3-Hydroxymorphinan

3-Hydroxymorphinan

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Systematic (IUPAC) name
(±)-morphinan-3-ol
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability	18%
Identifiers
CAS Number	39131-41-4 N
ATC code	None
ChemSpider	16735936 Y
Chemical data
Formula	C16H21NO
Molecular mass	243.344 g/mol
SMILES Oc3ccc4C[C@H]1NCC[C@@]2(CCCC[C@@H]12)c4c3
InChI InChI=1S/C16H21NO/c18-12-5-4-11-9-15-13-3-1-2-6-16(13,7-8-17-15)14(11)10-12/h4-5,10,13,15,17-18H,1-3,6-9H2/t13-,15+,16+/m0/s1 Y Key:IYNWSQDZXMGGGI-NUEKZKHPSA-N Y
NY (what is this?)  (verify)

3-Hydroxymorphinan (3-HM), or morphinan-3-ol, is a psychoactive drug of the morphinan family. It is the racemic counterpart to norlevorphanol.

The dextrorotatory stereoisomer of the compound is an active metabolite of dextromethorphan, dextrorphan, and 3-methoxymorphinan, and similarly to them has potent neuroprotective and neurotrophic effects on LTS- and MPTP-treated dopaminergic neurons of the nigrostriatal pathway, but notably without producing any neuropsychotoxic side effects (e.g., dissociation or hallucinations) or having any anticonvulsant actions. It does not seem to bind to the NMDA receptor, and instead, its neuroprotective properties appear result from inhibition of glutamate release via the suppression of presynaptic voltage-dependent Ca²⁺ entry and protein kinase C activity. In any case, as such, the compound has been investigated as a potential antiparkinsonian agent. A prodrug, GCC1290K, has been developed on account of 3-HM's poor bioavailability (18%), and a New Drug Application has been approved for it by the United States Food and Drug Administration. It is currently undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. It does not have a Controlled Substances Act 1970 schedule, ACSCN, or annual aggregate manufacturing quota and may not necessarily be controlled, whilst norlevorphanol is; none of the dextrorotary derivatives of the dromoran and norlevorphanol sub-families of morphinan derivatives are controlled as they do not have opioid activity but the other racemic compounds are.

3-HM's levorotatory stereoisomer, norlevorphanol, in contrast to (+)-3-HM, is an opioid analgesic. It was never marketed as such however, probably due to a combination of the facts that norlevorphanol has low bioavailability and that its potency is diminished compared to its N-methylated analogue levorphanol.