Noopept
OmberacetamN-phenylacetyl-L-prolylglycine ethyl esterGVS-111Evidence
Approved (ex-US)
Typical vial
10 mg
Route
Oral
Status
Russia and United States
What it is
A Russian prescription nootropic, registered there since 1996. Not a peptide despite the name, and unapproved everywhere else.
Noopept is a small molecule built from a dipeptide backbone, which is why it is filed with peptides and why that filing is misleading. It is not injected, not reconstituted, and behaves like a conventional oral drug.
It has been a registered prescription medicine in Russia since 1996, prescribed for cognitive impairment after stroke or injury and for age-related decline. That is a genuine regulatory status with a clinical programme behind it. It is also a Russian programme, carrying the reporting and replication limits this site describes for that body of work generally.
Outside Russia it is unapproved and sold as a supplement or research chemical. In the United Kingdom it is a controlled substance under the Psychoactive Substances Act, which is a distinction worth knowing before ordering it.
How it works
Noopept is metabolised to cycloprolylglycine, an endogenous dipeptide, which is thought to be the active form. That relationship to a naturally occurring molecule is the basis of the mechanistic argument for it.
It is described as raising BDNF and nerve growth factor in the hippocampus in animal work, and as modulating glutamate receptor signalling. Both are plausible routes to the cognitive effects claimed, and neither is established in humans outside the Russian programme.
It is often described as a racetam, and structurally it is not one. The resemblance is functional rather than chemical, which matters if you are reasoning about interactions from drug class.
What it is studied for
Each entry states the evidence behind it. We do not rank indications by effectiveness — for most compounds here, that would be a claim nobody can support.
Cognitive impairment after stroke or injury
Published reviewThe registered Russian indication.
EvidenceRussian clinical work supporting registration since 1996. Not replicated to contemporary standards outside that programme.
Cognitive enhancement in healthy people
Community practiceWhy it is bought outside Russia.
EvidenceNo trial has studied it in healthy people for cognitive enhancement. The registered indication involves existing impairment.
Regulatory status
Last reviewed 18 Aug 2026. Positions in this category change frequently, so we date the line.
A registered prescription medicine in Russia since 1996 for cognitive impairment following stroke or injury. Not approved in the United States or the European Union, and controlled in the United Kingdom under the Psychoactive Substances Act.
Identity and clearance
What the molecule is, and how long a dose stays measurable.
Molecule
- Class
- Small molecule derived from a dipeptide, not a peptide drug
- Molecular weight
- 318.4 Da
Taken orally. Nothing here is reconstituted, and the calculator on this site does not apply.
Dose protocols reported in sources
Displayed for reference only. Every row says where it came from, and a trial protocol and a community convention are not the same kind of information. None of this is fed into the calculator, and none of it is a recommendation.
| Goal | Dose | Frequency | Route | Units, 10 mg vial | Source | Start this protocol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Russian dosing | 10 mg – 30 mg | 10 mg two or three times daily, in courses of 6 to 8 weeks | OralThe registered protocol is a course rather than continuous use. Note the doses are milligrams, unlike most of what surrounds it on this site. A 10 mg figure here is not comparable to a 10 mg peptide dose. | from 100 u | Published review | Start this |
The doses above in syringe units, for the vial you have:
Start this copies a row into a protocol of your own, which you can then edit. Where a source gave a dose range or an ambiguous frequency, those fields arrive empty — we will not pick a number on your behalf.
Cycling
Published review6 to 8 weeks on, At least a month between courses off.
The course structure comes from the registered Russian protocol rather than from community convention.
Safety
Reported effects, the situations that need care, and the ones that mean stop.
Reported effects
- Irritability and disturbed sleepCommunity practice
Commonly reported
The most frequent complaint, and the reason the registered protocol avoids evening doses.
- HeadacheCommunity practice
Commonly reported
- Raised blood pressurePublished review
Reported in the Russian literature
Noted in the registered product information, particularly in older patients.
- Long-term effects outside a course structurePublished review
Unknown
The registered use is a 6 to 8 week course. Continuous use has not been studied.
When to stop
- Irritability, agitation or sleep disturbance that does not settle.
- Raised blood pressure. Measure it rather than guessing.
- Persistent headache.
- Any allergic response: rash, hives, facial swelling or difficulty breathing. Seek urgent care.
Interactions and situations that need care
- Uncontrolled hypertensionAvoid
Raised blood pressure is noted in the registered product information, particularly in older patients, who are the population most likely to be taking it for its registered indication.
- Pregnancy and breastfeedingAvoid
No reproductive or developmental safety data.
- Severe kidney or liver impairmentAvoid
Listed as a contraindication in the registered Russian product information.
- Ordering it into the United KingdomUse caution
It is controlled there under the Psychoactive Substances Act. That is a legal fact — not a safety one — and it applies regardless of what the compound does.
What to expect
What the sources describe over time, and how confident anyone can be about it.
- It is a registered prescription medicine in Russia, which is a real status, and one resting on a body of work nobody has replicated to contemporary standards elsewhere.
- It is not a peptide. It is a small molecule taken as a tablet, and it appears alongside peptides only because of where it is sold.
- The registered indication is cognitive impairment after stroke or injury. Nobody has studied it in healthy people for enhancement.
- The registered protocol is a 6 to 8 week course, not continuous use.
- It is controlled in the UK.
Storage and combinations
How to keep it, and what it does and does not go with.
Storage and handling
- Freeze-dried powder
- Tablets or powder at room temperature, dry and out of light.
- After mixing
- Not applicable. This is taken orally.
Stacks with Noopept in them
Documented combinations and plans people have published, with full schedules.
Published by people running it. Their plans, not ours — one person doing something is not evidence that it works.
Checking your vial
Research chemicals carry no manufacturing standard, so what the vial looks like is often the only quality signal available before you use it.
You cannot assess a powder by looking at it
No visual check distinguishes this from any other white powder, and it is active at milligram doses where a measuring error matters.
Vocabulary on this page
- Research chemical
- A legal label, not a quality grade. It describes what a seller is permitted to sell you, and says nothing about what is in the vial.
- Evidence level
- The category of human evidence behind a compound, from preclinical through to approved. Stated on every profile here as a category, not an adjective.
- Peptide
- A short chain of amino acids: the same building blocks as a protein, in a chain short enough to behave differently.
- Protocol
- One compound, with a dose, a frequency and a length: the plan, as opposed to what was actually taken.
Questions
- Is Noopept a peptide?
- No. It is built from a dipeptide backbone, which is where the name and the filing come from, but it is a small molecule taken as a tablet. Nothing about it is reconstituted or injected.
- Is it a racetam?
- Not structurally. It is often described as one because the effects are compared to piracetam, but it is a different kind of molecule, and that matters if you are reasoning about interactions from drug class.
- Is it legal?
- It is a prescription medicine in Russia, unapproved in the US and EU, and controlled in the UK under the Psychoactive Substances Act. Those are three different situations.
References
Everything on this page that came from a source, with the source.
Russian clinical literature on regulatory peptides and nootropics: scope and limits
Russian pharmacology and psychiatry literature, 2015 · Body of clinical work, largely unregistered and not blinded to contemporary standards
Humans
Reports anxiolytic, nootropic and neuroprotective effects supporting registration of several of these compounds in Russia. Methodology, reporting standards and the absence of independent replication limit how much weight the findings carry elsewhere.
Commonly reported community protocols
BioAlmanac editorial summary of public community sources, 2026 · Not a study
Records dose and route patterns described in public discussion. Carries no evidential weight about safety or effect.
Noopept compared with
Also compared with Cerebrolysin, Dihexa, N-Acetyl Semax Amidate, Adamax, Adalank, Bromantane.
Related compounds
Semax
A seven-amino-acid peptide developed in Russia and approved there for stroke and cognitive indications. It holds no approval elsewhere and is used nasally rather than injected.
Cerebrolysin
A pig-brain peptide preparation approved as a medicine in around forty countries. Decades of trials, and systematic reviews that still cannot find a clear benefit.
Dihexa
A small peptide reported as vastly more potent than BDNF at forming new synapses in animals. No human has been studied on it, and the potency is the concern, not the selling point.
N-Acetyl Semax Amidate
Semax with both ends chemically capped so it lasts longer. More potent per milligram in animal work, and no human trial of the modified version exists.
Next
What to do with Noopept
- Keep a record of itTurn a dose and a schedule into a protocol, then log what you actually take. Noopept is filled in for you.
- See what it costsPer-milligram prices read from vendor sites and confirmed by a person, so vial sizes compare.
- Check a combinationWhat our profiles record about Noopept alongside each other compound — including the pairs where nothing is recorded.
Keep this page honest
If something here is wrong, out of date, or missing a source, tell us and we will fix it and say that we did.
This page is educational. It describes what published research reports, not what you should do. Peptides discussed here are largely not approved for human use, and nothing on BioAlmanac is medical advice. No clinician reviews these pages.
Page last updated 18 Aug 2026