Comparison
Magnesium Glycinate vs Noopept
Side-by-side of Magnesium Glycinate and Noopept. Every row below is pulled from the compound schema and will update as our data grows. For deeper reads, follow through to each compound page.
Magnesium Glycinate
Magnesium glycinate supplement guide: chelated bisglycinate form, 200 to 400 mg dosage, sleep architecture benefits, low GI side effects, glycine co-effect.
Noopept
Noopept cognitive enhancer profile: 10 to 30 mg dosage, dipeptide nootropic mechanism, memory effects, and how it compares to piracetam.
Effects at a glance
Magnesium Glycinate
- •Shortens sleep onset latency in older adults and in deficient populations supplementing 200 to 400 mg elemental Mg
- •Improves subjective sleep quality scores (PSQI, ISI) modestly versus placebo over 4 to 8 weeks
- •Reduces nocturnal leg cramps and exercise-induced muscle cramping in some controlled trials
- •Lowers self-reported anxiety in mild-to-moderate cases, with smaller effect than first-line pharmacotherapy
- •Glycinate form delivers fewer GI side effects than oxide or citrate at equivalent elemental doses
- •Insufficient as a stand-alone hypertension treatment; small adjunctive blood-pressure reductions only
Noopept
- •Russian dipeptide nootropic developed in the 1990s, registered in Russia 2002 for cognitive impairment
- •Roughly 1,000-fold higher per-mg potency than piracetam; therapeutic dose 10 to 30 mg/day
- •Active metabolite cycloprolylglycine modulates AMPA receptors and increases NGF and BDNF in rodent hippocampus
- •Russian RCTs in stroke recovery and vascular cognitive impairment show modest improvements over 4 to 8 weeks
- •Western evidence base is essentially absent; healthy-adult enhancement trials have not been published
- •Unscheduled in the US but not approved for human consumption; UK is prescription-only since 2014
Side-by-side
| Attribute | Magnesium Glycinate | Noopept |
|---|---|---|
| Category | supplement | nootropic |
| Also known as | magnesium bisglycinate | GVS-111, N-phenylacetyl-L-prolylglycine ethyl ester, Omberacetam |
| Half-life (hr) ↗ | 5 | 0.7 |
| Typical dose (mg) ↗ | 300 | 20 |
| Dosing frequency | daily (often evening) | 2 to 3 times daily, last dose before mid-afternoon |
| Routes | oral | oral, sublingual |
| Onset (hr) | 1 | 0.5 |
| Peak (hr) | - | 1 |
| Molecular weight | - | 318.37 |
| Molecular formula | - | C17H22N2O4 |
| Mechanism | Magnesium acts as a cofactor for 300+ enzymes and as a voltage-dependent antagonist at NMDA receptors; glycine serves as an inhibitory neurotransmitter and co-agonist at glycine receptors. | Hydrolyzed to active metabolite cycloprolylglycine; AMPA receptor modulation, BDNF and NGF upregulation, antioxidant and antiexcitotoxic effects. |
| Legal status | Dietary supplement | Approved in Russia and CIS states; prescription-only in UK; unscheduled and unapproved in US, EU varies |
| WADA status | allowed | unknown |
| DEA / Rx | OTC supplement | Not scheduled in the US |
| Pregnancy | Generally considered acceptable at RDA doses; consult clinician | Not recommended |
| CAS | 14783-68-7 | 157115-85-0 |
| PubChem CID | 84645 | 183503 |
| Wikidata | - | Q4321022 |
Safety profile
Magnesium Glycinate
Common side effects
- mild GI upset at high doses
- loose stools (dose-dependent, less than with oxide/citrate forms)
Contraindications
- severe renal impairment
- myasthenia gravis
- heart block
Interactions
- tetracycline and fluoroquinolone antibiotics: magnesium chelates antibiotic, reducing absorption; separate by 2+ hours(moderate)
- bisphosphonates: reduced absorption of bisphosphonate(moderate)
- potassium-sparing diuretics: possible hypermagnesemia in renal impairment(moderate)
Noopept
Common side effects
- headache
- irritability
- sleep disturbance with late-day dosing
- occasional blood pressure elevation
Contraindications
- pregnancy
- lactation
- pediatric use
- severe hepatic impairment
- severe renal impairment
Interactions
- memantine and other glutamatergic agents: theoretical AMPA-pathway interaction(minor)
- antidepressants: theoretical effect via BDNF axis, undocumented(minor)
- antihypertensives: occasional blood pressure elevation may require monitoring(minor)
Which Should You Take?
Magnesium Glycinate comes out ahead for most readers on the criteria we weight: 3 catalogued goals, OTC dietary supplement, oral dosing, with a Tier-A outcome catalogued. Noopept is the right call when one of the conditionals below applies.
- → If your priority is sleep onset or sleep quality, pick Magnesium Glycinate.
- → If your priority is post-training recovery, pick Magnesium Glycinate.
- → If your priority is focus or working memory, pick Noopept.
- → If your priority is memory, pick Noopept.
Edge case: If you want to avoid controlled substance, Magnesium Glycinate is the more accessible choice.
Default choice: Magnesium Glycinate. Lower friction to source, a Tier-A evidence outcome catalogued, and broader goal coverage. Reach for Noopept only if your priority sits squarely in the goals it owns above.
This verdict is generated from each compound's schema (goals, legal status, evidence outcomes, dosing route). It updates automatically as our compound data evolves; the deeper read sits on each individual compound page.
Common questions
What is the difference between Magnesium Glycinate and Noopept?
Magnesium Glycinate and Noopept differ in category (supplement vs nootropic), mechanism, and typical dosing. See the side-by-side table for full details.
Which has a longer half-life, Magnesium Glycinate or Noopept?
Magnesium Glycinate half-life is 5 hours; Noopept half-life is 0.7 hours.
Can you stack Magnesium Glycinate with Noopept?
Stack compatibility depends on mechanism overlap, legal status, and individual response. Check each compound page for specific interactions and contraindications before combining.
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