Phenylpiracetam (Phenotropil)

What phenylpiracetam is

Phenylpiracetam, also called fonturacetam, was described in the Soviet Union in the early 1980s as a derivative of piracetam. In Russia it is a prescription-only medicine as Phenotropil, and now also as Actitropil. The Russian summary of product characteristics lists, among other indications, impaired brain function after vascular disease or injury, neurotic conditions, learning disorders, overweight and alcohol dependence.

In the nootropics scene it is considered the strongest of the racetams and is used for concentration, drive and performance, often compared with Noopept or as part of nootropic combinations. What is rated here is the state of knowledge.

How it works

Even the first description in 1983 showed stronger activation in animals than with piracetam, a counter-effect to sedation by diazepam, protection against memory loss and an anticonvulsant effect that piracetam lacks. At high doses, by contrast, it had a sedating effect.

The most important target was described by a research group from Riga: the S-form selectively inhibits the dopamine transporter and thus increases the availability of dopamine, similar to modafinil, without affecting noradrenaline or serotonin receptors. Phenylpiracetam is a mixture of two mirror-image forms; in mice, both increased locomotor activity and had an antidepressant effect, while only the R-form improved memory. According to the Russian summary of product characteristics, the active ingredient is completely absorbed after intake, and the half-life is 3 to 5 hours. The effect on the dopamine transporter has not been measured in humans.

What the studies show

Devlikamova 2025: the meta-analysis in asthenia

The authors pooled 11 Russian papers with 549 patients, mean age 45.9 years. In all studies, exhaustion fell clearly after one month, by an average of 16.3 points on the MFI-20 scale, p less than 0.0001. Side effects occurred in an average of 5.5 percent and disappeared within a week with continued treatment. What was analyzed was the change from baseline, not the difference from a placebo group.

Kovalchuk 2010: rehabilitation after stroke

400 patients with ischemic stroke were followed for one year; 200 received three additional treatment courses with phenylpiracetam during rehabilitation. On several scales for neurological function and everyday functioning, this group recovered significantly better, p less than 0.0001. Whether the groups were randomly assigned and the assessments blinded is not evident from the abstract.

Zvejniece 2011 and 2017: two mirror-image forms

The research group separated the two forms and tested them in mice and rats. Both increased locomotor activity and had an antidepressant effect in the swim test; only the R-form showed the memory-enhancing effect, although both reached the brain equally well. The S-form selectively inhibited the dopamine transporter and, in overweight rats and mice, reduced weight gain, fat mass, blood sugar and leptin over 8 to 12 weeks, without making the animals more restless.

Where the data stop

• No comparison with placebo. A placebo-controlled, blinded study was not found. The meta-analysis evaluates before-and-after changes, in which time, attention and expectation play a part.
• Healthy people. There are no controlled studies on concentration, memory or performance in healthy people. The data concern patients with exhaustion or after brain damage.
• Dependence and long-term use. Phenylpiracetam inhibits the dopamine transporter like a stimulant. How often tolerance or misuse occurs has not been studied.
• Products outside Russia. European official medicines control laboratories seized phenylpiracetam in large quantities of raw material; what is sold online is not a tested medicine (Vanhee 2025). More on this under gray market.

Status, approval and legal

In Russia, phenylpiracetam is a prescription-only medicine as Phenotropil. In Germany and the EU it is not approved, neither as a medicine nor as a dietary supplement; European official medicines control laboratories have nevertheless seized it, including in large quantities of raw material. It is listed neither in the German Narcotics Act (BtMG) nor in the German Prescription Drug Ordinance. An official classification under the German New Psychoactive Substances Act (NpSG), which covers entire groups of substances, was not found.

In sport, fonturacetam was the first nootropic to be banned, in 1998. Today it is on the WADA Prohibited List 2026 as a non-specified stimulant (S6.A) and is prohibited in competition. The German Anti-Doping Act therefore prohibits its manufacture, trade, supply and prescription for doping purposes in sport; it is not listed in the annex of the Act that prohibits the acquisition and possession of non-small quantities.

Safety

In the Russian studies on exhaustion, side effects occurred in an average of 5.5 percent and subsided within a week. The Russian summary of product characteristics lists insomnia, especially when taken in the afternoon, psychomotor agitation and, in the first days, increased blood pressure, skin flushing and a feeling of warmth. Contraindications are age under 18, pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Data on use over months, on interactions with other stimulating agents and on dependence are missing. For people with high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease, the increase in blood pressure mentioned in the summary of product characteristics is particularly relevant.

Sources

• Bobkov IuG et al., Biull Eksp Biol Med 1983 – pharmacology of 4-phenylpiracetam, first description
• Zvejniece L et al., Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol 2011 – different effects of the R- and S-forms in mice
• Zvejniece L et al., Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2017 – S-phenylpiracetam as a selective dopamine transporter inhibitor
• Devlikamova FI, Safina DR, Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr 2025 – fonturacetam in asthenia, meta-analysis of 11 papers with 549 patients
• Kovalchuk VV et al., Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr 2010 – Phenotropil in rehabilitation after stroke, 400 patients
• Vanhee C et al., J Xenobiot 2025 – illegal nootropics in Europe and Australia, market surveillance by 12 official medicines control laboratories
• Jędrejko K et al., Drug Test Anal 2023 – unapproved ingredients in nootropic supplements, fonturacetam banned in 1998 as the first nootropic
• Summary of product characteristics Phenotropil (Russia, Vidal) – prescription-only, indications, side effects, pharmacokinetics
• WADA Prohibited List 2026, informational German translation by NADA – S6.A non-specified stimulants: fonturacetam
• German Anti-Doping Act (Anti-Doping-Gesetz) § 2 – prohibited handling of doping agents