What is Adenochrome used for and why are conspiracy theorists obsessed with it?

Adenochrome has been mentioned heavily across social media as QAnon’s bizarre conspiracies become spoken about more and more. With the unexpected box office hit The Sound of Freedom, the adenochrome conspiracy has become part of mainstream conversations. The chemical compound was the subject of limited research from the 1950s to 1970s as it was believed to be a potential cause for schizophrenia.

It currently has no medical application. Despite the adenochrome conspiracy theory spiking in popularity in recent years, theories around what is adenochrome can actually be traced back to the 70s. Hunter S. Thompson’s 1971 novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, depicted adenochrome as a psychedelic extracted from humans.
The more recent reiteration of the conspiracy theory baselessly claims that Hollywood and Democratic elites kidnap and torture children to harvest adenochrome from them. It’s a large part of the conspiracy group QAnon, who also believe that a Satanic child sex trafficking ring is organised by political and Hollywood elites.

Conspiracy theorists claim what is adenochrome has psychedelic properties that helps those who consume the chemical have the ability to stay young. The theory has been debunked multiple times by both media outlets and scientists who have highlighted that the chemical has no rejuvenating effects. As well as the fact that it is simply not true, the conspiracy has also faced criticism for its roots in antisemitism, namely blood libel. A myth that Jews use the blood of Christian and non-Jewish children in rituals.
The anti-Semitic conspiracy was historically used to justify the imprisonment of Jews and was part of Nazi propaganda. Conspiracy theorists claim that the Pixar film Monster’s Inc ‘tells on itself’ because the monsters scare children to extract screams from them which is used as energy. Platforms such as Reddit and Amazon have taken steps to contain the theory, such as removing the subreddit what is adenochrome and Amazon taking books promoting the theory off of its platform. However, searching “adenochrome” on Twitter reveals the opposite.