ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.

Sec. Neuropharmacology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1626692

Acute Pharmacological Effects of α-PVP in Humans: A Naturalistic Observational study

Provisionally accepted
Georgina de la RosaGeorgina de la Rosa1Esther Papaseit FontanetEsther Papaseit Fontanet1*Olga HladunOlga Hladun1Lourdes PoyatosLourdes Poyatos1Dolly Andrea CaicedoDolly Andrea Caicedo1Martha Catalina ArgoteMartha Catalina Argote1Soraya MartinSoraya Martin1Mireia VenturaMireia Ventura2,3Nunzia La MaidaNunzia La Maida4Annagiulia Di TranaAnnagiulia Di Trana5Silvia GrazianoSilvia Graziano5Simona PichiniSimona Pichini5Magi FarreMagi Farre1Clara Pérez-MañáClara Pérez-Mañá1
  • 1Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain
  • 2Energy Control, Barcelona, Spain
  • 3Energy, Barcelona, Spain
  • 4National Center on Addiction and Doping, National Institute of Health (ISS), Roma, Italy
  • 5National Institute of Health (ISS), Rome, Italy

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Alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone (α-PVP) is a commonly consumed analogue of pyrovalerone, a synthetic cathinone with psychostimulant properties similar to those of 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and cocaine. Since the pharmacology of α-PVP remains scarcely studied, we aimed to evaluate the acute pharmacological effects and its abuse potential in humans after intranasal administration.We carried out a non-controlled observational study in a naturalistic environment in nine participants (3 women and six men) with a previous history of psychostimulant use. Participants self-administered a single intranasal dose of 10mg or 20mg of α-PVP. The outcomes included physiological effects (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature) and subjective effects (Evaluation of Subjective Effects of Substances with Abuse Potential questionnaire_VESSPA-SSE, the short form of the Addiction Research Center Inventory questionnaire_ARCI and visual analog scales_VAS) and were measured at different time points (0, 20 and 40 minutes and 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4 and 5 hours).An acute increase in blood pressure and heart rate was observed that peaked 40 minutes after administration. Subjective effects also showed a rapid onset and disappeared 3 to 5 hours after administration.α-PVP showed psychostimulant properties similar to those displayed by cocaine and empathogenic effects commonly associated with MDMA and other cathinones (eg. methylone) consumption.

Keywords: cathinones, Alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone (α-PVP), Pharmacology, new psychoactive substances, Psychostimulants

Received: 11 May 2025; Accepted: 20 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 de la Rosa, Papaseit Fontanet, Hladun, Poyatos, Caicedo, Argote, Martin, Ventura, La Maida, Di Trana, Graziano, Pichini, Farre and Pérez-Mañá. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Esther Papaseit Fontanet, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, 0803, Spain

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material