Peptides for focus, mood and sleep
Compounds used for focus, memory, anxiety, and sleep.
Two traditions meet on this page. One is Soviet and post-Soviet pharmacology: semax, selank and cerebrolysin are approved and prescribed in Russia and neighboring countries and almost unstudied anywhere else. The other is Western research chemicals aimed at memory and sleep that never left the lab.
The hard question for all of them is whether the molecule reaches the brain at all. Peptides are poor at crossing the blood-brain barrier, which is why so many here are nasal sprays. For a few small peptides that route genuinely helps; for others, brain penetration is an assumption nobody has tested.
Sleep compounds are the exception worth separating out, because a peptide that changes sleep architecture is measurable, and one or two here have small studies that measured it. Effects on focus and mood are far harder to pin down and far easier to imagine.
Used for anxiety without sedation. The human studies and the Russian approval use the nasal route, not injection.
Used for focus and memory, and in Russia after strokes. The human studies use the nasal route, not injection.
A natural brain peptide linked to deep sleep, taken before bed. Results are inconsistent.
A 3-amino-acid Khavinson peptide sold for brain function, sleep and aging, with very little human research.
Studied for building new brain connections and reversing memory loss. Striking in animals, almost no human safety data.
Semax, sold for focus, and Selank, sold for anxiety, in one vial or nasal spray.
One name sold for more than one molecule. Without a molecular weight or certificate, the label cannot say which.
Blocks a potassium channel tied to mood. Studied as a fast-acting antidepressant, with no human data.
A century-old dye taken at low doses for focus and energy. It turns urine blue-green, and that is harmless.
Derived from a natural nerve-growth factor. Studied for growing new brain cells, with no human data.
A chemically modified Semax, built to resist breakdown and last longer.
Selank with both ends modified so enzymes break it down more slowly. Usually sold as a nasal spray.
The Adamax that weighs about 1032: Semax with an acetyl group on one end and an adamantane group on the other.
Semax with an acetyl group on one end, added to slow how fast the body breaks it down.
Sold as a Selank relative. One seller describes N-Acetyl Selank Amidate, and the others state no structure.
A Russian memory and focus drug taken by mouth. Not really a peptide, though it is sold beside Semax and Selank.
Selank with an acetyl cap on one end. N-Acetyl Selank Amidate is a different product, with an amide on the other end.
A sedative for the same receptor as baclofen, still prescribed in Russia and Latvia. Tolerance builds quickly.
Raises dopamine and protects dopamine cells in cell and animal studies. No human has been studied taking it.
The Adamax that weighs about 984: acetylated Semax with two extra amino acids and no adamantane group.
A lab-built version of fisetin, a strawberry compound, developed at the Salk Institute and aimed at brain aging.
A frog-skin opioid that acts on the same receptor as morphine and is many times stronger.
A synthetic dipeptide that blocks the receptor that triggers panic, instead of damping the brain down like a sedative.
An 11-amino-acid piece cut from the precursor of GDNF, tested for protecting dopamine neurons.
An extract of cattle or pig brain cortex, injected into muscle and used in Russia for brain recovery.
An eight-amino-acid brain peptide that stabilises the scaffolding inside neurons. Its main large human trial failed.
A fragment left when the body breaks down oxytocin. It acts on dopamine receptors and behaves nothing like its parent.
An oral analog of the brain hormone TRH, approved in Japan and South Korea for loss of coordination in spinocerebellar degeneration, with small measured benefits.
Found by screening compounds in live mice for anything that kept newborn brain cells alive. Works by raising NAD levels.
The first FDA-approved Rett syndrome drug: a modified three-amino-acid fragment from the start of IGF-1, taken by mouth.
A cone-snail venom peptide approved for severe pain, given only by pump into the spinal fluid, with a boxed warning for psychiatric effects.
Common questions
Do nootropic peptides cross the blood-brain barrier?
A few small ones appear to, especially when given intranasally. For most, brain penetration is assumed rather than demonstrated, which is a large gap in the evidence.
Are peptides better than standard sleep or mood treatments?
No comparison trials exist. Approved treatments have measured effect sizes and known risks; these peptides do not, so they are not a substitute for medical care.
Are brain peptides approved anywhere?
A handful are approved or marketed in Russia and parts of Eastern Europe but not in the United States, EU or UK. Each compound page notes where it holds any approval.