Vinpocetine (Periwinkle pharmaceuticals) : Molecule of the Day

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Vinpocetine (Periwinkle pharmaceuticals)

Category: Drugs
Posted on: March 2, 2007 9:00 AM, by Molecule of the Day

Vinpotecine is a derivative from a compound found in the lesser periwinkle plant:

# InChI=1/C22H26N2O2/c1-3-22-11-7-12-23-13-10-16-15-8-5-6-9-17(15)24(19(16)20(22)23)18(14-22)21(25)26-4-2/h5-6,8-9,14,20H,3-4,7,10-13H2,1-2H3/t20-,22+/m1/s1

If you ever went to one of those "smart bars" in the late 90's, theres a good chance you tippled some vinpocetine. I'm not sure whether it's actually effective, but people have looked at it for everything from Alzheimer's, to a prophylactic drug in stroke patients, to something for people who just want to feel a little smarter ("nootropics").