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Diet aid or aid to die: an update on 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP) use as a weight-loss product

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Abstract

During the last decades, we have witnessed unparalleled changes in human eating habits and lifestyle, intensely influenced by cultural and social pressures. Sports practice became strongly implemented in daily routines, and visits to the gym peaked, driven by the indulgence in intensive ‘weight-loss programs’. The pledge of boasting a healthy and beautiful body instigates the use of very attractive ‘fat burners’, which are purportedly advertised as safe products, easily available in the market and expected to quickly reduce body weight. In this context, the slimming properties of 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP) galvanised its use as a weight-loss product, despite the drug ban for human consumption in many countries since 1938, due to its adverse effects. The main symptoms associated with 2,4-DNP intoxication, including hyperthermia, tachycardia, decreased blood pressure, and acute renal failure, motivated a worldwide warning, issued by the Interpol Anti-Doping Unit in 2015, reinforcing its hazard. Information on the effects of 2,4-DNP mainly derive from the intoxication cases reported by emergency care units, for which there is no specific antidote or treatment. This review provides a comprehensive update on 2,4-DNP use, legislation and epidemiology, chemistry and analytical methodologies for drug determination in commercial products and biological samples, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, toxicological effects, and intoxication diagnosis and management.

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Adapted from Jeukendrup and Randell (2011)

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Funding

This work was financed by FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020—Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), and by Portuguese funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia in the framework of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029584. This work was also supported by the Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit—UCIBIO (UID/Multi/04378/2020). To all financing sources, the authors are greatly indebted.

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  1. UCIBIO/REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Rua Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal

    Daniela Sousa, Helena Carmo, Rita Roque Bravo, Félix Carvalho, Maria de Lourdes Bastos, Paula Guedes de Pinho & Diana Dias da Silva

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  1. Daniela Sousa
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Sousa, D., Carmo, H., Roque Bravo, R. et al. Diet aid or aid to die: an update on 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP) use as a weight-loss product. Arch Toxicol 94, 1071–1083 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-020-02675-9

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