. Caffeine's adenosine antagonism + hordenine's sympathomimetic + dopaminergic feel layer cleanly. Not synergistic in a special way…
Trace-amine + dopamine-precursor pairing. Tyrosine supplies the substrate for trace-amine biosynthesis and dopamine; hordenine modulates the trace-amine syst…
Often co-formulated in pre-workouts. Both are phenethylamine derivatives with similar pharmacology; effect is additive.
Hypertensive crisis risk through tyramine-pressor mechanism. Hordenine itself is structurally similar to tyramine and full MAOI blockade can produce serious …
Same logic. At MAO-B-selective low-dose selegiline (5 mg) the risk is lower but still present, especially with tyramine-rich diet.
Established cheese-effect interaction; adding hordenine on top compounds risk.
Cumulative CV load. Many "extreme" pre-workouts stack 5+ stimulants and produce real CV events in susceptible users.
Additive sympathomimetic load.
Sleep onset delay risk.
Hordenine itself is not WADA-prohibited, but pre-workout blends containing hordenine often contain banned stimulants; check labels carefully.
likely neutral/additive in the same way caffeine + hordenine is. No specific RCT of the combination.
Quality Indicators
Third-party COA
Reputable brands publish a Certificate of Analysis for identity, potency, and contaminant testing. Critical for hordenine HCl powder products.
GMP-certified manufacturing
Look for cGMP / NSF / USP certifications on the label.
Proprietary blends
Many pre-workouts hide hordenine + other stimulants inside a 'proprietary blend' — avoid these for dose precision and to verify total stim load.
WADA Status — Compound vs Blend
Hordenine itself is NOT on the WADA Prohibited List. However, pre-workouts containing hordenine often also contain banned stimulants (DMAA, DMHA, methylhexanamine). Drug-tested athletes must verify the entire ingredient panel, not just hordenine.
No origin or sourcing info
Unbranded or no-COA capsules from anonymous sellers carry quality and adulteration risk — especially relevant for trace-amine compounds where misidentification with related phenethylamines is possible.
What to Expect
- Onset30-60 min, gentle.
- Peakfeel: ~1-1.5 hours post-dose.
- Onset15-45 min after PEA dose (hordenine pre-load already partial).
Side Effects & Safety 9
Side Effects
- 1Mild HR rise — typically 3-8 bpm at 100 mg. Universally present; benign in CV-healthy adults.
- 2Mild appetite suppression — same dopamine/sympathomimetic mechanism as classical appetite suppressants but much weaker.
- 3Light mood lift / mild stimulation — the desired effect; sometimes described as "barely there" at lower doses.
- 4Mild "warming" sensation — mild peripheral vasoconstriction/sympathomimetic feel.
- 5Headache — usually associated with higher doses (>150 mg) or stacking with other sympathomimetics.
- 6Anxiety / jitteriness — anxiety-prone users or those stacking with high-dose caffeine.
- 7Mild palpitations — rare; typically benign and dose-related; concerning only if persistent.
- 8Sleep onset delay if dosed too late.
- 9Mild GI upset — uncommon at supplement doses.
When to Stop
- Hypertensive crisis — only documented in stacking scenarios with non-selective MAOIs or with irreversible MAO-B inhibition + tyramine-rich diet. Not seen at typical OTC supplement doses without those potentiators.
- Theoretical arrhythmia risk — same class concern as other phenethylamine sympathomimetics; rare in healthy young adults; relevant only with pre-existing arrhythmia or very high doses + stack.
- Theoretical drug interactions with serotonergic agents — minor; not a primary concern at supplement doses.
- First exposure: Monitor BP and HR for 60-90 min post-dose, especially if stacking with PEA, caffeine, or other pre-workout stimulants.
- First 1-2 weeks of regular use: Track sleep architecture if dosed afternoon/evening; even modest residual sympathomimetic activity can affect sleep onset.
References
Frank MS, Nahata MC, Hilty MD. Hordenine: pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and behavioral effects in the horse (J Pharm Sci 1980)
foundational pharmacology paper covering distribution, kinetics, and basic activity. Note: PubMed-search URL because precise PMID requires verification at retrieval time.
View StudyBarwell CJ, Basma AN, Lafi MA, Leake LD. Deamination of hordenine by monoamine oxidase and its action on vasa deferentia of the rat (J Pharm Pharmacol 1989)
characterized hordenine's competitive MAO interaction; the mechanistic basis for the PEA-potentiator stack rationale.
View StudyLiang Y, Nikolic M, Petty F. Trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1): a review of its receptor pharmacology and target identification (Mol Pharmacol 2018)
modern TAAR1 receptor pharmacology framework relevant to all phenethylamine trace amines including hordenine.
View StudyBorowsky B, Adham N, Jones KA, et al. Trace amines: identification of a family of mammalian G protein-coupled receptors (PNAS 2001)
TAAR1 receptor identification; PEA and N-methylated phenethylamines as endogenous ligands.
View StudyBerry MD. Mammalian central nervous system trace amines (J Neurochem 2004)
review of trace amine system; mechanistic context for hordenine and related compounds.
View StudySabelli HC, Mosnaim AD. Phenylethylamine hypothesis of affective behavior (Am J Psychiatry 1974)
historical PEA + trace-amine framework relevant to the PEA + hordenine practical stack.
View StudyHapke HJ, Strathmann W. Pharmacological effects of hordenine (Dtsch Tierarztl Wochenschr)
German veterinary pharmacology paper covering basic activity profile.
View StudyHow was your experience with this compound?
Anonymous · one vote per session · results below at 5+ votes.
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