Healthnotes Newswire —An industrial solvent, marketed as a dietary supplement to enhance bodybuilding and to treat depression or insomnia, is responsible for nine episodes of toxic effects, including two deaths, according to a report in today’s New England Journal of Medicine.¹ The solvent, known as 1,4-butanediol, has recently gained popularity as an alternative to gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), a commonly abused drug illegally marketed until 1990 as a dietary supplement and “legal psychedelic.”

In 1990, the FDA banned sale of GHB and a similar drug called gamma-butyrolactone (GBL). The agency warned consumers that GHB had caused more than 30 people in California, Florida, and Georgia to become ill with symptoms ranging from nausea and vomiting to severe respiratory problems, seizures, and coma.² The toxic effects of GBL appear to be even stronger. From April 1998 to April 1999, the FDA received 119 reports of toxic effects of GBL, including two deaths.³

After ingestion, 1,4-butanediol is converted in the body into GHB. The toxic effects of 1,4-butanediol observed in the current study include vomiting, urinary and fecal incontinence, confusion, loss of muscle coordination (ataxia), agitation, combativeness, unstable level of consciousness, respiratory depression, and death.

According to the case reports presented in today’s New England Journal study, the first death occurred in a previously healthy 32-year-old man. He and his 29-year-old wife both took 1,4-butanediol, purchased from a sports nutrition store under the brand name Thunder Nectar, as a way to increase libido. The bottle was unlabeled and no dosage instructions were given. The woman remembered that 15 minutes after taking the Thunder Nectar, she felt lightheaded and sat down in a chair. She awoke seven hours later, on the floor with her husband, covered with vomit and with evidence of fecal incontinence. Her husband was dead.

The second death occurred in a 42-year-old woman who took 1,4-butanediol, marketed as a dietary supplement called NRG3, to treat insomnia. She had a history of depression, for which she was taking the antidepressant drug sertraline (Zoloft®). Her boyfriend observed her taking a nap four hours after ingesting the NRG3. She was dead when he returned eight hours later.

Consumers are advised to avoid any product containing 1,4-butanediol, even if it is purchased from a commercial outlet. Although the solvent has been advertised as “natural” and “nontoxic,” it is neither. One website markets the solvent as a “legal high” under the guise of being a cleaning solution for stereo components and CDs. The site states, “If you should ever feel like you’ve taken a bit too much, just let someone know and take a nap. The effects should be gone by the time you wake up.”⁴

The solvent 1,4-butanediol is also known as 1,4 tetramethylene glycol, 1,4-butylene glycol, 1,4-dihydroxybutan glycol, and sucol-B. It is sold under a variety of trade names, including Thunder Nectar, NRG3, Serenity, InnerG, Zen, Enliven, Amino Flex, Dormir, Rejuv@night, Ultradiol, N-Force, Liquid Gold, Soma Solutions, BlueRaine, Thunder, SomatoPro, Weight Belt Cleaner, X-12, Rest-Q, Biocopia, Serenity II, Mystik, Midnight, Miracle Cleaning Products, and Puritech. Ingredients of cleaning products may not be listed.

GHB is marketed under the trade names G, GHB, Scoop, Easy Lay, Great Hormones at Bedtime, Georgia Home Boy, Grievous Bodily Harm, Liquid Ecstasy, Liquid X, G H Beers, Alcover, Gamma-OH, Somatomax-PM, Somsanit, Anectamine, and Natural Sleep 500.

GBL is also known as furanone, furanone dihydro, and lactone. It is marketed under the trade names Gamma Ram, Nu-Life, RenewTrient, Renewsolvent, Revivarant G, Jolt, Verve, Verve 5.0, GH Gold, Eclipse 4.0, Furan, G3, V3, GenX, Remedy GH, ReActive, Rest-Eze, Beta-Tech, Thunder, Furomax, Blue Nitro, Blue Nitro Vitality, Invigorate, Insom-X, GH Revitalizer, Gamma G, Remforce, Firewater, Revivarant, Regenerize, and Miracle Cleaning Products. Ingredients of cleaning products may not be listed.