MET, or N-methyl-N-ethyltryptamine, is a synthetic tryptamine with one methyl and one ethyl group attached to the terminal nitrogen. It is structurally related to DMT, DET and other N,N-dialkyltryptamines. The compound is mentioned in historical tryptamine literature, but direct modern pharmacological and clinical studies are scarce. It should not be confused with 4-HO-MET or 5-MeO-MET, which carry additional substitutions on the indole ring.
Chemistry and identification
MET is N-ethyl-N-methyl-2-(1H-indol-3-yl)ethanamine. Its indole ring is unsubstituted, while the terminal nitrogen carries two different alkyl groups. This makes it an unsymmetrical analogue of DMT, DET and DPT.
The abbreviation MET is not always used consistently in informal sources. In this entry it refers specifically to N-methyl-N-ethyltryptamine, not to the 4-hydroxy or 5-methoxy derivatives.
Pharmacology
There is little direct receptor-binding information for unsubstituted MET. The wider N,N-dialkyltryptamine family interacts with serotonergic systems, but the available 2023 receptor study measured DET and DPT rather than MET itself. Those findings allow comparisons with related structures, but do not establish the pharmacology of MET itself (Kozell and colleagues, 2023).
Studies of N,N-dialkyltryptamines have also examined interactions with the serotonin transporter and vesicular monoamine transporter. Those results vary with the size and arrangement of the nitrogen substituents and should not be assigned to MET without a direct assay (Cozzi and colleagues, 2009).
Reported effects and human evidence
Human descriptions of MET are limited and do not establish a reliable subjective profile. Accounts of DMT, DET or other dialkyltryptamines cannot be treated as direct evidence for MET, since changing the nitrogen substituents can alter receptor interactions and metabolism.
Research limitations
No well-characterised human pharmacokinetic study or clinical case series specific to MET was identified in the sources reviewed here. Its acute toxic range, dependence potential and long-term effects remain unknown. Its chemical identity is established, but direct pharmacological evidence remains scarce.
Related tryptamines
MET is related to DET, DPT, MiPT and MPT. Its methyl-ethyl substitution distinguishes it from the symmetrical dialkyl compounds.
