The substance is typically used in form of the hydrochloride, a white crystalline powder which tastes bitter and slightly acidic, and is soluble in water (1:8) and 94% ethanol (1:45).

[1] After local application, only traces of adrenalone are found in the blood, which is partly a consequence of the vasoconstriction caused by the drug via alpha-1 adrenergic receptors.

In an (unspecified) pharmacological model, hypertensive (blood pressure increasing) action has been found to be about 0.5% that of epinephrine at equivalent plasma concentrations.

Like epinephrine, adrenalone is metabolised by catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT), yielding 3O-methyladrenalone, which in turn is N-demethylized by monoamine oxidase (MAO).

Alternatively, it can first undergo metabolization by MAO and then by COMT; in both cases, the resulting 3O-methyl-N-demethyladrenalone is conjugated to sulfate or glucuronide and excreted by the kidney.