1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine

Danger

H301 (100%): Toxic if swallowed [Danger Acute toxicity, oral]

P260, P264, P270, P301+P316, P308+P316, P321, P330, P405, and P501 (click each P-code to see the statement)

Aggregated GHS information provided per 40 reports by companies from 3 notifications to the ECHA C&L Inventory. Each notification may be associated with multiple companies.

The toxic effects of MPTP were discovered in 1982 when several injection drug users in San Jose, California developed frozen addict syndrome within a week of using MPPP contaminated with MPTP. The syndrome resembled idiopathic Parkinson disease, and patients showed some improvement after treatment with L-dopa. [Ford, p. 634-5] MPTP does not cause occupational parkinsonism, but it causes acute parkinsonism in humans and experimental animals after injection. The cumulative doses in animals are in the range of 1.5 to 410 mg/kg depending on the species. [See Reference #1}

SRP: At the time of review, criteria for land treatment or burial (sanitary landfill) disposal practices are subject to significant revision. Prior to implementing land disposal of waste residue (including waste sludge), consult with environmental regulatory agencies for guidance on acceptable disposal practices.

Because MPTP itself is not directly harmful, toxic effects of acute MPTP poisoning can be mitigated by the administration of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) such as selegiline. MAOIs prevent the metabolism of MPTP to MPP+ by inhibiting the action of MAO-B, minimizing toxicity and preventing neural death. (L1670)

1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine has known human metabolites that include p-hydroxy-MPTP and 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridin-1-ium.

In the brain, MPTP is metabolized into the toxic cation 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+) by the enzyme MAO-B of glial cells. (L1670)

Toxic substances from microorganisms, plants or animals that interfere with the functions of the nervous system. Most venoms contain neurotoxic substances. Myotoxins are included in this concept.

Any drugs that are used for their effects on dopamine receptors, on the life cycle of dopamine, or on the survival of dopaminergic neurons.

A contaminant produced during the synthesis of MPPP, a synthetic heroin; it causes irreversible parkinsonism in primates and is used in research laboratories; MPTP is converted to the toxic metabolite MPP+ in the brain where it selectively destroys cells in the substantia nigra. [Merck Index #6294]

1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) is a neurotoxin that causes permanent symptoms of Parkinson's disease by killing certain neurons in the substantia nigra of the brain. MPTP can be accidentally produced during the illicit manufacture of MPPP, and that is how its Parkinson-inducing effects were first discovered. MPTP is used to recreate and study the Parkinson's disease in experimental animal models.