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-adrenochrome is detoxified at least partially by glutathione-S-transferase

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenochrome

Excerpts

Chemistry
In vivo, adrenochrome is synthesized by the oxidation of epinephrine. In vitro, silver oxide (Ag2O) is used as an oxidizing agent. Its presence is detected in solution by a pink color. The color turns brown upon polymerization.

Effect on the brain
Several small-scale studies (involving 15 or fewer test subjects) conducted in the 1950s and 1960s reported that adrenochrome triggered psychotic reactions such as thought disorder and derealization. Researchers Abram Hoffer and Humphry Osmond claimed that adrenochrome is a neurotoxic, psychotomimetic substance and may play a role in schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. In what they called the “adrenochrome hypothesis”, they speculated that megadoses of vitamin C and niacin could cure schizophrenia by reducing brain adrenochrome. The treatment of schizophrenia with such potent anti-oxidants is highly contested. In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association reported methodological flaws in Hoffer’s work on niacin as a schizophrenia treatment and referred to follow-up studies that did not confirm any benefits of the treatment.[Multiple additional studies in the United States, Canada, and Australia similarly failed to find benefits of megavitamin therapy to treat schizophrenia. The adrenochrome theory of schizophrenia waned, despite some evidence that it may be psychotomimetic, as adrenochrome was not detectable in schizophrenics. In the early 2000s, interest was renewed by the discovery that adrenochrome may be produced normally as an intermediate in the formation of neuromelanin. This finding may be significant because adrenochrome is detoxified at least partially by glutathione-S-transferase. Some studies have found genetic defects in the gene for this enzyme.

Legal status
Adrenochrome is unscheduled by the Controlled Substances Act in the United States. It is not an approved drug product by the Food and Drug Administration, and if produced as a dietary supplement it must comply with good manufacturing practice.

Names
IUPAC name
3-Hydroxy-1-methyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-indole-5,6-dione
Other names
Adraxone; Pink adrenaline
Identifiers
CAS Number
54-06-8
3D model (JSmol)
Interactive image
ChemSpider
5687
ECHA InfoCard
100.000.176
PubChem CID
5898
InChI
SMILES
Properties
Chemical formula
C9H9NO3
Molar mass
179.175 g·mol 8722;1
Density
3.264 g/cm3
Boiling point
115–120 C (239–248 F; 388–393 K) (decomposes)
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 C 77F, 100 kPa).
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