What is L-Huperzine A?

L-Huperzine A ([5R-(5, 9 , 11E]-S-amino-11-ethylidene -5, 6, 9, 10-tetrahydro-7 -methyl-5, 9 -methanocyclooctapyridin-2(1H)-one) is an alkaloid isolated from the Chinese club moss Huperzia serrata. L-Huperzine A is the natural form of Huperzine A and has been shown to be up to 3 times more potent than synthetic DL forms on the market.

What does it do?

L-Huperzine A is a potent, reversible, fast-acting acetylcholine esterase (AChE) inhibitor. Acetylcholine (ACh) is a major neurotransmitter in the brain and is known to be involved in many aspects of cognition. AChE is responsible for breaking down acetylcholine in the brain. When AChE is inhibited levels of ACh increase in the brain. L-Huperzine A readily crosses the Blood Brain Barrier and has been shown to have a stronger AChE inhibiting effect than donepezil and Galantamine.

Acetylcholine declines with age and decreased acetylcholine levels have been implicated in a number of memory-related conditions such as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease. Increased levels of acetylcholine have been shown to be beneficial in these conditions as well as in healthy young people.

Recent research shows L-Huperzine A also has 2 additional remarkable effects on the brain. It protects NMDA (N-Methyl-D-Asparate) receptors (by acting as an NMDA antagonist), it stimulates the synthesis of Nerve Growth Factor and up-regulates NGF receptors, both of which promote youthful cognitive functioning.




For those who are unsure whether or not L-Huperzine A works,
you will get your answers here.
For the next 30 days I will be testing out L-Huperzine A, and see whether or not it lives up to our expectations.


My official start will be on Monday March 17th, a school day.

Stats

Age: 17
Weight: 196 lbs
BF: 16%
Body Type: Mesomorph
Height: 5'8
Brain Size: "Ain't nothing but a peanut" - Ronnie Coleman

Goals
-Better class performance
-Greater ability to recall information
-Better test grades

Review Criteria (on a 1-10 scale, 1 being the worst, 10 being best)

~Concentration
~Memory
~Learning


Dosing:

Starting on monday, March 17th
I will take 200 mcg of L-Huperzine A or 2 pills ED.

Also, its perfect timing as well since this Monday is the start of a new semester, so its a fresh start,
and effectively becomes a better way to properly gauge the effects of L-Huperzine A, come report card day.

Now I would like to conclude this post with a BIG THANKS to the President of Unique Nutrition, Steve Silwa. I couldnt have gotten this log without the big guy!

Here is the website of his company
http://www.cognitivenutrition.com/

Anyway, I will post everyday for 30 days starting monday.
And not to mention, I will be getting more Huperzine A even after this bottle, so you can continue to see the effects of L-Huperzine A all the way till report card day. (which is 6 weeks from now).

I will post my test grades, class performance, and ultimately the report card.

Just took my first dose (100 mcg)
and its the morning before class.


Interesting to see how it turns out. In any case Im going to dose another 100 mcg right after i get home from school (gotta do homework)

Does anyone have any suggestions on timing and also if i infact should ramp up my dosage?

I noticed my ability to focus onto study materials was noticeably improved in school.

I already took the second 100 mcg pill 7 hours after, at around 4:30.
going to hit the gym first and then go hit the books.

I have a math exam this friday, and a french quiz this friday as well.
Lets see if the l huperzine A lives up to the first line of exam study sessions.

Mood was much more elevated, dunno if thats a placebo, but i noticed how i was able to socialize with friends more, got them to laugh, and i wasnt bringing up meaningless and empty conversations (like hey whats up? or, soooo how was your weekend?)

could be placebo but we'll see
only time can tell.
going to make sure i have 7-8 hours sleep this whole week. at latest i will be sleeping at 11 pm.

So that being said,

Rating for today:
~Concentration- 8
~Memory- 9 (was horrible before today)
~Learning- 10 (i actually held onto EVERY thing i was taught in school today)

Seems to be a good first experience.

Focus was great today, although i get tired EASILY,
most likely because the classes were boring.
I was able to concentrate and absorb everything my teachers were talking about, and also read and absorb w.e information i got from handouts or textbooks.

I love this thing already. BTW, I have a math exam on thursday....
looks like alot of studying to do.
Especially on linear and quadratic trig equations.
Lets hope L-huperzine A helps on this aspect.

Mood was sorta downish today, since I left my metrocard (its a new york thing) at home, and when I went to take the bus, I found out I left it at home, so I had to run home, get the card, come back, and I missed the other buses.
So, I was late to class. Pissed me off slightly. But at least I was able to talk with many people, although some people are hard to socialize with since they are plain assholes.

Rating for Today:
~Focus-8 (Although I slept in the classes where i was learning old information)
~Learning-9 (Absorbed all the materials in class, just need to review a bit)
~Memory-10 (Able to recall information in my AP biology class and Math class without it being fuzzy)

yeaah i think so too!

Its pretty good, not all fast and speedy like adderall, but its subtle and you notice it working,
best of all no stimulant related crashes

BTW, what do you think about PEA (phenylethylamine)
is it great for focus and studying?

I have a big bottle of Generic Labz Stim'd Out (PEA, Caffeine, Norhordenine and Bioperine)

Are you still alive?

fortunately yes. the L huperzine A didnt kill me lol.

sorry for the slow posting. it has gotten slow after having 2-3 tests every week, weird how the frequency of exams increased dramatically this marking period.

but here are my posts i havent made.

March 22nd

Results were pretty good so far

French quiz went extremely well, in under 5 minutes, i was able to memorize everything that was supposed to be studied overnight for the french quiz.

Nice.

AP biology quiz, was a 95, missed just ONE part.
U.S history exam went extremely well, it wasnt anything to memorize moreso than to derive conclusions based on what happened (events)
Math exam was bad, since i was late to class. But i answered everything that i could (given that i had about 20 minutes to finish 45 minute exam)


~Focus-10 (no daydreams)
I was the only one paying attention during my AP biology lecture. nice.
~Learning-10
(Able to absorb everything efficiently in a time restrained enviroment)
~Memory-10 (Great increase from last week, i love it)


________________________________________________________________________
currently im dosing at 200 mcg,
and im taking them both in the morning.
works better than taking 100 mcg in the morning and another during the day.
________________________________________________________________________
March 25th
Great focus today in class, AP biology class, I finished up on the human digestive system and now moving on to 4 chapter (120 pages of information) exam next week monday. Awesome.

Finally figured out how resistance in different types of circuits work. Same with current and voltage. Alot of conceptual and algebraic things to remember.
Totally have it all wrapped up.


Physics Exam on thursday.


~Focus-10
~Learning-10
~Memory-9 (some small gaps to fill in with just 10 minutes of studying)

_________________________________________________________________________
March 25th

Im down with the cold right now, struck me hard
oh well, im still doing MUCH better in school now.

Took a french exam on thursday, totally owned that test. Cant wait for the results.

are you noticing an increased focus while studying the most boring texts? I'm going through a particular textbook right now that's sooo friggin boring! I can focus on most other things in life with no problem but studying really knocks me out sometimes.

I can't decide on what to try first between huperzineA or pyritinol. they both are supposed to increase concentration and both are recommended by LifeMirage.

by the way, i have seen people mention that huperzine A should not be taken by young people. do a search on the imminst forum.

L-Huperzine A can be used at any age 5 and under (ideally those over 12).

I can read anything so long as itll help me improve my grades. that being said, i guess thats my source of motivation, like anything you need to have some form of motivation to get something done, in order to.. well...get it done lol.
lifemirage should be able to fill you in on what helps improve motivation
i'm assuming something like l-dopa can help

______________________________________

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

I might say that Im a very good responder to L-Huperzine A
Just got back my physics final that i took last thursday,
guess what i got? JUST GUESS!!!! LOL

100 BIITCHES!!!
Nothing wrong at all!!! WOOOT!
French quiz wasnt as good....... got a 90... LOL!!!
French Exam will be given back shortly.

The physics final was on potential drop, power, wattage, circuits, resistance, current. AWESOME.
Gonna scan tommorow and show you guys as proof.

And normally on my physics exam I get 55-65 normally
and so my teacher did not believe at all that i received a 100 (no one in my class and only a few kids in my grade (1000 kids) recieved a 100

So he ran the scantron in the machine twice to make sure it wasnt a mistake.
HAHAH

____________________
~Focus-10
~Learning-8 (fell asleep in my AP biology class )
~Memory-9 (small gaps, but bulk of the knowledge is retained)

im wondering if kids would even see much of a difference at such a young age, i mean, those neurotransmitters are pretty abundant in kids anyway. kids also have very plastic wiring of the nervous system, so they tend to learn at a rapid rate.

That being said, i wonder if
my current cognitive problems are stemming from the fact that when i was 3 i accidently drank alot of Soju (korean liquor) and blacked out.
I dont know what kind of effect this had on my brain. I just know that throughout elementary school and middle school i had tough times with stuttering and expressing my thoughts with words. I tended to use the word, ummm or like, ALOT in any given sentence.

Even adults can have problems seeing a difference but this is due more to perception than effect. Anyone at any age can have impaired levels of neurotransmitters or receptor functioning, hence various learning disorders, add, etc. That said I usually prescribe L-Huperzine A to kids only when there is some problem that may benefit from usage.

ophor, that's tremendous. congrats on your improvements and grades.
i will likely give huperzine a try if my current "project" pyritinol does not work out.

so do you think that huperzine is really improving your attention and cognition when studying really dense texts? also you said it helped with your physics. did you really feel like you were "getting it" all of the sudden? did you FEEL smart? haha

I think primarily, focus is better due to the fact that im soaking more of the stuff, theres no more reason for me to look over the text more than twice, so it gets stuff done quicker and prevents that frustration that ruins focus. Also when the teacher speaks, i dont forget what the person said 2 seconds ago, so i can actually keep paying attention to the new things the teachers say.

and yeah my test grades jumped ever since i've been on huperzine so i think its definitely working.
i think when you are studying dense texts, you still would need to close your room door and yell at everyone in the house to shut up for a couple hours lol.

Also what i noticed was that my ability to make conversations are remarkably improved. no forgetting what i said a couple seconds ago, not knowing what else to say. good thing about something like L-huperzine A is that it doesnt take a month or two to start working. takes about a couple days (less than a week)


even though L-Huperzine A is great, dont expect it to produce miracles, it wont turn you into some eidetic(photographic) memory freak.

does splitting the doses up really matter? I've been taking 200mcg daily but just taking both pills in the morning upon waking.

thats exactly how i do it. in my opinion, it works better that way
but in the long run, i doubt its any different than running it throughout the day.
half life is 7 hours i believe but dont quote me.

For LifeMirage.

For how long can i take hyperzine without health problems and in which dose..?

Do you recommend to take also cdp choline or maybe this combination results in "acetylcholine overload"..?

Is it a right method to take hyperzine instead of choline to avoid depletion of acetylcholine when i am taking racetams..?

thank you..

Based on all available research you could take it your entire life. The dose depends on your age, other supplements, and risk of neurodegenerative disorders. Generally 100-400 mcg.

Cdp-choline can be taken with huperzine A in lower doses without concern of too much acetylcholine. It's quite easy to notice any signs of too much ACh and thus lower your dose accordingly.

There is no exact right or wrong in determining nootropic combinations. Racetams has not shown any hard science regarding lowering ACh levels. However generally there is a noted improvement when using the 2 together. It is not known which would truly be "better" to add to a racetam.

sorry for the period of delay, i have finished through that bottle of Huperzine A

and I will be ordering more.

I just love it that much.


On a side note, the time i was on L-huperzine A has been GREAT.
My grades have been SIGNIFICANTLY increased.

I have moved to the top rank of my physics class, from the bottom.
From averages of 30-50's on the exams, I finally get 90's on the exams EASILY.
If its a very demanding test, I do get 80's but thats when the rest of the class gets 70 and lower.

French exams, I get MUCH higher on the exams as well, from 40's to now 70's and 80's and even 90's.

AP biology, i recieve 90's nonetheless with or without Huperzine-A however it has made my studying MUCH smoother and i retained much more information without having to look back at the notes.

Gym class.. iss well..... not really utilizing any brainpower lol.
My essays have also been dramatically improved. Structure of essays and their focus are of MUCH higher quality.

Before my ideas veered off into different topics on essays and cost many valuable points.

Math class, has been far better, learning trig equations and geometry has finally been understandable, and even with few days of sleep deprivation my focus was still far better than before using Huperzine-A
__________________


To conclude, I would like to thank SO MUCH, Steve Silwa, President of Cognitive Nutrition for supplying me with a bottle for logging purposes.

And thanks to everyone who read this log.



BTW this is not an end to the log, as i will be continuing to use L-Huperzine A

im curious as to how your progress goes after you stop taking it. Does your brain revert to its previous state or just regress slowly, or maintain the current ability realized after being on a bottle of huperzine

Based on how it works it's effects would wear off in a matter of days.

would it have a positive effect on the synaptic clefts?
cuz i noticed that i do much better in school and able to learn much better
even after finishing the bottle. its been about 2 weeks so far.

maybe its coming from the increased NGF production that huperzine A causes.
hard to explain but it seems as if huperzine removed this foggy feeling of confusion and slowness.