Is Mebufotenin safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what LactMed, the Drugs and Lactation Database published by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), reports about Mebufotenin. The text below is quoted from that source — it is not our own verdict.
Summary of use during breastfeeding
Mebufotenin is an investigational hallucinogenic drug being studied for postpartum depression. No information is available on the clinical use of mebufotenin during breastfeeding. However, amounts in breastmilk appear to be low after maternal inhalation and would not be expected to cause any adverse effects in breastfed infants after the first day of administration.
Effects on the breastfed infant
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Effects on milk supply
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Levels in milk
Maternal Levels. In a preliminary study on the use of mebufotenin for postpartum depression, patients were administered an individualized dosing regimen of up to three escalating doses of mebufotenin (6, 12, and 18 mg) on a single day by pulmonary inhalation. Of the four lactating patients, three received mebufotenin 6 + 12 mg and one received mebufotenin 6 + 12 + 18 mg. Concentrations of mebufotenin, its psychoactive metabolite bufotenin, and its non-psychoactive metabolite 5-methoxyindole- 3-acetic acid (5-MIAA) were measured in breastmilk. Mebufotenin levels in breastmilk ranged from 0.24 to 3.11 mcg/L at 1 hour post-dose, from below the limit of quantification (BLQ) to 0.56 mcg/L at 2.5 hours post-dose, and from BLQ to 0.04 mcg/L at about 8 hours after the dose; all levels were BLQ on days 2 and 8. Bufotenin was BLQ in breastmilk at all time points. 5-MIAA levels were 13.9 to 28.5 mcg/L at 1 hour post-dose, 8.1 to 13.5 mcg/L at 2.5 hours after the dose, BLQ to 0.90 mcg/L at about 8 hours after the dose, BLQ to 0.22 mcg/L on day 2, and BLQ on day 8.[1]
Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
“No published information” means the studies do not exist yet — not that Mebufotenin is known to be harmful, and not that it is known to be safe. Your prescriber or pharmacist can weigh your baby's age and whether a better-studied alternative would do the same job. Worth asking before stopping a medicine you need.
Source: Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), via NCBI Bookshelf, record “Mebufotenin” (mebufotenin). LactMed on NCBI Bookshelf. LactMed is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Educational summary of an authoritative source — not medical advice. Never start, stop, or change a medicine while breastfeeding without confirming with your doctor.