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Coluracetam

Coluracetam (MKC-231) is a racetam drug purported to be a cognitive enhancing drug. It is able to preserve choline uptake into neurons when they are otherwise impaired, but currently there is no evidence for inherent nootropic effects.

Our evidence-based analysis on coluracetam features 14 unique references to scientific papers.

Kamal Patel
Research analysis led by Kamal Patel.
All content reviewed by the Examine.com Team. Published:
Last Updated:

Summary of Coluracetam

Primary Information, Benefits, Effects, and Important Facts

Coluracetam (MKC-231) is a synthetic racetam drug purported to be a nootropic compound. It does not have a large body of evidence investigating it, but the mechanisms of action (as well as structute) appear to be very distinct from other racetam compounds like Piracetam or Aniracetam.

Coluracetam appears to interact with a process known as high affinity choline uptake (HACU for short), which is the rate-limiting step of drawing choline into a neuron for synthesis into the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Increasing the HACU rate appears to increase the activity of cholinergic neurons, so it is a desired target for cognitive enhancement.

Interventions in rats (as there is no human evidence currently) support the usage of coluracetam at very low oral doses to preserve HACU that is otherwise impaired by the use of research drugs that are known to impair HACU. The limited evidence looking at the inherent effects of coluracetam on the HACU of normal neurons has failed to find any significant interaction.

Coluracetam has also been noted to associate with choline transporters physically, but it is not known exactly what it does once associated.

Overall, there is currently insufficient evidence to support the usage of coluracetam for cognitive enhancement. Further studies are needed to see if it has a therapeutic role in instances where HACU may be impaired (such as Alzheimer's disease).


Things To Know & Note

Is a Form Of

Primary Function:

Also Known As

MKC-231, BCI-540, 2-(2-oxopyrrolidin-1-yl)-N-(2, 3-dimethyl-5, 6, 7, 8-tetrahydrofuro2, 3-b quinolin-4-yl)acetoamide

Caution Notice

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How to Take Coluracetam

Recommended dosage, active amounts, other details

The animal research on coluracetam uses an oral dose of 300-3,000mcg/kg bodyweight, which is roughly translated into a human dose of 48-480mcg/kg or (for a 150lb person) 3.2-32.7mg overall.

It appears to have very rapid kinetics, with a peak in blood at around 30 minutes and on the decline within 3 hours. Due to this, supplementation may be time-dependent in relation to activity.

Scientific Research on Coluracetam

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1Sources and Structure

1.1Sources

Coluracetam (full structural name of 2-(2-oxopyrrolidin-1-yl)-N-(2,3-dimethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofuro2,3-b quinolin-4-yl)acetoamide and codenames of MKC-231 or BCI-540) is a racetam compound formulated as a nootropic for the purpose of cognitive enhancement.

Coluracetam is a synthetic drug of the racetam family designed to support cholinergic function, particular for the treatment of Alzheimer's

1.2Structure

A known metabolite is hydroxylated coluracetam on the 2-carbon of the pyrrolidinone backbone, it is sometimes referred to as M-MKC-231.[1] It appears inactive on the main mechanism of action coluracetam is known for (increasing HACU).[1]

Coluracetam is a highly modified pyrrolidinone backbone

2Pharmacology

2.1Serum

Plasma concentrations of coluracetam in rats following oral ingestion of 10mg/kg have been noted to be 4.289+/-0.641µg/mL (30 minutes), 0.717+/-0.350µg/mL (3 hours), and 0.037+/-0.010µg/mL (24 hours).[2] The kinetics following seven or fourteen days of supplementation was similar.[2]

Coluracetam has been detected in plasma following oral ingestion, and appears to be able to reach high levels within 30 minutes and is already on the decline within 3 hours

2.2Neurological

Oral intake of 10mg/kg coluracetam to rats has been noted to be detected in the brain at 30 minutes post-ingestion (210+/-54ng/g wet weight) and is detectable at three hours (30+/-16ng/g wet weight) but not a day after ingestion.[2] Supplementation of coluracetam for 7-14 days does not alter these kinetics.[2]

Coluracetam can be detected in neural tissue within 30 minutes of ingestion, and is significantly reduced in concentration within 3 hours

3Neurology

3.1Cholinergic Neurotransmission

High affinity choline uptake (HACU) is the uptake of choline at the synpase for the purpose of acetylcholine synthesis, and is seen as a rate-limiting step of acetylcholine synthesis. Coluracetam appears to associated with these transporters.[1]

Velocity of HACU correlates well with cholinergic neuron activity[3][4] and HACU is usually perturbed in Alzheimer's disease[5][6] (some contradictory data[7]).

HACU appears to be a rate-limiting step of acetylcholine synthesis

Coluracetam has been noted to, in rats treated with choline uptake inhibitors (such as AF64A[8]), increase choline uptake and acetylcholine synthesis[9] associated with an increase in Vmax (1.7-fold) and Bmax (1.6-fold) at 10nM concentration.[1] KM appears unaffected from coluracetam,[1] but is not inherently impaired by the research toxin AF64A.

HACU does not appear to be influence in hippocampal slices derived from rats not treated with choline uptake inhibitors,[10] with both the KM and Vmax being unaffected as well.[1] Additionally, ligand (HC-3) binding to cholinergic receptors in normal rats appears unaffected.[1]

Coluracetam appears to be able to increase the activity of this step when it is otherwise impaired but preliminary evidence suggests that this is not an inherent effect

Hippocampal concentrations of acetylcholine that are reduced by HACU inhibitors are able to be partially preserved with oral treatment of 300-1,000mcg/kg coluracetam over twelve days with no acute effect nor benefit with 3mg/kg.[11]

Coluracetam may be able to attenuate learning deficits seen with choline uptake inhibitors as assessed by water maze, and is active orally at the dosage of 1-10mg/kg in rats.[10] Elsewhere, the effects of 300-3,000mcg coluracetam have not been detected after single administration but were present (near full restoration of performance in a T-maze) after 12 days.[11] Benefits to cognition in this research model (AF64A treated) have been noted at 1-3mg/kg coluracetam to extend for up to two days after supplement cessation despite no detectable coluracetam in the brain (no significant benefit on the third day).[2]

One study has noted that the cholinergic dysfunction induced in rats by phencyclidine (a research drug to induce symptoms associated with schizophrenia[12]) also given 3mg/kg coluracetam twice daily resulted in significantly less cognitive disturbance (assessed by object recognition) although it was without effect on passive avoidance learning nor locomotor changes.[13]

Coluracetam appears to preserve and/or normalize cholinergic dysfunction in the presence of underactive of chemically impaired HACU, but there is no research to support an inherent cognitive boosting effect

3.2Glutaminergic Neurotransmission

In cultured corticol neurons, coluracetam is able to reduce the excitotoxicity caused by either glutamate or calcium influx but is ineffective against nitric oxide donors.[14] Practical significance of this data is uncertain as the tests were conducted at 10µM, a higher than normal concentration for this molecule.[14]

Suggests protective effects, but this information may not be relevant due to the high concentration used

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Takashina K, et al. MKC-231, a choline uptake enhancer: (3) Mode of action of MKC-231 in the enhancement of high-affinity choline uptake. J Neural Transm. (2008)
  2. ^ a b c d e Bessho T, et al. MKC-231, a choline-uptake enhancer: (1) long-lasting cognitive improvement after repeated administration in AF64A-treated rats. J Neural Transm. (2008)
  3. ^ Simon JR, Atweh S, Kuhar MJ. Sodium-dependent high affinity choline uptake: a regulatory step in the synthesis of acetylcholine. J Neurochem. (1976)
  4. ^ Yamamura HI, Snyder SH. High affinity transport of choline into synaptosomes of rat brain. J Neurochem. (1973)
  5. ^ Rodríguez-Puertas R, et al. Selective cortical decrease of high-affinity choline uptake carrier in Alzheimer's disease: an autoradiographic study using 3H-hemicholinium-3. J Neural Transm Park Dis Dement Sect. (1994)
  6. ^ Rylett RJ, Ball MJ, Colhoun EH. Evidence for high affinity choline transport in synaptosomes prepared from hippocampus and neocortex of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Brain Res. (1983)
  7. ^ Slotkin TA, et al. Regulatory changes in presynaptic cholinergic function assessed in rapid autopsy material from patients with Alzheimer disease: implications for etiology and therapy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. (1990)
  8. ^ Fisher A, et al. Long-term central cholinergic hypofunction induced in mice by ethylcholine aziridinium ion (AF64A) in vivo. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. (1982)
  9. ^ Takashina K, et al. MKC-231, a choline uptake enhancer: (2) Effect on synthesis and release of acetylcholine in AF64A-treated rats. J Neural Transm. (2008)
  10. ^ a b Bessho T, et al. Effect of the novel high affinity choline uptake enhancer 2-(2-oxopyrrolidin-1-yl)-N-(2,3-dimethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofuro{2,3-b} quinolin-4-yl)acetoamide on deficits of water maze learning in rats. Arzneimittelforschung. (1996)
  11. ^ a b Murai S, et al. MKC-231, a choline uptake enhancer, ameliorates working memory deficits and decreased hippocampal acetylcholine induced by ethylcholine aziridinium ion in mice. J Neural Transm Gen Sect. (1994)
  12. ^ Morris BJ, Cochran SM, Pratt JA. PCP: from pharmacology to modelling schizophrenia. Curr Opin Pharmacol. (2005)
  13. ^ Shirayama Y, et al. Subsequent exposure to the choline uptake enhancer MKC-231 antagonizes phencyclidine-induced behavioral deficits and reduction in septal cholinergic neurons in rats. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. (2007)
  14. ^ a b Akaike A, et al. Protective effect of MKC-231, a novel high affinity choline uptake enhancer, on glutamate cytotoxicity in cultured cortical neurons. Jpn J Pharmacol. (1998)

This page is regularly updated, to include the most recently available clinical trial evidence.

Each member of our research team is required to have no conflicts of interest, including with supplement manufacturers, food companies, and industry funders. The team includes nutrition researchers, registered dietitians, physicians, and pharmacists. We have a strict editorial process.

This page features 14 references. All factual claims are followed by specifically-applicable references. Click here to see the full set of references for this page.

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