Overview of Vinpocetine Benefits & Effectiveness

If you have been researching natural brain supplements, chances are that you have come across the name Vinpocetine and heard good things about this herbal compound.

Vinpocetine is now widely used in Alzheimer’s medications, nootropic supplements like Alpha Brain and as a standalone health product sold by many nutrition stores.

What are the purported benefits of Vinpocetine and how effective is it really?

In this article, we will take a closer look at some of the ways Vinpocetine works to help you understand how it can positively affect your brainpower. We will also weigh Vinpocetine benefits with potential side effects so you can determine whether this memory booster is right for you.

Vinpocetine

Herbal Supplement

Mental Energy

Memory

Brain Health

How It Works:

• Increases blood flow & brain metabolism
• Supports energy, focus & memory
• Combats free radicals & oxidative damage

Dosage:

Between 10 - 60 mg per day

Safety:

Rated Possibly Safe

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Vinpocetine Introduction

Vinpocetine is a biosynthetic alkaloid, harvested from Vincamine extract which is found in the periwinkle or Vinca Minor plant.

Both Vinpocetine and Vincamine occur naturally in this plant, but for many years it was only Vincamine that was used as a cerebroactive compound.

Later, when lab synthesis techniques were improved, Vinpocetine production started to outstrip Vincamine harvesting because the two display similar benefits but Vinpocetine has much lower risk of negative side effects.

Extensive lab work has gone into cultivating and synthesizing Vinpocetine to isolate this alkaloid from the other alkaloids that make up Vincamine. As such, it is technically called a natural derivative because it is now manufactured in a lab. This allows pharmaceutical companies to increase the purity of the extract which makes it much safer over Vincamine.

Vinpocetine is observed to combat neurological impairments and provide increased blood-flow to the brain. This can not only boost cognitive function in the short-term, it also has the effect of improving brain health over the long term.

You will see Vinpocetine referred to as a nootropic or cognitive enhancement supplement and as a neuroprotectant, meaning it can protect neurons from certain forms of brain damage.

It is sold as a prescription drug in Germany under its brand name of Cavinton and is used in the treatment of memory loss, age related mental decline as well as for ischemic stroke survivors. In the US and other countries around the world, it is a popular supplement on its own or in nootropic stacks such as Alpha Brain.

Vinpocetine Benefits

There are numerous studies demonstrating the effect that Vinpocetine has on blood flow to the brain. It is known as a cerebrovasodilator because it can increase circulation in the brain without changing blood pressure throughout the body.

Higher blood flow to the brain means that your brain cells are receiving more oxygen, glucose and other nutrients they need in order to generate energy. When more fuel is delivered to the brain, it results in better metabolism leading to higher levels of alertness and improved cognitive processing.

Another effect is to improve the removal of waste products from brain cells as well as supporting increased neuron growth and maintenance.

In one placebo-controlled experiment conducted on stroke patients, it was shown that the patients who were administered Vinpocetine were less impaired than the group that did not receive the medication.

Research also suggests that giving Vinpocetine to stroke survivors immediately after they suffered a stroke can prevent or even reverse some of the characteristic brain damage. It helps to reduce and possibly even prevent the chances of death or disability from ischemic strokes.

Ischemic strokes occur when blood clots stop the flow of blood in the brain. This causes neurons (brain cells) to die off because of a lack of oxygen. It is believed by some that using Vinpocetine right after these strokes will help against the clotting of blood. Other studies have found that it can actually reduce the risk of future strokes in individuals who have already suffered one.

These results are not limited to individuals who have suffered serious medical conditions. Many students and older individuals take it to enhance memory function in the brain and get rid of so-called “brain fog”.

Student say this nootropic allows them to study lots of material and retain much more of it compared to other stimulants like caffeine. If you work long hours doing highly technical tasks like mathematical analysis, Vinpocetine can improve your mental stamina so you do not get fatigued as early. It also seems to have a positive effect on mood and motivation, though this may be an indirect as opposed to direct result.

It can also be used to lessen the risk of contracting Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of neurological impairment. Elderly people have started taking it to slow down brain aging and boost learning and neuroplasticity.

Additional benefits and uses for Vinpocetine include the treatment of menopausal symptoms, seizure disorders, motion sickness prevention and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Healthcare providers will give Vinpocetine through an intravenous methods (IV) to treat stroke and seizures.

Vinpocetine Effects and Mechanisms

Vinpocetine has been identified as an anti-inflammatory agent, causing blood vessels to dilate so that more blood can flow through them towards the brain.

It is believed that neuroinflammatory responses are part of the reason why so many neurons die off in diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

Vincopetine is also believed to prevent neurons from becoming over-excited; if a neuron is excessively stimulated and caused to fire too often, it can result in excitotoxicity and the neuron will prematurely die.

Vinpocetine is found to protect against this risk by selectively inhibiting Na+ channels in the brain. This causes Ca+ ions to decrease in extracellular areas of striatal nerve endings. The result is that the excitability of your neurons is brought into better balance, causing less risk of exctitotoxicity.

Is Vinpocetine Safe?

Are there any reasons that you should not be taking Vinpocetine? Very few side effects have been identified with this supplement and most individuals react to it very well. There weren’t any serious side effects eported in studies of people with Alzheimer’s disease who were treatest with large doses (60 mg daily) of Vinpocetine.

However, some mild side effects can be observed such as nausea, headache, stomach pain, nervousness, dizziness and sleep problems. Most of these effects are very short-term and will resolve within a day or two. If any side effects persist for longer periods of time, you should speak to your doctor for further advice.

Blood-thinning agents (found in Tylenol and other pain relievers) should not be used when taking Vinpocetine. Women that are pregnant or breastfeeding should avoid use of Vinpocetine until further research is done.

Patients that have problems with heavier blood clotting should avoid use of Vinpocetine. This is because there is a slight increase in the risk of bleeding to those with blood clotting. Patients that have just undergone surgery should also avoid Vinpocetine due to this reason. Stop using Vinpocetine at least two weeks before scheduled surgery.

Final Thoughts

The benefits of Vinpocetine are quite extensive: not only can it improve the underlying health of your brain tissue, it can also enhance cognitive capacities related to memory, learning, alertness, clarity of thought and speed of recall.

Vinpocetine is regarded as a very safe supplement for individuals who are healthy and do not have a history of blood clotting concerns.

Vinpocetine should be taken orally each day. For treating thinking and/or memory disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, it is suggest that the daily dosage is 5-10 mg three times. You can take advantage of Vinpocetine benefits by purchasing this supplement on its own or consider using it in a stack like Alpha Brain.

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