Adrenochrome is a chemical compound produced by the oxidation of adrenaline. It was the subject of limited research from the 1950s through to the 1970s as a potential cause of schizophrenia. While it has no current medical application, the related derivative compound, carbazochrome, is a hemostatic.
Aldous Huxley’s 1954 essay “The Doors of Perception”, written mostly about his experiences with mescaline, discusses the possibility that adrenochrome is a compound with similar effects to the psychedelic cactus. He has not taken it, and doesn’t know how one would obtain it, saying just that it’s spontaneously produced by the human body. He describes it as “a product of the decomposition of adrenaline”, which is, surprisingly, correct.
Just like Huxley said, adrenochrome is a compound formed by the oxidation of adrenaline. Its main medical use is to slow blood loss by promoting clotting in open wounds. It’s available for purchase online by researchers, with most outlets stating its source is synthetic and its uses are the inhibition of COMT (which deactivates certain neurotransmitters), and the synthesis of prostaglandins (fats involved with blood clotting).