Dinitrophenol, or more accurately 2,4-dinitrophenol, is a poisonous chemical that has been used medicinally as a remedy for obesity. Long term therapy is exceptionally hazardous, because of accumulation of the chemical and the weight loss that it causes. UK legislation to regulate the sale and use of dinitrophenol has included the Food Safety Act 1990, making it illegal to include dinitrophenol in food intended for human consumption, and a 2023 amendment to the Poisons Act 1972, making it illegal to purchase dinitrophenol without a licence from a registered pharmacist. In the 1980s, for example, a Russian-born American doctor, Nicholas Bachynsky, marketed a formulation of dinitrophenol he called Mitcal. He advertised it as a weight loss medication from what he called his “Physicians Clinics” in Texas.

Source: The Guardian October 07, 2023 04:37 UTC