Informational only. Not medical advice.INFORMATIONAL PLATFORM ONLY — NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT
Head-to-head comparison of Phenylpiracetam hydrazide and Piracetam — mechanism, side effects, legal status, and pricing.
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.'
Piracetam is a non-peptide pyrrolidinone-derivative racetam, the prototypical member of the nootropic racetam class. It is approved in the EU/UK exclusively for adult cortical myoclonus as adjunctive therapy (marketed as Nootropil), but has NO FDA approval in any form in the United States. The FDA has rejected its New Dietary Ingredient notification and issued warning letters to US vendors marketing it as a supplement. Piracetam itself is not WADA-prohibited, though its derivative phenylpiracetam is a banned stimulant.
Phenylpiracetam hydrazide
Piracetam
Category
Legal Status
Mechanism
Side Effects
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Phenylpiracetam hydrazide
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Check Phenylpiracetam hydrazide prices →Piracetam
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Check Piracetam prices →COA corpus from Disclosed Labs — independently tested batches only.
Phenylpiracetam hydrazide
2
COAs
99.4%
Avg purity
2
Labs
Piracetam
1
COAs
99.8%
Avg purity
1
Labs
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.
Piracetam is an approved prescription drug in the EU/UK for adult cortical myoclonus (adjunctive therapy) and has been studied off-label in multiple placebo-controlled human trials for age-related cognitive decline, post-stroke aphasia, post-ECT cognitive deficit, and post-CABG cognitive decline, with mixed results. A Cochrane systematic review (2001) concluded that available evidence does not support piracetam's use for dementia or cognitive impairment beyond a global-impression measure. In rodent models, piracetam reduced focal ischemia infarct volume by ~35.8%, improved neurological/locomotor outcomes and survival, attenuated oxidative stress and excitatory amino acid release in oxygen-glucose deprivation, and showed anticonvulsant and neuroprotective effects in PTZ-induced epilepsy.
Phenylpiracetam hydrazide and Piracetam 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