Oxiracetam

weak data

Also seen as: ISF-2522, ISF 2522, oxi

The Dose Guy’s verdict

Sep 1, 2026
4 sources

The stimulating racetam, the one people reach for when the job is structured logic or anything that rewards tight, sustained attention. Oxiracetam has real human trial data, and the honest read is that the data is not encouraging: the most recent dedicated trial, 500 post-stroke patients, found nothing. Older, smaller dementia studies are mixed: some positive, one Alzheimer’s trial negative. If you already know racetams work for you, oxiracetam is a reasonable pick for analytical work. If you have never tried the family, start cheaper with piracetam and see if the profile is yours before committing here.

Would I take it?Maybe, if racetams click for you.

What it is

A hydroxylated piracetam. The mechanism is AMPA receptor modulation: oxiracetam increases the efficiency of AMPA signaling in the cortex without touching NMDA or much else, giving it a cleaner, more stimulating profile than the broader-acting racetams. Oxiracetam’s profile is analytical: structured thinking and sustained attention, more energizing than piracetam but cleaner than phenylpiracetam.

Oxiracetam is not approved in the United States but has been marketed in some European and Asian countries for cognitive decline. A 2026 South Korean regulatory decision suspended its use there. Most of the community buys it as a nootropic supplement and pairs it with a choline source.

What the research shows

The evidence base is older and broader than most racetams, and the newer work is not kind:

The most recent dedicated oxiracetam trial: 500 post-stroke patients, 36 weeks, and MMSE change was +0.13 on oxiracetam versus +0.27 on placebo. No significant difference, p=0.49.Eur Stroke J 2026 · RCT · n=500

In traumatic brain injury, L-oxiracetam at 4 g/day improved 90-day cognitive scores by 20.45 points, versus 15.90 with racemic oxiracetam at 6 g/day and 11.47 with placebo. The active enantiomer, not the mix you buy.Signal Transduct Target Ther 2025 · phase 3 · n=590

The best of the old guard: a 12-week multicenter dementia trial found effects favoring oxiracetam on all three main efficacy scales at p<0.01 in 289 analyzed patients.Neuropsychobiology 1989 · RCT · n=307

A double-blind trial in 24 Alzheimer’s patients found no improvement on a broad neuropsychological battery. Old and negative exist too.Arch Neurol 1992 · RCT · n=24

No modern trial has tested oxiracetam for cognition in healthy people. Every study above is in an impaired population.as of Aug 2026

Realistic protocols

The classic racetam dose: 800 mg twice a day, the amount used in most of the old trials. Some people run up to 2400 mg daily. The old dementia trials ran at 1600 mg. A TBI trial pushed racemic oxiracetam to 6 g daily and it beat placebo, but that is a different population and a different league of dosing. Take it with food if your stomach minds, though oxiracetam is water-soluble and forgiving.

Oxiracetam is the stimulating racetam. It sharpens focus and logical processing more than mood or verbal fluency, and it carries enough of a push that taking it after mid-afternoon will cost you sleep. Pair it with a choline source, alpha-GPC or CDP-choline, for the same reason as any racetam: increased acetylcholine turnover means you burn through choline faster, and headaches fill the gap.

If this is your first racetam, start with piracetam instead. It is cheaper, milder, and tells you whether the family works for you before you commit to a more expensive and stimulating member. If piracetam felt like nothing, oxiracetam might not change that story.

Standard800 mg 2x/dayMorning and early afternoon. The tried dose from the old trials.

Ceiling2400 mg/daySome go here. The old dementia trials ran at 1600 mg.

Choline+ alpha-GPC 300–600 mgOxiracetam burns through acetylcholine. Without the choline, you get the headache.

TimingBefore mid-afternoonStimulating enough to disrupt sleep if dosed late.

Side effects

In the largest dementia trial, 31 oxiracetam patients reported 35 minor unwanted effects versus 27 on placebo reporting 32. One of the safer racetams on paper:

commonHeadache without a choline source, the racetam family tax.

commonMild insomnia or restlessness from late dosing. Keep it to the first half of the day.

monitorOxiracetam clears renally. If your kidneys are compromised, it lingers and the dose needs adjusting.

unknownEvery trial tested impaired populations. No controlled safety data in the healthy nootropic users who actually run it.