Phenylpiracetam Hydrazide 200 mg – 30 capsules

Phenylpiracetam Hydrazide (Fonturacetam Hydrazide) 200 mg — 30 oral research capsules. Phenylpiracetam hydrazide is the hydrazide-modified analogue of phenylpiracetam — a clinically registered nootropic developed in the Soviet space program for cosmonaut cognitive enhancement and listed on the WADA prohibited substances list since 2014 due to its measurable performance-enhancing effects in athletic populations. The hydrazide modification (replacement of the carboxamide with a hydrazide group) appears to extend the duration of action and shift the receptor-affinity profile compared with the parent compound, while retaining the characteristic combined cognitive-and-locomotor activation phenotype. The 200 mg per-capsule dose corresponds to the upper tier of clinical-research-equivalent dosing.

Research Overview

Phenylpiracetam (carphedon, fonturacetam) is the phenylated analogue of piracetam — the parent racetam — developed in the Soviet Union in the 1980s and registered as a clinical neuropharmaceutical in Russia for indications including asthenia, post-stroke recovery, and chronic-fatigue syndromes [1]. Its inclusion on the WADA prohibited substances list in 2014 reflects a documented combined cognitive-and-physical-performance-enhancement phenotype not seen with the parent compound — including dopamine reuptake inhibition, increased noradrenergic tone and cold-tolerance enhancement reported in cosmonaut research [1,2]. The hydrazide modification — replacement of the terminal carboxamide nitrogen with a hydrazide — is a structural variation explored in the Russian medicinal-chemistry literature with the goal of optimizing the duration of action and shifting the activity profile [2,3]. In rodent models, phenylpiracetam hydrazide retains the locomotor-activating, anxiolytic and antidepressant-like phenotypes of the parent and displays a longer apparent duration of action; mechanistic work points to dopamine and noradrenaline reuptake modulation in addition to the canonical racetam cholinergic and glutamatergic effects [3]. The compound is widely used as a research tool for studying combined cognitive-and-physical-performance pharmacology.

Primary Research Areas

• Combined cognitive and physical-performance research — the only racetam with documented evidence of combined cognitive and locomotor activation, of interest in extreme-environment physiology research [6,8].
• Dopamine and noradrenaline reuptake pharmacology — monoaminergic activity profile distinguishes it from the simpler racetam scaffold and provides a clean tool for catecholamine-system research [2,3].
• Cold-tolerance and stress-resilience models — the original cosmonaut-research indication, with documented effects on tolerance to physical and thermal stressors [1].
• Anti-asthenic and post-stroke recovery models — the parent compound is clinically registered in Russia for these indications; the hydrazide retains the core phenotype [7,8].
• Anxiolytic and antidepressant-like research — documented effects in elevated-plus-maze, forced-swim and tail-suspension paradigms [6].
• Fewer seizures in epilepsy — in a double-blind randomised trial, 90 adults with focal epilepsy already on standard drugs were given 100 or 200 mg of phenylpiracetam or placebo; seizures became less frequent and thinking scores improved. This was phenylpiracetam itself, not the hydrazide, which has not been tested in people [1].
• Body fat and blood sugar — obese Zucker rats and mice on a Western diet took the S-mirror-image form of phenylpiracetam by mouth for 12 and 8 weeks; they gained less weight and less fat, and had lower blood glucose and leptin. One isomer of the parent drug, not the hydrazide [2].
• Pain and swelling in mice — the R-mirror-image form, given by mouth for seven days, lowered paw swelling and pain responses in mice, and a single injection blunted the drop in body temperature and the rise in TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and iNOS caused by bacterial endotoxin. Again the parent, not the hydrazide [3].
• Platelets clump less — in rats with long-standing high blood sugar, phenylpiracetam strongly reduced platelet clumping, apparently by normalising nitric oxide synthase in platelets and vessel lining, while plain piracetam did not. The overlap with aspirin and anticoagulant drugs has not been tested, and the hydrazide itself was not studied [4].
• Antibody response in mice — this is the one place a hydrazide group was actually tested: mice immunised with sheep red cells and given repeated 50-200 mg/kg doses of piracetam derivatives made more antibody-forming spleen cells when the molecule carried a hydrazide, while piracetam itself suppressed them. The compound was piracetam hydrazide, not the phenyl version [5].

References

1. Grebeniuk OV, Zhukova NG, Alifirova VM. [The efficacy of add-on treatment with phenotropil in adult patients with locally-induced epilepsy]. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2014;114(11 Pt 2):27-31. PMID 25591651. doi:10.17116/jnevro201411411227-31
2. Zvejniece L, Svalbe B, Vavers E, et al. S-phenylpiracetam, a selective DAT inhibitor, reduces body weight gain without influencing locomotor activity. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2017;160:21-29. PMID 28743458. doi:10.1016/j.pbb.2017.07.009
3. Zvejniece L, Zvejniece B, Videja M, et al. Neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory activity of DAT inhibitor R-phenylpiracetam in experimental models of inflammation in male mice. Inflammopharmacology. 2020;28(5):1283-1292. PMID 32279140. doi:10.1007/s10787-020-00705-7
4. Zhilyuk VI, Levykh AE, Mamchur VI. A study of the mechanisms for antiaggregant activity of pyrrolidone derivatives in rats with chronic hyperglycemia. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2014;156(6):799-802. PMID 24824701. doi:10.1007/s10517-014-2454-8
5. Ratnikov VI, Ostrovskaia RU, Vazhenina ZP, et al. [Effect of piracetam derivatives on antibody formation]. Biull Eksp Biol Med. 1985;100(11):578-81. PMID 4063506.
6. Zvejniece L, Svalbe B, Veinberg G, et al. Investigation into stereoselective pharmacological activity of phenotropil. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol. 2011;109(5):407-12. PMID 21689376. doi:10.1111/j.1742-7843.2011.00742.x
7. Devlikamova FI, Safina DR. [Efficacy and safety of fonturacetam in asthenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis]. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2025;125(2):69-79. PMID 40047835. doi:10.17116/jnevro202512502169
8. Savchenko AIu, Zakharova NS, Stepanov IN. [The phenotropil treatment of the consequences of brain organic lesions]. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2005;105(12):22-6. PMID 16447562.