Informational only. Not medical advice.INFORMATIONAL PLATFORM ONLY — NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT
Informational only. Not medical advice.INFORMATIONAL PLATFORM ONLY — NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT
Head-to-head comparison of Fasoracetam and Phenylpiracetam hydrazide — mechanism, side effects, legal status, and pricing.
Fasoracetam (NS-105, NFC-1) is a non-peptide racetam-class small molecule characterized as a metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) activator that also modulates acetylcholine release and GABA-B signaling. A single Phase 1 trial in 30 adolescents with ADHD and mGluR-network gene variants showed clinical improvement on CGI scales, but broader development was discontinued and fasoracetam has never been approved in any jurisdiction. It is sold only as an unregulated research chemical/nootropic.
Phenylpiracetam hydrazide is a non-peptide racetam-class small molecule — specifically a pyrrolidinone acetohydrazide in which the terminal carboxamide of phenylpiracetam (fonturacetam) is replaced by a carbohydrazide group. First synthesized in 1980 by a Russian medicinal-chemistry group screening 4-phenyl-2-pyrrolidinone derivatives for anticonvulsant activity, it has never been approved as a drug in any jurisdiction and has no human clinical trial data. The parent compound phenylpiracetam is explicitly listed on the WADA Prohibited List under S6.A (Non-Specified Stimulants); the hydrazide analog's own it is not on the WADA Prohibited List (only beta-2 agonists are prohibited, Category S3). It is sold by gray-market research-chemical vendors labeled 'not for human consumption.'
Fasoracetam
Phenylpiracetam hydrazide
Category
Legal Status
Mechanism
Side Effects
COA-verified vendors · trust score ≥70 required · single-vial price — bulk/bundle deals may be lower
Fasoracetam
Phenylpiracetam hydrazide
No pricing data yet.
Check Phenylpiracetam hydrazide prices →COA corpus from Disclosed Labs — independently tested batches only.
Fasoracetam
1
COAs
99.7%
Avg purity
1
Labs
Phenylpiracetam hydrazide
2
COAs
99.4%
Avg purity
2
Labs
Human data exist but the compound is not approved anywhere. The best-sourced human study is a completed Phase 1 open-label single-dose PK/single-blind placebo-controlled dose-escalation trial of NFC-1 (fasoracetam) in 30 adolescents (age 12–17) with ADHD carrying mGluR-network gene variants (NCT02286817; Elia et al. 2018, Nature Communications). CGI-I improved from 3.79 to 2.33 and CGI-S from 4.83 to 3.86 from baseline to week 5 (both P<0.001) in this small, largely uncontrolled sample. In rats (Wistar), fasoracetam reversed memory disruption across scopolamine-, NBM-lesion-, AF64A-, cerebral-ischemia-, baclofen-, and ECS-induced amnesia models, increased cortical acetylcholine release, and enhanced high-affinity choline uptake in cortex and hippocampus (Shirayama et al., 1999).
No human clinical trials have been conducted; no ClinicalTrials.gov record or DrugBank entry exists. The sole preclinical finding is from the 1980 Glozman et al. synthesis paper: an ED<sub>50</sub> of approximately 310 mg/kg for seizure protection in a rodent electroshock assay (species, strain, sex, and route not fully recoverable from accessed sources). No published human toxicology, LD<sub>50</sub>, pharmacokinetics, or adverse-event data were located for this compound.
Fasoracetam and Phenylpiracetam hydrazide are both in the Cognitive category and may have overlapping mechanisms. Researchers should review both profiles carefully, understand the mechanisms of action, and monitor the relevant biomarkers when combining compounds in the same class. As always, consult a licensed healthcare provider before making any decisions about combining research compounds.
This platform provides informational tools only, not medical advice. This comparison is for educational purposes only. Consult a licensed provider.
Contraindications
Lab Testing
Disclosed Labs