What is the difference between Fasoracetam and Unifiram?

Fasoracetam: 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 sign... Unifiram: Unifiram (DM-232) is a synthetic non-peptide small-molecule nootropic structurally related to sunifiram, though not a racetam itself. It originated from Italian academic research (University of Floren...

What does the research say about Fasoracetam vs Unifiram?

Fasoracetam: 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). CG… Unifiram: No human data of any kind exist for unifiram; no registered clinical trials or published human studies were found. All available evidence is from rodent behavioral and in-vitro electrophysiology studies. In mice and rats, unifiram (0.001–1 mg/kg i.p. or 0.01–0.1 mg/kg oral) reversed amnesia induced by scopolamine, mecamylamine, baclofen, clonidine,…

Fasoracetam vs Unifiram

Q: Can you stack Fasoracetam and Unifiram?

Fasoracetam (cognitive) and Unifiram (cognitive) are in the same category and may have overlapping mechanisms — researchers should review both profiles carefully before combining. Consult a licensed provider before combining any compounds.

Head-to-head comparison of Fasoracetam and Unifiram — mechanism, side effects, legal status, and pricing.

Fasoracetam

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.

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Unifiram

Unifiram (DM-232) is a synthetic non-peptide small-molecule nootropic structurally related to sunifiram, though not a racetam itself. It originated from Italian academic research (University of Florence) in the early 2000s and has never progressed beyond preclinical animal studies; it is not an approved or investigational drug in any regulatory database. Unifiram is sold openly by research-chemical vendors as an unregulated laboratory reagent. No human data of any kind exist.

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Fasoracetam

Unifiram

Category

Cognitive

Legal Status

Research Only

Mechanism

Fasoracetam is characterized in the human trial literature and rodent pharmacology as a metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) activator/modulator rather than a classical ionotropic glutamate agent. Rodent studies (Shirayama et al., 1999) demonstrated that it increases acetylcholine release in the cerebral cortex, enhances high-affinity choline uptake in cortex and hippocampus without changing choline acetyltransferase activity, and reverses memory disruption induced by the GABA-B agonist baclofen—suggesting a dual mechanism of facilitating cholinergic neurotransmission and suppressing GABA-B-receptor-mediated responses. No receptor-binding affinity (Ki/EC50) data for specific mGluR subtypes have been located in primary sources.

Preclinical evidence indicates unifiram facilitates AMPA-receptor-mediated neurotransmission without direct receptor binding: in rat hippocampal slices it increased fEPSP amplitude and reversed kynurenic-acid antagonism of NMDA-mediated transmitter release, effects blocked by the AMPA-receptor antagonist NBQX. It also increased acetylcholine release from rat cerebral cortex, suggesting an additional cholinergic component. Radioligand binding assays showed no significant affinity for major central receptors or ion channels, so the specific molecular binding site remains unidentified.

Side Effects

Headache (63.3% in NCT02286817 trial)
Fatigue (36.7% in NCT02286817 trial)
Three serious adverse events in trial (assessed as unrelated to study drug)

Where Researchers Are Buying

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COA-verified vendors · trust score ≥70 required · single-vial price — bulk/bundle deals may be lower

Fasoracetam

Best $/mg

$0.021/mg

Kimera ChemsC

1 trusted vendor listing

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Unifiram

Best $/mg

$0.032/mg

Kimera ChemsC

1 trusted vendor listing

Compare all 1 vendor

Lab Verification

COA corpus from Disclosed Labs — independently tested batches only.

Fasoracetam

COAs

99.7%

Avg purity

Labs

Full testing data

Unifiram

COAs

99.4%

Avg purity

Labs

Full testing data

Fasoracetam Research Summary

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).

Key references

Unifiram Research Summary

No human data of any kind exist for unifiram; no registered clinical trials or published human studies were found. All available evidence is from rodent behavioral and in-vitro electrophysiology studies. In mice and rats, unifiram (0.001–1 mg/kg i.p. or 0.01–0.1 mg/kg oral) reversed amnesia induced by scopolamine, mecamylamine, baclofen, clonidine, and NBQX in passive-avoidance and Morris water-maze tests, at doses roughly 1,000-fold lower than piracetam, without impairing motor coordination or altering spontaneous locomotor activity. No systematic toxicology (repeat-dose, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity) studies have been published.

Key references

AMPA-receptor activation is involved in the antiamnesic effect of DM 232 (unifiram) and DM 235 (sunifiram) (2003)

Can you stack Fasoracetam and Unifiram?

Fasoracetam and Unifiram 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.

Other comparisons

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This platform provides informational tools only, not medical advice. This comparison is for educational purposes only. Consult a licensed provider.