The Chemical Entities of Biological Interest (ChEBI) ontology is downloaded weekly from EMBL-EBI at http://www.ebi.ac.uk/chebi/. The data is made available under the Creative Commons License (CC BY 3.0, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). For more information see: Degtyarenko et al. (2008) ChEBI: a database and ontology for chemical entities of biological interest. Nucleic Acids Res. 36, D344–D350.
A secondary amino compound that is 1-phenyl-propan-2-amine in which one of the meta-hydrogens is substituted by trifluoromethyl, and one of the hydrogens attached to the nitrogen is substituted by an ethyl group. It binds to the serotonin reuptake pump, causing inhbition of serotonin uptake and release of serotonin. The resulting increased levels of serotonin lead to greater serotonin receptor activation which in turn lead to enhancement of serotoninergic transmission in the centres of feeding behavior located in the hypothalamus. This suppresses the appetite for carbohydrates. Fenfluramine was used as the hydrochloride for treatment of diabetes and obesity. It was withdrawn worldwide after reports of heart valve disease and pulmonary hypertension.