[1][2] The compound is also a positional isomer of N-methyltryptamine (NMT).

[1] 5-MeT is known to act as a potent serotonin 5-HT2A receptor full agonist, with an EC50Tooltip half-maximal effective concentration of 6.00 nM and an EmaxTooltip maximal efficacy of 100%.

[8] In addition to acting as an agonist of various serotonin receptors, 5-MeT is a monoamine releasing agent (MRA), with high selectivity for induction of serotonin release over induction of dopamine and norepinephrine release (EC50 = 139 nM, >10,000 nM, and >10,000 nM, respectively, in rat brain synaptosomes).

[1] Tryptamines without substitutions at the amine or alpha carbon, such as tryptamine, serotonin, and 5-MeO-T, are known to be very rapidly metabolized and thereby inactivated by monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) in vivo and to have very short elimination half-lives.

[9][10][11][12][13][2][14] However, given intravenously at sufficiently high doses, tryptamine is still known to be able to produce weak and short-lived serotonergic psychedelic effects in humans.