Kava (Piper methysticum) is an herb that is commonly cultivated in island nations such as the Republic of Vanuatu, Fiji, Micronesia, and the Samoan islands. Historically, it has been utilized as a form of alternative medicine for hundreds (if not, thousands) of years. The herb is regarded as sacred by indigenous tribes and often consumed …
Valerian is a dietary supplement that was first sold in the United States in 1994, but has been historically utilized as a medicinal herb since the days of ancient Greece and Rome. It is understood to possess anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) and hypnotic (sleep-induction) properties and has been subject to investigation for the treatment of anxiety disorders …
Hydroxyzine is an antihistaminergic drug that was initially marketed in the 1950s by Pfizer. It is manufactured under the brand names Vistaril and Atarax, but widely purchased as a generic. Although hydroxyzine has been on the market for over half a century (50+ years), it is still commonly utilized by medical practitioners in a variety of scenarios …
Inositol is a non-essential nutrient and natural sugar present within phospholipids of cell membranes, plasma lipoproteins, and the nuclei. Chemically, there are 9 subtypes of inositol each with distinctive stereoisomers, the most common of which is known as “myo-inositol.” Within the human body, myo-inositol is synthesized from glucose and accounts for 95% of total free …
Modafinil (brand name “Provigil”) is a blockbuster eugeroic drug synthesized by Cephalon Pharmaceuticals (now Teva) and approved in 1998 for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) associated with narcolepsy. It was since approved for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness associated with obstructive sleep apnea, as well as to normalize circadian rhythms in diagnoses …
Adrafinil (Olmifon) is a eugeroic agent originally synthesized in the 1970s by chemists at Group Lafon, a pharmaceutical company based in France. Following its synthesis, researchers discovered that adrafinil induced wakefulness in humans, and by the mid-1980s, it was being marketed as an experimental treatment for narcolepsy. Though its exact pharmacodynamics aren’t fully elucidated, adrafinil …
Noopept (N-phenylacetyl-L-prolylglycine ethyl ester) is a synthetic peptide manufactured in Russia by JSC LEKKO Pharmaceuticals. Chemically, noopept is a hydrophilic proline with a dipeptide structure consisting of a phenylacetyl subunit bound to a small peptide chain of proline and glycine. Although it isn’t technically classified as a “racetam” (due to its lacking of a 2-oxo-pyrrolidine …