Phenibut | GABA-Phenol™

Phenibut | GABA-Phenol™

Properties: Stress is one of the banes of our time – it decreases effectiveness of work as well as general well-being. It also contributes to a wide range of medical conditions. Counting to 10 (even thousand) or breathing exercises are not always effective. In such a case, it’s worth giving the floor to science.

Phenibut is a synthetic organic compound discovered in 1963 in the Soviet Union. It has gained popularity after the series of scientific papers published at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. It’s a derivative of the neurotransmitter GABA. Due to its structure –  in contrast to pure GABA – it actively crosses the blood-brain barrier. The difference in a chemical structure between these compounds doesn’t impede phenibut’s ability to activate receptors specific to the mentioned neurotransmitter. The ability to regulate balance of GABA, and indirectly, also other neurotransmitters, is what underlies phenibut’s interesting properties.

Clinical trials on the use of phenibut have proven that it allows to significantly decrease stress level without inducing numbness at the same time. The evidence can be the fact that it was sent into outer space as the support for astronauts. They struggle with extreme stress and yet they must be focused all the time. It’s also worth mentioning that phenibut has the ability to improve sleep quality and therefore regeneration of the body. Your wish is to chill out after a busy day, sleep peacefully and to be well-rested? Or maybe you want to shake out the nerves before public speaking? And maybe your only desire is to accept a daily dose of criticism from your boss who just behaves like that? If the answer is: “yes”, you should get a closer look at professor Perekalin’s discovery.

Occurrence: Phenibut doesn’t occur in nature. It’s obtained in laboratories by chemical synthesis. The first synthesis of phenibut was conducted in 1963 by the research team of professor Vsevolod Perekalin at the Herzen University (Sankt Petersburg, Russia, formerly USSR).

Biochemistry: Phenibut (beta-phenyl-gamma-aminobutyric acid) is an organic, synthetic chemical compound that belongs to a group of aromatic amino acids. It is obtained by connecting GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) with phenol. It has a high bioavailability – in the range of 60%. Phenibut is freely soluble in water so it easily and quickly penetrates into all tissues and then it is stored there. In the liver it is converted into pharmacologically inactive  metabolites. Thanks to the presence of phenol, phenibut easily crosses the blood-brain barrier – in contrast to GABA. Moreover, it directly influences GABA receptors.

Fun fact: Phenibut was sent to outer space in order to test the effectiveness of this compound. It was one of the elements of a first aid kit for the astronauts who took part in an experimental space program “Apollo-Soyuz”. During the space mission, phenibut helped the astronauts to quiet down the mind, decrease stress level and relax but it didn’t reduce productivity.

Apollo-Soyuz (official name: Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) was the first international space mission carried out by the United States and the Soviet Union in July 1975. This was a joint spaceflight of a Soviet spaceship “Soyuz-19” and an American spaceship Apollo. This unforgettable “handshake in space” was considered to be the end of the Space Race, which had begun in 1957 with the launch of Sputnik 1.