Phenibut is a nootropic compound derived from a neurotransmitter known as GABA. This was achieved by a phenyl group to GABA, thus resulting in a compound called Phenibut (β-Phenyl-GABA). This insanely effective derivative is able to enter your brain and lower levels of anxiety and stress.
The intent was to create a chemical that would help users remain calm without sedating them with drugs like xanax. Phenibut is very potent and extremely effective in reducing stress and anxiety. It is commonly used as a potent sleep aid and has a pretty long half life as well.
The dark developmental history of this compound
I find This chemical extremely interesting due to its somewhat dark developmental history. The Soviet Union developed Phenibut in the 1960s for the Russian cosmonaut program.
They allegedly did this because the Soviets were having so many disastrous problems with their space program. Apparently there were too many manned rockets exploding and killing the cosmonauts upon entering the atmosphere. Many of the cosmonauts were terrified and on the brink of a mental breakdowns because they had a high chance of being blown up at work.
So the Soviets had their chemists take GABA and alter it with a phynl group in hopes of creating a drug that would calm their nerves so much that they would not care about anything.
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