What is it?
What aniracetam is
1Aniracetam is a synthetic racetam, also called Ro 13-5057. It is a distinct compound rather than a vitamin, herb or racetam blend. A research code or historical trade name identifies the compound; it does not establish a product's current legal status.
Names, aliases and forms
Mechanisms of action
Mechanism and human outcomes are different questions
11AMPA receptors transmit rapid glutamate signals between nerve cells. Aniracetam modifies their activity in experimental neuronal preparations. These nonhuman receptor findings do not establish a noticeable human memory or focus benefit.
Potential effects and evidence map
Older patient trials give mixed cognitive results, including a small placebo-controlled trial with no clinical efficacy difference. An experiment in volunteers under scopolamine-induced impairment reported signals, but that model does not establish everyday enhancement. Healthy-volunteer pharmacokinetics establish rapid parent-drug exposure, rather than cognitive onset or duration. Modern, generalizable evidence for routine healthy-adult use remains insufficient.
Mixed older patient findings do not establish an everyday memory benefit in healthy adults.
Typical dosages and timing
The range reflects older cognitive-impairment studies, rather than an established healthy-adult regimen. Trial formulation, population and monitoring differ from online powders or capsules.
Timing & effect horizon
A fasting single-dose study in 20 healthy men measured parent-drug plasma peak around 0.4 hours and The time for blood levels to fall by half during the final elimination phase.Source around 0.5 hours. These are blood measurements, not proof of cognitive onset, effect duration or dosing frequency. The cited studies do not establish an effective cycling schedule.
Safety, side effects and risk profile
U.S. FDA records identify aniracetam supplement-marketing concerns; an FDA-posted 2026 recall involved undeclared aniracetam in a combination product.
The cited clinical studies do not establish a numeric risk estimate for routine healthy-adult use. Confusion-related withdrawals occurred in an older patient trial.
Untested combinations and inaccurately labeled cognitive-enhancement products add uncertainty; specific medication-interaction frequencies are not established.
Interactions and cautions
Published market testing identified multi-drug products whose combinations had not been tested in humans. This does not establish a specific aniracetam interaction with every medicine or supplement. A combination label and a single-ingredient label therefore answer different safety questions.
Legal and regulatory status
In its 2019 Peak Nootropics warning letter, FDA identified aniracetam products as unapproved new drugs and stated that aniracetam was not a dietary supplement or conventional food for the relevant exception. That U.S. enforcement record is not a worldwide ban. Medicine authorization, supplement classification and import rules require current checks in the exact destination country.
Practical buying and quality notes
- For single-ingredient listings, compare total labeled aniracetam mass: capsule count multiplied by milligrams per capsule, or net powder weight. Price per gram is a label-based comparison, not proof of assay or bioequivalence. Keep blends separate when the amount of aniracetam is undisclosed, and account for shipping and currency.6
- A lot-matched certificate of analysis (COA) can document the laboratory's identity and assay results; a generic certificate or purity slogan cannot verify the bottle in hand. Testing does not resolve a product's legal status or establish cognitive benefit.6
FAQ
Is aniracetam a proven nootropic for healthy adults?
10Reliable everyday benefit is not established. Older clinical findings are mixed, and positive results in a drug-induced impairment model cannot be assumed to apply to ordinary focus or productivity.
What do the aniracetam dose studies tell buyers?
4They describe research exposures in particular populations and formulations. A clinical-study amount does not validate the identity, purity or appropriate use of a retail powder or capsule.
Does online availability establish U.S. supplement legality?
5No. As reviewed in October 2026, FDA's 2019 warning letter remains a relevant U.S. regulatory record. A separate FDA-posted January 2026 recall concerned a multi-ingredient product containing undeclared aniracetam; it does not quantify pure-aniracetam risk.
Why does the evidence include dementia studies?
3Those are clinical-population data rather than healthy-user evidence. In the cited small three-month trial, cognitive scores improved in both groups and no clinical efficacy difference was found.
How does the short half-life affect comparison?
9The parent compound disappears quickly from plasma, but that does not establish a short cognitive benefit or justify frequent dosing. Product form and labeled amount can be compared separately from unproven effect-duration claims.
What does the 2026 recall establish?
5FDA posted a company recall of Modern Warrior Ready after testing found undeclared aniracetam alongside other drugs. The notice supports a specific product-quality caution; harms discussed for co-ingredients cannot all be attributed to aniracetam.
References
- PubChem. Aniracetam (CID 2196).
- Roncari G. Human Pharmacokinetics of Aniracetam. Drug Investigation. 1993;5(Suppl 1):68-72.
- Sourander LB, Portin R, Molsa P, Lahdes A, Rinne UK. Senile dementia of the Alzheimer type treated with aniracetam: a new nootropic agent. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1987;91(1):90-95.
- Senin U, Parnetti L, Cucinotta D, et al. Aniracetam clinical experience in senile dementia and related disorders. Drug Investigation. 1993.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Modern Warrior Recalls Modern Warrior Ready Dietary Supplement Due to Undeclared 1,4-DMAA and Aniracetam, and Tianeptine. 2026.
- Cohen PA, Avula B, Wang YH, Zakharevich I, Khan I. Five Unapproved Drugs Found in Cognitive Enhancement Supplements. Neurology: Clinical Practice. 2021.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Information for Consumers on Using Dietary Supplements.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Peak Nootropics LLC aka Advanced Nootropics. Warning Letter 557887. February 5, 2019.
- Tian Y, Zhang JJ, Feng SD, Zhang ZJ, Chen Y. Pharmacokinetics and bioequivalence study of aniracetam after single-dose administration in healthy Chinese male volunteers. Arzneimittelforschung. 2008;58(10):497-500.
- Wesnes K, Anand R, Simpson P, Christmas L. The use of a scopolamine model to study the potential nootropic effects of aniracetam and piracetam in healthy volunteers. J Psychopharmacol. 1990;4(4):219-232.
- Lawrence JJ, Brenowitz S, Trussell LO. The mechanism of action of aniracetam at synaptic AMPA receptors: indirect and direct effects on desensitization. Molecular Pharmacology. 2003;64(2):269-278.