Phenylethylamine (PEA) is an amine the body makes naturally that acts as a brain messenger. As a supplement it is sold for mood, focus and energy, often in pre-workout and weight-loss products, but there is very little human research on it.
Also known as: PEA, phenethylamine, beta-phenylethylamine.
PEA has no intake value or upper limit, and there is no NIH fact sheet for it. In the small reports by Sabelli (1996), people took 10 to 60 mg a day of PEA together with 10 mg a day of selegiline, a prescription drug. These are study protocols, not a recommendation.
It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling. The WADA 2026 Prohibited List names phenethylamine and its derivatives under S6.B, Specified stimulants, prohibited in competition.
Human evidence is very limited. In a 1996 follow-up report (Sabelli), 14 people with major depression who had responded to PEA were checked again 20 to 50 weeks later, and 12 were still doing well; this was not a placebo-controlled trial, and PEA was given together with the prescription drug selegiline to keep it from being destroyed quickly in the body.
A 2017 review by FDA scientists (Pawar) describes phenethylamines, natural and synthetic, as a recurring problem in supplements, with FDA taking action against products containing related compounds such as beta-methylphenethylamine. If you take antidepressants or other prescription medicines, ask your prescriber before using PEA. Athletes subject to drug testing should treat it as a banned substance.
We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for PEA that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one. In the Sabelli reports, PEA was paired with selegiline to slow its breakdown, which suggests PEA alone is broken down quickly.
How Dose Track handles peptides · Reconstitution calculator · Half-life calculator