Anti-fatigue: nootropics and compounds | sci-wiki

Phenylpiracetam

Phenylpiracetam (phenotropil, carphedon) is a phenylated derivative of piracetam, developed in Russia and used clinically as a nootropic, with reported effects on focus, physical endurance, and tolerance to cold and fatigue. The added phenyl group makes it considerably more potent than the parent racetam and confers a distinct mechanism, selective inhibition of the dopamine transporter, which is thought to underlie its stimulant-like, motivating properties. It was among the first cognitive enhancers prohibited in competitive sport, having been banned by anti-doping authorities in 1998.

3 outlets

Nootropic

Acetyl-L-Carnitine

Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR), also known as levacecarnine, is the acetylated form of the amino-acid derivative L-carnitine. It occurs naturally in the body, where it participates in mitochondrial energy metabolism by helping transport fatty acids for breakdown and by supplying acetyl groups. Sold widely as a dietary supplement and used as a medicine in some countries, it has been studied for depression, nerve pain, and age-related cognitive decline.

3 outlets

Nootropic

Paraxanthine

Paraxanthine is what caffeine mostly becomes. Around 70 to 80 percent of a caffeine dose is converted by the liver enzyme CYP1A2 into paraxanthine, so for most of the time a coffee is working, the compound doing the work is this one [14]. Selling it directly is an attempt to skip a step that varies enormously between people: CYP1A2 activity differs several-fold across individuals, which is a large part of why the same espresso is pleasant for one person and unpleasant for another. Human trials are small but real, and they point at improved cognition at modest doses with less of the sleep disruption caffeine causes [4][6]. It is the most credible caffeine alternative on this site, and the evidence base behind it is still thin and largely tied to the company selling it.

1 outlet

Nootropic

Sulbutiamine

Sulbutiamine is a synthetic derivative of thiamine, or vitamin B1, formed by joining two modified thiamine molecules into a fat-soluble disulfide. This lipophilic structure lets it cross the blood-brain barrier and raise thiamine levels in the brain more readily than thiamine itself, which distinguishes it from benfotiamine, a related derivative that raises thiamine chiefly in peripheral tissues. Developed in Japan and marketed under names such as Arcalion, it is used to treat asthenia, a state of persistent weakness and fatigue, and is also taken off-label as a nootropic; more recent work implicates its disulfide group in cellular thiol-redox regulation.

1 outlet

Nootropic

Bromantane

Bromantane is an adamantane-derived actoprotector that delivers clean, non-jittery energy by increasing the body's own dopamine synthesis rather than forcing a release. Prized for boosting physical and mental stamina while carrying a genuine anti-anxiety quality, it stands out as a rare stimulant that builds resilience without a crash or dependence. For those seeking durable drive and stress resistance, bromantane is a uniquely compelling choice.

3 outlets

Mitochondrial

ITPP

ITPP (myo-inositol trispyrophosphate) is a membrane-permeant allosteric effector of hemoglobin. Unlike the body's natural effectors, it crosses the red-cell membrane and binds within hemoglobin, lowering its oxygen affinity so that red cells release more oxygen into the tissues that need it most, an effect that adds to the physiological Bohr effect. In animal studies this raised hemoglobin's oxygen-release set point and substantially increased maximal exercise capacity in both healthy mice and mice with severe heart failure, and by relieving tissue hypoxia it also suppresses the hypoxia signal HIF-1-alpha and normalizes tumor blood vessels. It has drawn research interest across heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and oncology, and is also noted as an athletic doping agent.

2 outlets

Mitochondrial

Meldonium

Meldonium, marketed as Mildronate, is a clinically established anti-ischemic and cardioprotective agent engineered in Latvia to optimize how cells generate energy under metabolic stress. By restraining carnitine biosynthesis, it steers the heart toward more oxygen-efficient glucose metabolism, a property long valued in cardiovascular medicine and closely scrutinized in elite sport. Its distinctive metabolic profile has made it one of the most discussed performance modulators of the past decade.

3 outlets

Blend

Lipo-MIC + NAD+

Lipo-MIC + NAD+ is a lipotropic injectable that pairs the fat-metabolizing MIC nutrients (methionine, inositol, and choline) with NAD+, the coenzyme at the center of cellular energy production. The MIC compounds help the liver package and export fat rather than store it, while NAD+ fuels mitochondrial energy metabolism and activates sirtuins involved in fat handling. Combining lipid support with a foundational energy coenzyme, it is a modern take on the classic lipotropic injection for those pursuing fat loss and vitality.

1 outlet

Nootropic

RGPU-95

RGPU-95 is an experimental compound studied in Russian pharmacological research as a structural analog of fenotropil, better known as phenylpiracetam, a nootropic of the racetam family. In animal experiments it has shown anxiety-reducing and antidepressant-like effects, in some measures exceeding those of its parent compound. It is an obscure investigational substance with essentially no human data, and it is not an approved medicine or recognized supplement ingredient anywhere.

1 outlet

Supplement

ATPLEX

ATPLEX is a formulation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the body's fundamental cellular energy currency, supplied as a supplement to support exercise performance and recovery. Oral ATP (typically as the disodium salt) does not raise blood ATP directly, but controlled trials show it improves muscular strength, power output, and blood flow and blunts performance declines during hard training [1][4]. It is used as an ergogenic aid for strength and repeated high-intensity efforts, backed by a small but consistent body of human trials [2].

1 outlet

Supplement

Beta-Alanine

Beta-alanine is a naturally occurring amino acid and the main building block the body uses to make carnosine, a compound stored in muscle that helps buffer the acid produced during hard exercise. Taken as a supplement over several weeks, it raises muscle carnosine levels and can modestly improve performance in high-intensity efforts lasting roughly one to several minutes. Its most familiar effect is a harmless skin tingling called paresthesia.

1 outlet

Supplement

Citrulline

Citrulline is a non-proteinogenic alpha-amino acid named after the watermelon, from which it was first isolated. In the body it is a key intermediate in the urea cycle and a precursor to the amino acid arginine, which is in turn used to make nitric oxide. It is sold as a dietary supplement, often marketed for blood flow and exercise performance, though the evidence for those uses is mixed.

1 outlet

Adaptogen

Cordyceps

Cordyceps is a genus of ascomycete fungi that live as parasites of insects and other arthropods, with more than 200 described species distributed mainly across Asia. The genus is best known for the caterpillar fungus, long placed here but now reclassified as Ophiocordyceps sinensis, and for the type species Cordyceps militaris, both of which feature prominently in traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine. Interest in these fungi centers on bioactive constituents such as the nucleoside cordycepin and various polysaccharides, though rigorous human evidence for health claims remains limited.

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Supplement

D-Ribose

D-ribose is a five-carbon sugar (a pentose) that forms part of the backbone of RNA and of key energy and signaling molecules, including ATP and the coenzymes NAD and FAD. The body makes its own ribose from glucose through the pentose phosphate pathway, so it is not a dietary essential. As a supplement it is promoted for restoring cellular energy in conditions such as heart failure, chronic fatigue, and fibromyalgia, though the supporting clinical evidence is limited and preliminary.

1 outlet

Nootropic

Fursultiamine

Fursultiamine, also called TTFD, is a man-made form of vitamin B1 in which the vitamin is joined to a fatty side group, so it crosses membranes without needing the saturable transporter that caps how much ordinary thiamine the gut can absorb; once inside a cell the bond is cut and plain thiamine is released. It is an approved medicine in Japan, where it has been used since 1961 for beriberi, vitamin B1 deficiency and Wernicke encephalopathy, and for those jobs it works. The popular claims that it lifts energy, focus or mood in people who are not deficient rest on very thin evidence; there is one small crossover trial in athletes, one uncontrolled 12 week study in Alzheimer's patients and an open pilot in ten autistic children, with no modern randomised trial for any cognitive endpoint. It does have one genuinely non-vitamin action, blocking the hormone hepcidin at a cysteine on the iron exporter ferroportin, but that effect vanished in live mice because the compound breaks down to ordinary thiamine within about an hour.

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Supplement

HMB

HMB, short for beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyric acid, is a compound the body makes naturally from the essential amino acid leucine. A small fraction of dietary leucine is converted into HMB, which is studied for its role in preserving and building muscle. As a dietary supplement it is sold mainly in a calcium salt form and a free-acid form, and it is used by athletes and older adults for muscle support.

1 outlet

Supplement

Iron

Iron is an essential mineral that every cell in the body needs, most famously as the core of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues. It also forms part of myoglobin in muscle and of many enzymes involved in energy production and DNA synthesis. Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the world and the leading cause of anemia, while too much iron can be toxic, so the body tightly regulates how much it absorbs and stores.

1 outlet

Supplement

Iron Bisglycinate

Iron bisglycinate, also called ferrous bisglycinate, is a form of dietary iron in which the iron is chemically bound, or chelated, to two molecules of the amino acid glycine. It is used as an oral iron supplement and in food fortification to prevent and treat iron deficiency, and it is often promoted as being better absorbed and gentler on the stomach than conventional iron salts such as ferrous sulfate. It is a chelated amino acid iron compound rather than a distinct drug.

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Supplement

Lactoferrin

Lactoferrin is a multifunctional iron-binding glycoprotein belonging to the transferrin family, found most abundantly in milk and especially in colostrum. It also occurs in tears, saliva, and other secretions and is stored in the white blood cells called neutrophils, forming part of the body's first-line defenses. Best known for its ability to bind iron and for a broad range of antimicrobial and immune-regulating actions, it is added to some infant formulas and sold as a supplement studied mainly for infection and immune support.

1 outlet

Supplement

Leucine

Leucine is an essential branched-chain amino acid that the body uses to build proteins but cannot make on its own. Along with valine and isoleucine it belongs to the branched-chain group, and it is best known for switching on the cellular machinery that drives muscle protein synthesis. It is obtained from protein-rich foods and is a common ingredient in sports and clinical nutrition supplements.

1 outlet

Adaptogen

Maca

Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is an edible plant of the mustard family, Brassicaceae, native to the high Andes of Peru. Its starchy root, or hypocotyl, has been eaten and used as a traditional remedy for centuries and is now sold worldwide as a powder or extract. It is best known for claims around libido, sexual function, and energy, although the clinical evidence is modest and mixed.

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Supplement

Magnesium Orotate

Magnesium orotate is a salt formed from magnesium and orotic acid, sold as a dietary supplement and, in some countries, as a medicinal product for magnesium deficiency and certain heart-related conditions. It is only sparingly soluble in water, so unlike readily dissociating magnesium salts it produces little laxative effect [1]. Interest in the compound centers on the pairing of magnesium with orotic acid, a pyrimidine precursor proposed to support the energy metabolism of heart muscle [1].

1 outlet

Mitochondrial

NMN

Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) is a nucleotide derived from vitamin B3 and a direct biosynthetic precursor to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a coenzyme essential to energy metabolism and cellular repair. Because NAD+ levels fall with age, NMN has been widely promoted as a longevity supplement intended to restore them. Animal studies report broad metabolic and anti-aging effects, while human trials are still early and have mainly examined safety and specific measures such as insulin sensitivity.

2 outlets

Nootropic

Rhodiola Rosea

Rhodiola rosea, commonly called golden root or roseroot, is a perennial flowering plant of the family Crassulaceae that grows in cold, high-altitude and Arctic regions. Its root has a long history of use in the traditional medicine of northern Europe and Asia, and it is popularly classed as an adaptogen, an herb said to help the body resist stress and fatigue. Its most characteristic studied constituents are the phenolic compounds rosavin and salidroside, though high-quality clinical evidence for its benefits is limited.

2 outlets

Adaptogen

Shilajit

Shilajit is a blackish-brown, tar-like exudate that seeps from rocks in high mountain ranges and is composed largely of humic substances such as fulvic acid together with minerals and trace elements. It has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic and other traditional systems as a general tonic. Modern evidence for its health effects is limited, and product quality varies, with heavy-metal contamination a recognized concern.

2 outlets

Supplement

Sodium Bicarbonate

Sodium bicarbonate is an inorganic salt with the formula NaHCO3, made up of a sodium cation and a bicarbonate anion, and is widely known as baking soda. It appears as a white crystalline powder with a faintly salty, alkaline taste and dissolves readily in water. Beyond its household and culinary roles, it is used medically as an antacid and to counter metabolic acidosis, and in sport it is taken as a buffering agent intended to improve high-intensity performance.

1 outlet

Nootropic

Theacrine

Theacrine is a naturally occurring purine alkaloid, chemically 1,3,7,9-tetramethyluric acid, that is closely related to caffeine and found in the leaves of kucha tea (Camellia assamica var. kucha) and in the cupuacu fruit. It has stimulant-like properties and, like caffeine, acts on adenosine and dopamine signaling to influence energy, alertness, and locomotor activity [1]. Sold as a dietary supplement, often under the trade name TeaCrine, it has drawn attention as a longer-acting alternative to caffeine that appears less prone to tolerance with repeated use [2].

1 outlet

Adaptogen

Trekrezan

Trekrezan is a Russian actoprotector and adaptogen (a synthetic agent that raises the body's nonspecific resistance to physical, thermal, and hypoxic stress) that also acts as an immunomodulator and antioxidant. Chemically it is tris(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium 2-methylphenoxyacetate, the triethanolamine salt of ortho-cresoxyacetic acid (molecular formula C15H25NO6), and the same active substance is marketed in agriculture and microbiology under the name Crezacin. It was developed by the school of academician Mikhail Voronkov at the Irkutsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and has been studied primarily in rodent models with a smaller body of human cold-exposure data. Rather than binding a single receptor, Trekrezan is characterized as an energy-stabilizing, meteoadaptogenic compound that shifts stressed tissue metabolism back toward aerobic ATP production, strengthens enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant defenses, and modulates humoral immunity and hematopoiesis.

1 outlet

Mitochondrial

Urolithin A

Urolithin A is a compound produced by gut bacteria from ellagitannins and ellagic acid, plant polyphenols found in foods such as pomegranates, walnuts and berries. It is not present in food itself but is formed in the gut, and people differ widely in how much they make, with some producing none. It has attracted research as an inducer of mitophagy, the recycling of damaged mitochondria, and is sold as a dietary supplement studied for mitochondrial health, muscle function and ageing [1][2].

1 outlet

Sleep Support

Valerian Root

Valerian is an herbal supplement prepared from the root and rhizome of Valeriana officinalis, a flowering plant native to Europe and Asia. It has a long history of traditional use as a sleep aid and mild sedative and remains one of the more widely used botanicals for insomnia and nervous tension. Clinical evidence for its effectiveness is mixed, and it is sold as a dietary supplement or, in some regions, as an approved traditional herbal medicine.

2 outlets

Stimulant

Bemethyl

Bemethyl, also known as bemitil, is a synthetic benzimidazole developed in the Soviet Union and classified as an actoprotector, a drug intended to boost physical working capacity and resistance to stress. Rather than scavenging free radicals directly, it works largely by increasing the cell's own synthesis of antioxidant and gluconeogenic enzymes, an RNA- and protein-synthesis-based mechanism that also supports energy metabolism and heat and hypoxia tolerance. Marketed in Russia under names such as Metaprot and reportedly used by Soviet athletes and cosmonauts, it is little known in Western medicine and is monitored, though not banned, in sport.

3 outlets

Supplement

DMG

Dimethylglycine (DMG), or N,N-dimethylglycine, is a derivative of the amino acid glycine that occurs naturally as an intermediate in one-carbon metabolism, formed as choline and betaine are broken down, and is present in small amounts in foods such as beans, liver, and cereal grains. Beyond its role as a source of methyl groups, it doubles as an electron donor to the mitochondrial respiratory chain: the enzyme dimethylglycine dehydrogenase demethylates it to sarcosine and passes the resulting electrons to the electron-transfer flavoprotein, and loss of this enzyme causes a rare inborn error marked by a fishy body odor and raised creatine kinase. DMG is sold as a dietary supplement and has been promoted for athletic performance, immune function, and autism, though controlled studies have generally not supported these claims.

1 outlet

Peptide

ACE-167

ACE-167 is an orally available synthetic tetrapeptide under preclinical development by Acesis BioMed as a non-steroidal approach to stimulating the body's own testosterone production, primarily for male hypogonadism and related conditions [company disclosures]. Rather than acting on the central nervous system, it works at the mitochondrial level within testicular Leydig cells to promote endogenous steroidogenesis. Independent peer-reviewed literature on ACE-167 is currently absent, so its profile rests on company and industry-database sources and should be regarded as preliminary.

Anti-fatigue

Phenylpiracetam

Acetyl-L-Carnitine

Paraxanthine

Sulbutiamine

Bromantane

ITPP

Meldonium

Lipo-MIC + NAD+

RGPU-95

ATPLEX

Beta-Alanine

Citrulline

Cordyceps

D-Ribose

Fursultiamine

HMB

Iron

Iron Bisglycinate

Lactoferrin

Leucine

Maca

Magnesium Orotate

NMN

Rhodiola Rosea

Shilajit

Sodium Bicarbonate

Theacrine

Trekrezan

Urolithin A

Valerian Root

Bemethyl

DMG

ACE-167

Allithiamine

Anserine

Astragalus

Astragalus Polysaccharides

BCAAs

Beetroot Extract

C60 Fullerene

Catuaba

Cistanche

Citrulline Malate

Colostrum

Copper

Eleuthero

Ethomersol

FAD

FMN

Ginseng

Ginsenosides

GLPG-0492

Glycerol

Jiaogulan

Kratom

Liposomal Vitamin C

Malic Acid

MitoQ

MK-3984

NADH

NR

Ornithine

Oxaloacetate

Pyruvic Acid

Schisandra

Solriamfetol

Suma

THN102

Turkesterone

Anti-fatigue

Phenylpiracetam

Acetyl-L-Carnitine

Paraxanthine

Sulbutiamine

Bromantane

ITPP

Meldonium

Lipo-MIC + NAD+

RGPU-95