This page describes pharmacological agents that may have legal restrictions, side effects, and drug interactions in your jurisdiction. Information is for educational research only — consult a clinician before considering any compound.
Noopept
Russian dipeptide nootropic developed at the Zakusov Institute (Ostrovskaya lab, late-1990s, registered 2002) — orally-active prodrug for…
Aliases (6)
Overview
What is Noopept?
Noopept (N-phenylacetyl-L-prolylglycine ethyl ester, GVS-111) is a Russian dipeptide nootropic developed at the Zakusov Institute, registered in Russia in 2002. It is an orally-active prodrug for the endogenous neuropeptide cycloprolylglycine.
Key Benefits
Reported to improve memory, learning, and attention with effects on the order of 1000x more potent per mg than piracetam. Has anxiolytic and neuroprotective properties; used in Russia for post-traumatic, post-stroke, and age-related cognitive impairment.
Mechanism of Action
Hydrolyzed by prolyl endopeptidase to cycloprolylglycine, an endogenous dipeptide that modulates glutamate AMPA/NMDA receptors and increases BDNF and NGF expression in the hippocampus and cortex. Has neuroprotective antioxidant activity.
Pharmacokinetics
▸Brand options3 known
StatusUnscheduled in US (research-chem gray-market; not a dietary supplement under DSHEA, FDA has not approved). Rx in Russia + Ukraine + several CIS states (OTC at most pharmacies despite Rx classification — enforcement loose). Not WADA-banned. Not on EU prescription drug registry.
Peptide Interactions
(in the canonical stack daily 500 mg): Recommended cofactor. Choline demand is lower than for classical racetams but still relevant. Already in the canonical…
Alternative choline cofactor; faster ACh substrate provision. Either citicoline OR alpha-GPC works; alpha-GPC has a small subjective edge for some.
(in the canonical stack): Membrane phospholipid substrate for hippocampal neurons; combines well with the BDNF/trophic angle.
(in the canonical stack): Membrane phospholipid + cortisol modulation; theoretically synergistic with BDNF-mediated stress resilience.
(in the canonical stack): Smooths the rare irritability some users get on noopept; complementary GABA-tone support.
Different mechanism (peptide fragments + neurotrophic milieu vs cPG/AMPA/BDNF). Theoretical synergy — Russian clinical practice routinely combines them. Both…
(e.g., daily piracetam + noopept + pramiracetam): Partial mechanism overlap (AMPA + cholinergic); diminishing returns and additive choline depletion. Pick on…
Same logic — phenylpiracetam tolerates fast and shares partial mechanism. PRN co-use is fine if separated by days.
Mechanism overlap (BDNF/NGF upregulation) is the main concern. Not strictly contraindicated but probably mechanism-redundant — running noopept on top of Adam…
Pharmacological antagonism — defeats partial cholinergic mechanism.
Quality Indicators
Pharmacy-dispensed, intact packaging
Prescription tablets in original sealed packaging from a licensed pharmacy.
Generic vs branded
Generics are usually fine but bioavailability can vary slightly; track if you switch.
Unbranded blister or counterfeit risk
Counterfeit pharmaceuticals are a known issue; verify pharmacy and lot if buying internationally.
What to Expect
- Day 1PK-driven acute peak per administration. Verify dose tolerated.
- Week 1Steady-state reached for most daily-dosed pharma.
- Week 2-4Therapeutic effect established; titration window if needed.
- Long-termPeriodic monitoring per drug class (labs, BP, ECG as applicable).
Side Effects & Safety
- Common (>10% users): Headache (especially with low choline cofactor — less severe than with classical racetams but real). Irritability or shortened temper if cycled too long without break. Insomnia at high evening doses (single biggest dropout cause for late-chronotype users).
- Less common (1–10%): Mild GI upset (nausea, loose stool — usually transient first week), mild dizziness, restlessness, mild emotional blunting (some users experience this as "flatter affect" — usually welcomed in stressful contexts, sometimes disliked).
- **Rare-serious (<1% but worth knowing):** None established at therapeutic doses. ~20+ years of Russian clinical use and large gray-market biohacker base have not produced significant case reports of seizure, hepatotoxicity, cardiac events, or severe adverse psychiatric reactions. **LD50 in animal studies is very high** (>10,000× therapeutic dose) — wide therapeutic window.
- Specific watch periods:
- Week 1: dial in choline cofactor (citicoline 250–500 mg) if any headache emerges; calibrate dose timing if any sleep impact.
- Week 4–8: monitor for irritability creep — most common reason to cycle off.
- Beyond 3 months continuous: zero published human safety data — this is the actual safety unknown. Cycle conservatively until this is better characterized.
- Interaction risks:
- Strong anticholinergics (diphenhydramine, scopolamine): Pharmacological antagonism — noopept's cognitive effect is partly cholinergic-restorative, antagonized by strong anticholinergics. Avoid concurrent.
- Cholinesterase inhibitors at full dose (donepezil 10 mg, galantamine 24 mg): Theoretical additive cholinergic load. Empirically tolerated in older clinical use but stack carefully and don't pile multiple cholinergic potentiators simultaneously. Low-dose huperzine A (50–200 mcg cycled) is empirically tolerated by many users.
- Other racetams + nootropics: see Stacking — mechanism overlap with classical racetams is partial (AMPA + cholinergic shared; BDNF mechanism mostly unique to noopept).
References
Wikipedia — Noopept
comprehensive overview, Zakusov Institute history, regulatory status, mechanism summary, Ostrovskaya lineage.
View StudyOstrovskaya RU et al. (2007). Proline-containing dipeptide GVS-111 retains nootropic activity after oral administration. *Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine*
foundational pharmacology paper, oral activity demonstration.
View StudyOstrovskaya RU, Gudasheva TA, Zaplina AP et al. (2008). Noopept stimulates the expression of NGF and BDNF in rat hippocampus. *Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine*
the BDNF/NGF upregulation finding (animal).
View StudyOstrovskaya RU, Romanova GA, Barskov IV et al. — Memory restoring and neuroprotective effects of the proline-containing dipeptide GVS-111
neuroprotective action across animal models.
View StudyGudasheva TA, Konstantinopolskii MA, Ostrovskaya RU, Seredenin SB. Anxiolytic activity of endogenous nootropic dipeptide cycloprolylglycine in elevated plus-maze test
cPG endogenous role + anxiolytic action.
View StudyRussian Pharmacological Committee — Noopept registration dossier (2002, Ministry of Health of Russia)
basis for Russian Rx authorization in cerebrovascular insufficiency, MCI, post-traumatic cognitive dysfunction.
View StudyPsychonautWiki — Noopept
subjective effects, dose ranges, harm reduction notes.
View StudyNootropics Expert — Noopept
clinical trial summaries, dosing protocols, choline pairing.
View StudyRUPharma — Noopept product page
current Russian-pharmaceutical-grade sourcing, pricing, dose format.
View StudyCosmicNootropic — Noopept product page
alternative Russian sourcing, ~$20–30 / 50 tabs.
View StudyPhenethylamines Lab — Noopept
US research-chem alternative, COA available.
View StudySuperMindHacker — Noopept Mechanism Deep-Dive
mechanism summary, comparison to racetams.
View StudyCognitive Effects of Piracetam: 2024 Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (Neurology P11-9.007)
recent meta-analysis informative for racetam-class healthy-adult enhancement debate; relevant context for noopept's "more potent than piracetam" framing.
View StudyFDA — Novel Dietary Ingredient Notification status (Noopept)
regulatory basis for delisting from US supplement channels.
View StudyVorobyov VV et al. — EEG effects of noopept in rats and humans
electrophysiological mechanism data.
View StudyKovalev GI, Firstova YY, Salimov RM. Behavioral effects of nootropics in healthy mice strains
strain-dependent response patterns.
View StudyHow was your experience with this compound?
Anonymous · one vote per session · results below at 5+ votes.
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