L-Norpseudoephedrine

L-Norpseudoephedrine, or (−)-norpseudoephedrine, is a psychostimulant drug of the amphetamine family. It is one of the four optical isomers of phenylpropanolamine, the other three being cathine ((+)-norpseudoephedrine), (−)-norephedrine, and (+)-norephedrine; as well as one of the two enantiomers of norpseudoephedrine (the other being cathine). Similarly to cathine, L-norpseudoephedrine acts as a releasing agent of norepinephrine (EC₅₀ = 30 nM) and to a lesser extent of dopamine (EC₅₀ = 294 nM). Due to the 10-fold difference in its potency for inducing the release of the two neurotransmitters however, L-norpseudoephedrine could be called a modestly selective or preferential norepinephrine releasing agent, similarly to related compounds like ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.