Phenotropil: undisclosed possibilities of an interesting drug and replacement options.

Phenylpiracetam (or phenylpiracetam), known under the trade name Phenotropil, is a Russian drug belonging to the group of nootropics. It has a psychostimulating effect, affects memory, ability to concentrate, performance, and also reduces irritability and emotional excitability.

Until recently, many used it as a miracle pill for the brain. For example, when a lot of things have piled up in a short period of time. Or when the deadline is close and there is still too much work to do. Phenotropil also has many fans among students, especially during the session.

But now it is impossible to find Phenotropil in pharmacies - the manufacturer, Valenta Pharm, has stopped its production due to the termination of the agreement with the owners of the patent for the active substance. If you can find remnants somewhere else, it’s only from the last series, back in 2017.

In this regard, many people have a question - what to replace Phenotropil with? It would be logical to turn to drugs of the same pharmacological group - nootropics and psychostimulants.

pharmachologic effect

Manufacturer: JSC VALENTA PHARMACEUTIKA (Russia)
Release form: tablets

Active ingredient: phenotropil

Analogs: Phenibut, Nootropil, Piracetam

Phenotropil is a medicine that stimulates metabolic processes and blood circulation in the brain. Under the influence of the drug, memory improves, concentration increases, and the learning process is facilitated.

The drug increases the resistance of brain tissue to oxygen starvation and the effects of toxic substances, reduces the threshold of central nervous system excitability and increases resistance to stress.

Action and result of application

The nootropic drug normalizes cerebral circulation, and therefore improves metabolism in nerve cells.

The medicine has several effects at once (multimodality):

• increases the vitality and energy tone of the body;
• activates the work of the brain;
• help concentrate attention and memory;
• facilitates the learning process;
• increases physical endurance and gives vigor;
• balances mental and emotional state;
• improves mood, etc.

According to the manufacturers of the drug, its course of use increases the body’s protective properties against stress under high psychological and physical stress.

According to patient reviews, the drug has unpleasant side effects, including insomnia, increased anxiety, increased blood pressure, etc.

Fortunately, you can find safer analogues, which will also be comparable in effects to Phenotropil.

Indications for use of Phenotropil

The medicine is used for the following diseases:

• neuroses and asthenic conditions, accompanied by memory impairment, irritability, and increased fatigue;
• pathology of the central nervous system of a vascular nature;
• some forms of schizophrenia;
• chronic alcoholism, mental disorders;
• encephalopathy of various origins;
• nutritional obesity grade 3–4.

The use of Phenotropil is effective in stressful situations, physical and mental stress associated with professional activities or studies.

Phenotropil's analogs

The pharmaceutical market has a number of Phenotropil substitutes from various manufacturers. In the pharmacy chain these drugs are sold in the form of:

• synonyms;
• generics;
• combined means.

You can buy Phenotropil analogues cheaper or more expensive, but with an equivalent therapeutic effect and on the recommendation of a doctor.

Table of Phenotropil analogues with price and country of origin.

Some Phentropil analogues are sold in pharmacies without a prescription. But there are its substitutes, which are sold only with a doctor's prescription.

What else can replace Phenotropil? You can supplement the list of medications with the following drugs:

• Glycine;
• Mildronate;
• Entrop;
• Cavinton;
• Aminalon;
• Cortexin;
• Anvifen;
• Noofen;
• Afobazole;
• Cordafen.

A large selection of foreign and domestic analogues of Phenotropil in terms of composition or indications allows the doctor to select the appropriate medication for the patient that is most suitable for his disease.

Termination of production of phenotropil

Many of you are faced with the impossibility of purchasing such an effective nootropic as Phenotropil in pharmacies. This is due to the cessation of its production by Valenta-Pharm due to patent disputes with the inventor, Valentina Akhapkina. Her plans were to expand the field of application of the drug and introduce new dosage forms (including injections), but the manufacturing company refused this. Phenotropil produced by Akhapkina’s own company (Vira Innfarm) is not yet available for purchase. The Baltic generic is also currently unavailable.

Phenotropil or Phenibut – which is better, what is the difference

Manufacturer: OZONE (Russia)
Release form: tablets

Active ingredient: aminophenylbutyric acid

Both drugs belong to the group of nootropic drugs and are available in pharmacies with a doctor’s prescription. Phenotropil and its analogue have different active substances and mechanisms of action. The therapeutic effect of using these medications is to improve brain activity. The choice of medication will depend on the current disease and the patient's condition.

Phenibut will be a more effective analogue of Phenotropil in tablets for neurotic conditions accompanied by anxiety, fear, and sleep disturbances. If the clinical picture is dominated by a depressive state, accompanied by lethargy, apathy, and drowsiness, then Phenotropil, prescribed for vigor and energy, will be the best.

Phenotropil or Nootropil - which is better?

Manufacturer: UCB PHARMA (Belgium)
Release form: tablets, capsules, solution in ampoules IV and IM

Active ingredient: piracetam

Phenotropil and its foreign analogue Nootropil have a stimulating effect on the central nervous system, improving cerebral blood flow, metabolic processes and cognitive function of the brain.

If there is a violation of the psychosomatic status, Nootropil will be the best, since the drug additionally acts as an antidepressant and psychostimulant.

Analogs

How can you recreate these effects of phenylpiracetam? There are several approaches - one of them is taking drugs with a similar pharmacodynamic profile, i.e. common targets for binding. For example, choline alphoscerate (alpha-GPC) - in addition to being a precursor in the biosynthesis of acetylcholine, it itself can bind to nicotinic cholinergic receptors. Many of those who took it reported psychostimulant properties. A bonus is an increased feeling of satiety when smoking - sometimes this substance is used in schemes to quit cigarettes and reduce pack-days. In addition, unlike phenylpiracetam, which, being a domestic drug, unfortunately, has poorly realized potential, dosage regimens and possible prescriptions for a-GPC have been quite well researched and described by international teams of doctors. This substance also has a very interesting feature, discovered, oddly enough, by sports doctors (PMID: 29042830) - it increases muscle strength, as shown in jumping tests. In addition, a-GPC has been found to have another property that many amateurs (and professionals) will appreciate in controlling their body - it is currently considered as a powerful geroprotector (PMID: 29191088)! Mainly, the substance slows down the accumulation of amyloidogenic proteins in the brain and reduces chronic inflammatory processes in the nervous system.

Alpha GPC

1999 rub.

Another approach to replacing phenylpiracetam is to recreate its effects, but through the activation of other mechanisms regulating the functioning of our brain. Many people like the stable “working” mood that is felt in the middle of the Phenotropil course. For this case, sulbutiamine, a dimer of thiamine (vitamin B1), will be effective. Unlike regular thiamine, the dimer is a more lipophilic molecule that penetrates the tissues of the nervous system more easily and has the ability to cumulate (i.e., store). First of all, let's look at its mechanism of action: it only partially breaks down into thiamine (whose beneficial effects are undeniable, not insufficient per se for a strong mood lift), the dimerized molecule itself is capable of saving neurons by preventing apoptosis - it is known that not only a decrease in low molecular weight neurotransmitters, but also important neurotropic factors (NGF, BDNF), which entails not only a decrease in mood, but also in cognitive abilities and memory. Experiments have shown that with a low level of neurotropic factors, the nerve cell is not only incapable of restructuring contacts (synaptic plasticity), but can go into apoptosis. Sulbutiamine blocks this effect, preventing neurons from reducing their activity when the level of neurotrophins is reduced - “Sulbutiamine counteracts trophic factor deprivation induced apoptotic cell death in transformed retinal ganglion cells.” In addition, earlier studies have shown improvements in long-term memory when taking sulbutiamine, but again, this effect is still tied to the cholinergic signaling system. The experiment showed an increase in the activity of the corresponding structures of the hippocampus by 10% - “Chronic administration of sulbutiamine improves long term memory formation in mice: possible cholinergic mediation.”

A separate bonus for athletes will be an article by Rodchenkov (yes, the same analytical chemist who was involved in sample analysis before the anti-doping scandal) in Drug Testing and Analysis, which provides statistics on the use of sulbutiamine by athletes. Unfortunately, as of 2009 (statistics publication), this substance was little known in Russia, and its stimulating ergogenic (increasing physical performance) properties were just beginning to find recognition. Ray Energy

449 rub.

There is also a third approach, if you are faithful to the drugs of the racetam class - taking pramiracetam and aniracetam together. These drugs improve memory, but in slightly different ways - by increasing the activity of neuronal NO synthetase, and, in the case of pramiracetam, they slightly “repeat” the effect of phenotropil, being allosteric modulators of AMPA receptors. These receptors are also ionotropic glutamate receptors, but in this case it is not so much their density that increases as the sensitivity of the receptor complex itself. In total, these effects reproduce (and in some ways even exceed) the ability of phenotropil to improve memory.

Nootropil Novo

Manufacturer: Obninsk Chemical and Pharmaceutical Company (Russia)
Release form: tablets

Active ingredient: phenylpiracetam

Nootropil Novo is a complete analogue of Phenotropil and is classified as a nootropic. The active substance and mechanism of action of the drugs are the same. The difference between the medications lies in the additional ingredients included in both products.

Nootropil Novo is an analogue of Phenotropil in action, stimulates mental activity, increases concentration, and facilitates the assimilation of educational material. The medication has a psychostimulating effect and increases resistance to stressful situations. A positive result from using the analogue is observed after the start of taking the drug.

Pubmed

All information in the article is based on scientific medical materials.

PMID (from the English PubMed Identifier, PubMed ID) is a unique identification number assigned to each publication, description, abstract, or full text of which is stored in the PubMed database.

PubMed is an English-language text database of medical and biological publications created by the US National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) based on the biotechnology section of the US National Library of Medicine (NLM). A key component of PubMed is MEDLINE. It was first introduced in January 1996. Available through NCBI-Entrez[en], a central search engine including PubMed, PubChem and other major medical databases. Contains approximately 25 million citations.

Noopept

Manufacturer: PHARMSTANDARD (Russia)
Release form: tablets

Active ingredient: noopept

Noopept belongs to the group of nootropic drugs. The action of the medication is aimed at restoring memory, improving the ability to learn and analyze as a result of injury, stroke, toxic brain damage (alcohol).

This analogue of Phenotropil has a positive effect on the autonomic nervous system, eliminating headaches, tachycardia, and orthostatic disorders (severe dizziness that occurs when changing body position). Treatment with the drug does not cause changes in blood counts.

Phenotropil substitutes

Nootropics and similar medications are widely represented on the shelves of Russian pharmacies. Among them are piracetam, vinpocetine, hopantenic acid, mexidol, idebenone, cortexin and others. These are substances of very different chemical composition, but their effect on the body is similar - they stimulate the nervous system, improve memory and attention, some of them have a calming effect.

But each of these drugs has its own nuances, indications and side effects. Since different medications are better suited for the treatment of different diseases, only a doctor can prescribe a specific one, as well as determine the duration and dose of use. This is especially true for products intended for intramuscular and intravenous administration - you should absolutely not prescribe injections to yourself!

This is why the vast majority of nootropics are prescription drugs. In addition, many of them cannot be prescribed to children - the safety of their effect on the children's body has not been studied.

Phenylpiracetam

Manufacturer: OFHK (Russia)

Release form: tablets

Active ingredient: phenylpiracetam

Phenylpiracetam is a nootropic with a pronounced effect on restoring partially lost mnestic functions of the brain (memory, attention, learning ability). The drug improves mood, increases performance and resistance to stress.

During drug treatment, vision and blood supply to the lower extremities improve. The therapeutic effect is noticeable after just a few doses of the medication.

What is inside

So, we’ll leave the name to the conscience of marketers; I can only recommend adding “Nanotropil Novo Forte Limited Edition”. In general, it doesn’t matter what name the candy has, as long as it’s tasty.

There are quite a lot of studies on phenylpiracetam or phenylpiracetam, the active ingredient of Nanotropil, within the country.

This substance may aid in recovery from organic brain damage, as the study writes: “Patients demonstrated increased mobility and daily activities, as well as less discomfort, anxiety, and depression (1).”

Phenylpiracetam reduces asthenia, when a person seems to have no strength, this is in a sample of more than 1000 people, which is not bad (2). Accelerates recovery after stroke, and again it is written that daily activity increases (3).

2 interesting experiments on animals: in both cases, the administration of phenotropil increased the circulating levels of interleukins (these are elements of the immune system), that is, indirectly this substance can support immunity (4, 5). They also write here about strengthening exploratory behavior.

Overall, a quick glance suggests that this is a mild stimulating nootropic, although for some, an extra pill in a day could completely disrupt sleep. Such people would be happy to believe in evidence-based medicine that nootropics do not work, but only sleeping pills help them sleep, and even then not always.

Picamilon

Manufacturer: AKRIKHIN (Russia)
Release form: tablets

Active ingredient: nicotinoyl gamma-aminobutyric acid

The nootropic drug Picamilon helps dilate blood vessels and improve microcirculation of blood in the brain. This analogue of Phenotropil reduces feelings of anxiety and tension, reduces emotional lability and restores partially lost speech skills. The drug is well tolerated by patients and can be prescribed to children from 2 years of age.

Semax

Manufacturer: PEPTOGENE (Russia)
Release form: nasal drops

Active ingredient: methionyl-glutamyl-histidyl-phenylalanyl-prolyl-glycyl-proline

Semax is a synthetic peptide drug that contains all L-form amino acids and has no hormonal activity.

This analogue of Phenotropil has a specific effect on the central nervous system, improving the cognitive functions of patients after trauma (memory, concentration, ability to analyze), neurosurgical interventions, and those suffering from cerebrovascular diseases.

Nanotropil rushing?

According to documents, Nanotropil and Phenotropil always had a mixture of R and S isomers (12). At the same time, the active, “psychostimulating” part is R-, the effects are variable, but how much? What is the probability that Nanotropil will work perfectly? If taken without a doctor's indication, of course)

Data from our survey on Nanotropil: this is not medicine, but the sample turned out to be large. If we discard the answers of those who have not used this substance (79%), it turns out that 28-29% notice a pronounced effect and the same number believe that it is a placebo, the rest, about 43-44%, say that the effect is definitely present, not too strong, but not a dummy either. There are a lot of interesting reviews from real people in the comments; if you want to read them, click here.

It turns out that 71-74% of respondents out of more than 1,500 people speak about more or less strong effects of Nanotropil. When you hear that R-Phenylpiracetam has appeared, then there is a chance that the effectiveness will increase to 90-95%.

According to the instructions, Nanotropil is taken in doses of up to 700 mg per day, more often 100-300 mg after meals. From practice, it was noticed that the effect is stronger if taken in the morning on an empty stomach, 60 minutes before meals with strong insoluble coffee or good green tea.

Piracetam

Manufacturer: ORGANICS (Russia)
Release form: tablets, capsules, solution in ampoules

Active ingredient: piracetam

Piracetam is an over-the-counter analogue of Phenotropil, classified as a nootropic, which stimulates the metabolic processes of the central nervous system and blood circulation in the cerebral vessels. Due to the action of the drug, blood flow and microcirculation inside the ischemic area improves. For cerebral dysfunction of various origins, the medication stimulates memory processes and mental performance, concentration and the ability to analyze.

Therapy with Phenotropil analogs in patients with various diseases of the central nervous system significantly improves brain activity, restoring it after brain injuries, vascular lesions and functional disorders of the central nervous system.