What is it?
What adrafinil is
11Adrafinil is a synthetic wakefulness-promoting compound historically marketed as Olmifon in France. A prodrug is converted in the body into another active compound; adrafinil forms modafinil, but remains a separate ingredient.
How this comparison was prepared
12NootropicsIndex summarizes published research and official sources for ingredient comparison. Sources were checked on 14 October 2026, with historical adrafinil findings separated from animal work and modafinil evidence. Offer prices and label amounts are catalog data, not laboratory verification or an endorsement.
Names, aliases and forms
Mechanisms of action
Conversion does not establish equivalence
11Human analytical work detected modafinil after adrafinil exposure. It did not measure comparative potency or cognition. Modafinil clinical results and labeled doses cannot simply be transferred to adrafinil.
Potential effects and evidence map
Older adrafinil studies concerned vigilance, attention or subjective memory complaints, mainly in older adults. A 2021 clinical review describes limited historical trials; the French HAS assessment found insufficient clinical benefit for the former medicine. These data do not establish dependable healthy-adult productivity or memory enhancement. Modafinil trials and animal findings are separate evidence.
Historical human studies reported vigilance-related signals, mainly in older adults; reliable healthy-adult benefit is not established.
Older attention-related observations do not establish direct focus enhancement in healthy adults.
The reviewed historical clinical literature does not support a dependable general mood benefit.
An older study reported subjective memory-complaint improvement in adults over 50; objective healthy-adult memory or learning enhancement remains unestablished.
Typical dosages and timing
The former 300 mg Olmifon tablet label specified two to four tablets daily for older patients. This historical range is not a dose recommendation for healthy-adult cognitive enhancement.
Timing & effect horizon
The checked sources do not establish a reliable adrafinil onset, wakefulness duration or healthy-adult cycle. A plasma peak describes blood concentration, not the start or end of a cognitive effect.
The historical label reports a parent-adrafinil plasma peak of 0.90 +/- 0.2 hours in healthy humans after a fasting oral dose. The source does not provide a sample size here.
The same label gives a human absorption The time for blood levels to fall by half during the final elimination phase.Source of 12 +/- 3 minutes. Its approximately one-hour elimination value appears under animal data; it must not be presented as a human adrafinil half-life.
The modafinil pharmacokinetic review reports an elimination half-life around 12-15 hours for modafinil. That is metabolite context, not a measured adrafinil half-life or an effect-duration estimate.
Safety, side effects and risk profile
The historical label calls for alkaline-phosphatase monitoring during prolonged use and identifies severe liver or kidney impairment as a distinct dosing context.
The modafinil metabolite label warns about reduced hormonal-contraceptive exposure and altered exposure to several medicines.
The historical adrafinil label reports agitation, confusion, aggression, excitation and insomnia; frequency is not provided.
Cardiac-history and blood-pressure cautions are described for the modafinil metabolite; direct adrafinil cardiovascular incidence is not established.
The adrafinil label advises against use in pregnancy because data are insufficient; lactation safety is not established.
Headache and stomach pain were reported in historical adrafinil trials; frequency was not quantified.
Adrafinil-specific dependence or withdrawal incidence is not established; the modafinil metabolite has abuse potential in its prescribing information.
Modern healthy-adult benefit and long-term safety estimates remain limited.
Alkaline-phosphatase monitoring appears in the historical label for prolonged use. A monitoring precaution does not quantify liver injury. Severe liver impairment and kidney impairment are separate cautions.
Modafinil labeling warns about rare serious skin reactions and hypersensitivity. This is a relevant metabolite warning; an adrafinil-specific incidence cannot be inferred from modafinil reports.
Moderate risk reflects reported confusion, agitation and aggression during historical oral use, rather than ordinary mild headache or insomnia alone. Low would understate potentially consequential behavioral changes. Frequency is unknown; historical episodes often reversed with dose changes or cessation. High is not established for typical use in healthy adults from the available population-specific data.
One report described involuntary mouth and face movements that remained after four months without adrafinil. The review describes an older patient with comorbidities. This potentially persistent harm deserves attention, but a single case cannot establish its frequency in healthy adults.
Interactions and cautions
Modafinil labeling describes reduced exposure to hormonal contraceptives and cyclosporine through increased CYP3A4/5 enzyme activity. Conversion to modafinil makes this an indirect adrafinil caution; the magnitude after adrafinil has not been established.
Modafinil can inhibit CYP2C19, potentially increasing exposure to medicines such as diazepam, phenytoin and omeprazole. This is metabolite-based interaction context; it is not evidence that every psychiatric medicine interacts with adrafinil.
The adrafinil label describes possible enhancement of a behavioral disinhibition effect with neuroleptics, an older term for antipsychotic medicines. Direct evidence for casual stimulant or alcohol stacks is too limited to establish their safety.
Legal and regulatory status
As checked on 2026-10-14, FDA’s 2019 seller-specific letter states that the addressed adrafinil products did not qualify as dietary supplements or conventional foods and raises unapproved-drug concerns for the seller’s claims. This does not establish a worldwide ban or a general possession rule.
France’s HAS judged Olmifon’s clinical benefit insufficient in its authorized indications in 2011. This France-specific assessment was rechecked 2026-10-14; it is not an EU-wide rule and does not establish current supplement availability.
The WADA 2026 Prohibited List names adrafinil in S6.A, the non-Specified stimulants prohibited in competition. This sporting rule was checked 2026-10-14; it is not a general criminal-law classification.
How it compares
Fladrafinil is CRL-40,941 (CAS 90212-80-9); adrafinil is CRL-40028 (CAS 63547-13-7). A Fladrafinil listing is not an equivalent adrafinil offer. Match the exact ingredient name and identifier before comparing any price or labeled amount.
The cited pharmacokinetic review concerns modafinil itself. It provides no validated milligram conversion between adrafinil and modafinil, or between adrafinil and fluorinated analogs.
Practical buying and quality notes
- For identical adrafinil ingredients, labeled grams in a pack = units x mg per unit / 1,000; unit price = pack price / labeled grams. For liquids, use labeled mg/mL x volume instead. This is label arithmetic, not verified assay content or a suggested serving. Powders, capsules, solutions and blends require separate form and amount checks; a meaningful adrafinil unit-price comparison requires disclosed ingredient amounts.4
- FDA developed an LC-HRMS method that separates modafinil, adrafinil and related analogs. When a batch report is supplied, check that it names the exact compound, matching batch and quantitative assay method. A generic purity claim does not establish identity, clinical benefit or regulatory approval.4
FAQ
Is adrafinil equivalent to modafinil for buying?
11A price comparison should keep the two ingredients separate. The conversion relationship does not establish equivalent labeled milligrams, product authorization or batch quality.
What does the displayed adrafinil dosage mean?
6It is the former French medicine-label range explained in the dosage section. The reviewed evidence does not validate a healthy-user cognitive-enhancement dose, and a retailer serving size is a separate label claim.
How long does adrafinil last, and is cycling supported?
9The checked sources do not establish a reliable effect-duration estimate or evidence-based nootropic cycle. Parent-drug plasma measurements and the modafinil metabolite half-life answer different questions.
References
- PubChem. Adrafinil compound summary.
- Milgram NW, Callahan H, Siwak CT. Adrafinil: A Novel Vigilance Promoting Agent. CNS Drug Reviews. 1999;5(3):193-212.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Peak Nootropics LLC aka Advanced Nootropics warning letter 557887.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration Science Forum. Development and validation of an analytical method to identify and quantitate novel modafinil analogs in dietary supplement products.
- Haute Autorite de Sante. OLMIFON adrafinil opinion.
- ANSM. OLMIFON, film-coated tablet: Summary of product characteristics. Updated 24 March 2014.
- World Anti-Doping Agency. The 2026 Prohibited List.
- DailyMed. Modafinil tablets prescribing information.
- Robertson P Jr, Hellriegel ET. Clinical pharmacokinetic profile of modafinil. Clinical Pharmacokinetics. 2003;42(2):123-137.
- Thobois S, et al. Adrafinil-induced orofacial dyskinesia. Movement Disorders. 2004.
- Ameline A, Gheddar L, Raul JS, Kintz P. Identification of adrafinil and its main metabolite modafinil in human hair. Self-administration study and interpretation of an authentic case. Forensic Science Research. 2020;5(4):322-326.
- Adrafinil: Psychostimulant and Purported Nootropic? American Journal of Psychiatry Residents’ Journal. 2021. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2021.170105.
- PubChem. Fladrafinil compound summary, CID 13316557.
- Haute Autorité de Santé. OLMIFON (adrafinil): Commission de la transparence assessment, 25 February 2004. Derouesné study summary.