Pharmaceuticals/Chemicals Human clinical data

DNP

2,4-Dinitrophenol

3.7 days

Half-life

50–200 mg

Typical dose

Industrial mitochondrial uncoupler; extremely hazardous with documented fatalities. For harm-reduction reference only.

Key takeaways

Mitochondrial uncoupler from the 1930s diet-pill era; banned, with documented fatalities.
~89-hour half-life means doses accumulate fast across consecutive days.
No antidote exists; hyperthermia from overdose is frequently fatal.
Harm-reduction reference only; no safe dose has ever been established.

🚧 Expanded guide coming soon. This compound has PK data and a source — a full overview, mechanism, and dosing guide is pending editorial review.

Reported dosing protocols

Protocols reported in research literature and clinic/community use — informational context, not a dosing recommendation.

Use case	Dose	Route	Frequency	Duration
Weight loss (community, dangerous)	50–200 mg	Oral	Once daily	Short runs only (days to ~2 weeks)

Pharmacokinetic summary

Model tier: Advanced (t½ + Cmax + Tmax + F)
Half-life: 3.7 days
Cmax: 0.04166666667 mcg/mL
Tmax: 0.0 days
Bioavailability: 100%
Typical dose: 50–200 mg

Harm reduction

Aromatizes: No
Hepatotoxicity: severe

⚠ DNP is exceptionally dangerous — narrow therapeutic window, documented fatalities. This entry is for harm reduction only.

Frequently asked questions

Why is DNP so dangerous compared to other fat-loss drugs?

It raises metabolic rate by wasting energy as heat, with no feedback brake. As blood levels climb, heat production outruns the body's ability to shed it, causing fatal hyperthermia. The dose-response is steep and varies between individuals.

Is there an antidote to DNP poisoning?

No. Treatment is supportive only: aggressive cooling, fluids, and ICU care. Survival depends on the dose taken and how quickly cooling starts, which is why documented case reports so often end in death.

Why does half-life matter so much with DNP?

With a roughly 89-hour half-life, most of each dose is still active when the next is taken, so blood levels accumulate far beyond what a single dose produces. People misjudge this and redose into toxic territory.

References

PMC DNP PK — Estimates from Fig. 4. No good bioavailability source.
2,4-Dinitrophenol as medicine (Cells 2019) — Entry's PK source; history and pharmacology of DNP.
Grundlingh et al., J Med Toxicol 2011 — Toxicity review: acute poisoning, fatalities, and the narrow margin of safety.

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