Cognition & Mood

An injectable mix of small protein fragments from pig brain, used in some countries for stroke and dementia, but independent reviewers say the evidence of benefit is weak.

Grade C · Some human data, far from settled.

A nasal-spray anxiety peptide developed and prescribed in Russia, with promising but mostly Russian small-scale human evidence and no licence in the UK.

Grade C · Some human data, far from settled.

A Russian brain peptide, prescribed there for strokes and concentration problems, that raises brain growth factors in animals but has almost no independent Western trial evidence.

Grade C · Some human data, far from settled.

A lab-made four-amino-acid peptide, derived from a cow-brain extract, that Russian researchers claim repairs nerves and protects the brain, but the real evidence is almost all from rats and cell dishes produced by one group, with no proper human trials.

Grade D · No meaningful human evidence yet.

An experimental memory-drug candidate derived from a blood-pressure hormone fragment that showed dramatic effects in rats but has never been tested in humans, and whose foundational study was retracted for falsified data.

Grade D · No meaningful human evidence yet.

A chemically tweaked, longer-lasting version of the Russian nootropic peptide Semax, sold online for focus and brain health but never tested in a human trial in its own right.

Grade D · No meaningful human evidence yet.

An experimental brain peptide designed from a natural nerve-growth factor that improves memory and reduces Alzheimer's-like pathology in mice, but has never been tested in humans.

Grade D · No meaningful human evidence yet.

An experimental brain peptide that blocks the TREK-1 potassium channel to act like a fast antidepressant in mice, with zero human testing to date.

Grade D · No meaningful human evidence yet.