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Synthetic

PB-22

A synthetic cannabinoid with a quinolinyl ester linkage, a full CB1 agonist, classified as a narcotic in France.

Narcotic: named in schedule
Level of detail

Harm-reduction warning

No characterised human dose: animal / in vitro data only. Effect profile, safety margin and acute toxicity are not documented in human clinical practice. Extremely potent compound: severe effects, seizures and deaths reported in the literature.

C₂₃H₂₂N₂O₂

CAS 1400742-17-7

Family
Synthetic CB receptor agonistNew psychoactive substance
Molar mass
358.40 g/mol

Updated on

In plain terms

PB-22, also called QUPIC, is a synthetic cannabinoid made in a laboratory. It does not exist in hemp and has nothing to do with cannabidiol: it was identified in Japan in 2013 in smoking products. It acts on the same receptors as THC, it is scheduled as a narcotic in France under its own name, and the amount actually present in a product remains unpredictable.

Receptors and activity

Target network

CB1Agonistagonist at the human CB1 receptor (membrane potential assay, Banister 2015: EC50 from 2.8 to 1,959 nM across all eight compounds in the study); the value specific to PB-22 was not verified in the full text
  • Activates

The lower the cited value, the closer the target sits to PB-22: one ring per factor of 100. A target with no measured value stays on the edge.

Where these targets live

Where each target has been found in humans, according to the cited studies. The map shows the target, not an effect of PB-22.

Brain, side view
Body, front view
Blood

CB1CB1 found in 7 regions of the body

  1. Basal gangliadenseMost dense in basal ganglia outflow nuclei1
  2. CerebellumdenseVery dense in the cerebellum1
  3. HippocampusdenseVery high concentrations in the hippocampus2
  4. AmygdaladenseHigh concentrations in the amygdala2
  5. CortexpresentPresent throughout the neocortex2
  6. Adipose tissuepresentExpressed in adipose tissue3
  7. GutpresentColonic epithelium, smooth muscle and plexus4

Map sources

  1. Herkenham M et al. Cannabinoid receptor localization in brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1990 (new tab)
  2. Glass M et al. Cannabinoid receptors in the human brain: a detailed anatomical and quantitative autoradiographic study in the fetal, neonatal and adult human brain. Neuroscience, 1997 (new tab)
  3. Engeli S et al. Activation of the peripheral endocannabinoid system in human obesity. Diabetes, 2005 (new tab)
  4. Wright K et al. Differential expression of cannabinoid receptors in the human colon: cannabinoids promote epithelial wound healing. Gastroenterology, 2005 (new tab)

Cited values

  1. CB1Agonistno measured value cited

    agonist at the human CB1 receptor (membrane potential assay, Banister 2015: EC50 from 2.8 to 1,959 nM across all eight compounds in the study); the value specific to PB-22 was not verified in the full text

  2. CB2Agonistno measured value cited

    agonist at the human CB2 receptor (EC50 from 6.5 to 206 nM across all eight compounds in the Banister 2015 study); the value specific to PB-22 was not verified in the full text

Bar length follows the measured value (Ki, Kd, EC50 or IC50), on one scale shared by every entry, from 100 µM to 0.1 nM. A target with no cited value has no bar.

Pharmacology

PB-22 opened a class of its own among synthetic agonists of the cannabinoid receptors: instead of the ketone of the naphthoylindoles or the carboxamide of the later series, it carries an ester function between carbon 3 of an N-pentyl indole and a quinolin-8-yl group. At human receptors it behaves as an agonist of CB1 and CB2 (membrane potential, Banister 2015). In rats it causes dose-dependent bradycardia and hypothermia, with a thermal effect larger and longer-lasting than that of 5F-PB-22, JWH-018 or AM-2201. The ester link is also its weakness: enzymatic hydrolysis cuts it quickly, and combustion makes a comparable break in the analogue NPB-22, so that part of what is inhaled may no longer be the active molecule. Nothing is published on TRPV1, GPR55, PPARγ or 5-HT1A, and no controlled study exists in humans: human data are lacking on effects, on actual potency, on tolerance and on dependence.

Key sources.

History

Source
An entirely synthetic molecule, absent from cannabis as from any living organism. It was detected in Japan in 2013 in illegal products sold as cannabimimetics. None of this has anything to do with hemp or with cannabidiol products: the presence of a synthetic cannabinoid in an item sold as CBD constitutes adulteration.

Origin

Laboratory synthesis

No known biosynthetic pathway: the molecule is produced by no plant or living organism. It comes from organic synthesis, described here by chemical class only, the indole-3-carboxylates.

Classification

Family, origin and source verification

Family

Synthetic CB receptor agonist › New psychoactive substance

Class

indole-3-carboxylate

Verification

Classification, sources and binding values checked on 20 October 2026; text read against its sources and Wikipedia.

Wikipedia (English)

PB-22 (new tab)

Article paired by the molecule's structure (InChIKey), revision read on 19 October 2026. Read as a second opinion, never cited as a source.

References

  1. Uchiyama et al., Forensic Toxicology, 2013: two new quinolinyl carboxylate-type cannabimimetics (QUPIC, QUCHIC), two new carboxamide derivatives (ADB-FUBINACA, ADBICA) and five synthetic cannabinoids identified in illegal products (new tab)DOI 10.1007/s11419-013-0182-9
  2. Banister et al., ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 2015: effects of bioisosteric fluorine in synthetic cannabinoids (JWH-018, AM-2201, UR-144, XLR-11, PB-22, 5F-PB-22, APICA, STS-135); in vitro activity at CB1 and CB2, hypothermia and bradycardia in rats (new tab)PMID 25921407
  3. Wohlfarth et al., Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 2014: metabolism of PB-22 and 5F-PB-22 in human hepatocytes (new tab)PMID 24518903
  4. Lin et al., ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 2021: pharmacokinetic approach to PB-22; serum albumin and carboxylesterases catalyse its hydrolysis (new tab)PMID 34254505
  5. Hur et al., Biomolecules and Therapeutics, 2021: abuse potential of AM-1248, CB-13 and PB-22, intravenous self-administration in rats (new tab)PMID 33935046
  6. Takeda et al., Forensic Toxicology, 2024: biological effects and thermal degradation of NPB-22, an indazole analogue of PB-22 (new tab)PMID 38294576
  7. Kevin et al., Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2022: off-target pharmacological profiling of seven synthetic cannabinoids, including PB-22 and XLR-11 (new tab)PMID 36590635
  8. Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Register 81 (172), 6 September 2016, p. 61130: placement of PB-22, 5F-PB-22, AB-FUBINACA and ADB-PINACA in Schedule I (new tab)PMID 27632803
  9. ANSM, consolidated list of substances classified as narcotics, updated 16 February 2026: PB-22 or QUPIC (annex IV, family of 3-carboxylate indole derivatives); 5F-PB-22 (annex III) (new tab)
  10. INCB, Green List of psychotropic substances under international control, 35th edition, 2024 (Schedule II: 5F-PB-22 named, PB-22 absent) (new tab)
  11. PubChem, Compound Summary CID 71604304, PB-22 (new tab)

Identifiers

Names

IUPAC name
quinolin-8-yl 1-pentylindole-3-carboxylate
Other names
QUPIC · SGT-21 · 1-pentyl-1H-indole-3-carboxylic acid 8-quinolinyl ester

Identifiers

Formula
C₂₃H₂₂N₂O₂
CAS
1400742-17-7
PubChem CID
71604304(new tab)
InChIKey
ZAVGICCEAOUWFM-UHFFFAOYSA-N
SMILES
CCCCCN1C=C(C2=CC=CC=C21)C(=O)OC3=CC=CC4=C3N=CC=C4

Machine-readable entry (JSON)

LLM ingestion format: a structured superset of the entry (identifiers, binding, versioned legal status). Full corpus.