Noopept

Noopept is a proline-containing dipeptide originally developed as a more potent, orally active relative of piracetam. Rodent work shows increased hippocampal BDNF and NGF expression after repeated dosing, alongside antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Its active metabolite, cycloprolylglycine, is an endogenous neuropeptide.

• Increased BDNF and NGF mRNA in rat hippocampus with repeated dosing
• Improvement on cognitive measures in Russian trials of mild cognitive impairment
• Anxiolytic effects reported alongside cognitive effects

• No Western regulatory trials
• No demonstrated benefit in healthy young adults

Russian clinical use is typically 10–30 mg/day orally, divided across doses.

Routes studied

Oral, Intranasal

Half-life

Roughly 30–60 minutes for the parent compound; the active metabolite persists longer

Cycle length in the literature

Courses of 4–8 weeks are described in the clinical literature

Working out a draw volume from a vial? Use the free reconstitution calculator.

Reported side effects

Do not use if

The BDNF/NGF effect in animals only appears with repeated dosing, not a single dose — which mirrors how practice-driven change works. Both reward consistency over intensity.

• Think →

What amplifies it

• BDNF & neuroplasticityHow BDNF-raising peptides open a plasticity window — and why what you do during that window determines whether anything changes.

• Cognitive clarityA plasticity-first approach to fog and flat focus: what the BDNF compounds do, what they cannot do alone, and the practice that fills the window.