THIS nutraceutical increases reaction times (but is a negative Nootropic for some...)

This herbal alkaloid is a natural nootropic that boosts cerebral blood flow to the brain, has antioxidant properties, is a neuroprotective agent, and helps with subjective well-being.

It’s another Nootropic with a range of anti-aging effects to maintain a mind that has four, five, six, or more decades of wear and tear, but has limited value to otherwise healthy people or Biohackers looking to improve performance.

This article is mostly going to focus on decoding what the human studies are saying about Vinpocetine and how this squares up with the anecdotal experiences of Biohackers online.

Scientific Research

It has been the subject of +260 human studies, which you can find on PubMed. Vinpocetine is an alkaloid, technically not really a Nutraceutical since it's synthetically created, but is derived from vincamine, an extract of the Periwinkle plant.

Dopamine Blues

The mechanism of Vinpocetine (especially at higher dosages) has a net negative effect on dopamine.

The abstract of a 2001 Mexican study articulates this...

The effect of vinpocetine, a nootropic drug with anti-ischemic potential, on the release of [dopamine] and its main metabolite, DOPAC, was investigated in striatum isolated nerve endings under resting and depolarized conditions...It is concluded that, in addition to the inhibition of presynaptic [voltage-sensitive calcium channels] permeability, which selectively inhibits the transporter-mediated release of all neurotransmitters, vinpocetine increases DOPAC by impairing the vesicular storage of [dopamine].

This is why, in those who do not have cognition impaired by a deleterious condition, Vinpocetine may actually have an undesirable anti-Nootropic effect:Lack of motivationMid-afternoon productivity lullPoor focusBrain fog

A middle-aged Biohacker on Longecity reported:

“after thorough searching on the internet I came across very few stories of bad reactions to this supposed safe nootropic. I was attracted to it looking for something that would help my perimenopause brainfog and offer help for mild depression. After taking 2.5 mg for 6 days, I experienced an increasingly bad headache, dizziness, hot flashes and insomnia. I felt oddly wired and had trouble thinking clearly.”

Another Biohacker concurred:

“Two days ago I took both Vinpocetine tablets within an hour of each other. Yesterday I woke up with a headache and didn’t feel good for most of the morning. I was really tired, couldn’t focus, didn’t want to do anything...”

Subjective Well-Being

Amongst those for whom Vinpocetine works, it seems to be a common sentiment that it improves general mood and outlook.

Two Russian studies totaling over a thousand human subjects demonstrated a positive effect on the well-being of those over 45 years old...

Patients showed the significant improvement on a scale that assessed self-rated health, activity and mood. The emotional state was normalized in 50% of patients during the treatment with vinpotropile.

To quote Mind on Longecity:

“The positive effects are mild but noticeable. I seem a little sharper (mentally speaking) and it puts me in a good mood.”

These have the effects of...

* Improving concentration abilities

* Alleviating symptoms of menopause

* Combating chronic fatigue

* Helping with age-related memory impairment

The enhancement of auditory and visual perception is also reported. Some bloggers have even said of it:

“The mental clarity I experience is second to none. If your brain could take the most refreshing, cleansing shower it had ever experienced, then, the water would be vinpocetine without a doubt.”

Vasodilation

Vinpocetine widens the blood vessels, which increases blood flow to the brain. Delivering more blood and oxygen to the brain, fueling cognition. From a 2011 Indian study:

Vinpocetine, chemically known as ethyl apovincaminate, is a vinca alkaloid that exhibits cerebral blood-flow enhancing and neuroprotective effects. Non-clinical and clinical studies have suggested multiple mechanisms responsible for the beneficial neuroprotective effects of vinpocetine.

The benefit to Biohackers of Vasodilation is that whatever other Nootropic you’re consuming - caffeine, Racetams, Adaptogens, Modafinil - you get more of it flowing to your noggin.

Vs Neuroinflammation

It has a noteworthy helpful effect on the very challenging condition of Neuroinflammation. From a 2011 Shanghai study:

...the administration of Vinpocetine in hypoxic mice also inhibited inflammatory molecules, indicating that Vinpocetine as a unique anti-inflammatory agent may be beneficial for the treatment of neuroinflammatory diseases.

Also, an anti-inflammatory agent that has a positive effect on neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. In an English double-blind, placebo-controlled study on the elderly with dementia, those who were administered 30 Milligrams daily for a month scored consistently better than those on a placebo.

Memory

It’s not going to be my go-to recommendation for improving memory. There was just a single human study that showed an effect that would be desired by Biohackers. 40 milligrams daily of Vinpocetine significantly improves memory in healthy adults, from a placebo-controlled study of twenty women:

However, memory as assessed using the Sternberg technique was found to be significantly improved following treatment with vinpocetine 40 mg when compared to placebo and results suggested a localised effect of the drug on the serial comparison stage of the reaction process.

However, 40 Milligrams is a very high dosage of this Nootropic.

Anti-aging

From a 2011 Swedish study that compared otherwise healthy young Swedes to their elderly counterparts

The present data indicate that... vinpocetine may serve as a molecular imaging biomarker of the activity of the [translocator protein] system and, consequently, of the up-regulation of microglia during ageing and in neuroinflammatory diseases.

Reaction Time

The human study of women found that 40 milligrams improved reaction time in memory scanning test