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2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP)

Metabolicoral · inferred

EXTREME DANGER — MULTIPLE DEATHS REPORTED. Industrial chemical that uncouples oxidative phosphorylation, dissipating the mitochondrial proton gradient as heat. Elimination half-life ~10-18 hours causes dangerous accumulation with repeated dosing. Produces uncontrollable hyperthermia up to 44C (111F). Lowest published fatal dose: 4.3 mg/kg. 11.9% fatality rate in poison control cases (2010-2020). NO ANTIDOTE EXISTS. DNP has an extremely narrow margin between effective and lethal doses. Average time from overdose to death is 14 hours. Not approved for human use by any regulatory agency worldwide. Formerly used as a diet pill in the 1930s before being banned due to deaths and cataracts.

Projected serum levels — 200 mg, once daily

2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP)
2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) modeled serum levels, 200 mg once daily over 15 days Population-based pharmacokinetic estimate. Steady state reached after approximately 1 days. 0 25 50 75 100 Day 0 Day 4 Day 8 Day 11 Day 15 Time on a regular schedule ≈ steady state · day 1

Maintenance schedule: 200 mg once daily (oral).

Modeled steady state after ~1 days: peak ≈ 50.0 mg, trough ≈ 0.000 mg body load. Population-based estimate over 15 days for a 200 mg dose at a 70 kg reference body mass — the interactive app scales curves to your doses, timing, and body mass.

Key facts

Category
Metabolic
Route modeled
Oral
Model confidence
inferred
Half-life
21 min
Common dose
200 mg
Suggested maximum
400 mg/day
Reference dose range
100–400 mg (single dose)
Suggested cadence
once daily

Documented interactions

  • moderate
    Carbamazepine (Tegretol) + 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) CYP induction

    Carbamazepine (Tegretol) inducer of UGT predicted to change 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) AUC by ~0.74x

  • moderate
    Phenytoin (Dilantin) + 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) CYP induction

    Phenytoin (Dilantin) inducer of UGT predicted to change 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) AUC by ~0.70x

  • moderate
    Valproic Acid / Divalproex (Depakote) + 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) CYP inhibition

    Valproic Acid / Divalproex (Depakote) reversible_inhibitor of UGT predicted to change 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) AUC by ~1.43x

  • watch
    Copper (Bisglycinate) + 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) Stacked effects

    Copper (Bisglycinate) and 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) both push the mitochondrial electron transport in the same direction.

  • watch
    CoQ10 (Ubiquinol) + 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) Stacked effects

    CoQ10 (Ubiquinol) and 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) both push the mitochondrial electron transport in the same direction.

  • watch
    Methylene Blue + 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) Stacked effects

    2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) and Methylene Blue both push the mitochondrial electron transport in the same direction.

Serum checks 10 modeled interaction pairings for 2,4-dinitrophenol (dnp) across your whole stack — absorption conflicts, enzyme inhibition, and nutrient depletion included.

Research behind this entry

  1. 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP): A Weight Loss Agent with Significant Acute Toxicity and Risk of Death Grundlingh J et al. · Journal of Medical Toxicology, 2011 DOI

    Comprehensive toxicology review documenting DNP mechanism of mitochondrial uncoupling, dose-dependent hyperthermia, and multiple fatalities. Established that no effective treatment exists for DNP poisoning.

  2. Survival of Acute-on-Chronic 2,4-Dinitrophenol Overdose with Associated Pharmacokinetics Bartlett JG et al. · Journal of Medical Toxicology, 2025 DOI

    Rare survival case of acute-on-chronic DNP overdose with pharmacokinetic data showing first-order kinetics with 18-hour half-life, peak temperature of 40.1C, and the clinical challenges of managing DNP toxicity.

  3. 2,4-Dinitrophenol: diet drug death following major trauma Potts AJ et al. · Emergency Medicine Journal, 2021 DOI

    Fatal case report of DNP toxicity precipitated by major trauma, demonstrating how physiological stress can unmask chronic DNP use and trigger lethal hyperthermia cascade.

3 published studies referenced in the app, each with a plain-language summary.