Tryptamine

Substituted tryptamines are a chemical class of organic compounds built around an indole ring system, a benzene ring fused to a five-membered nitrogen-containing pyrrole ring, with an aminoethyl sidechain attached at the indole 3-position. Individual members differ mainly in what is attached to the terminal amine nitrogen and in substituents on the indole ring, such as a hydroxyl or phosphoryloxy group at the 4-position or a methoxy group at the 5-position. Most psychoactive tryptamines act as serotonergic hallucinogens, though the class also includes non-psychoactive relatives. The neurotransmitter serotonin shares this same tryptamine backbone, which is why the class is often described in relation to it.