Agmatine – for stress and depression

Briefly

• Agmatine fight stress;
• protects nerve cells from cortisol – antidepressant effect;
• agmatine prevented symptoms of alcohol withdrawal;
• Agmatine improves spatial memory consolidation;
• effectively treats neuropathic pain;
• has many neuroprotective properties;
• protects the blood-brain barrier;
• is an NMDA receptor antagonist;
• Agmatine is a safe drug with very few side effects.

Agmatine is a neurotransmitter which levels in the hippocampus are correlated with learning. There is no hard evidence that Agmatine improves memory or speeds up the learning process or improves concentration on the task at hand. However, there are indications that it does. Therefore, the substance is worth a closer look.

Agmatine is a derivative of arginine. It is formed in the body from this very compound, which is decarboxylated: arginine → CO2 + agmatine.

Agmatine has both body and mind effects. It helps people who work out at the gym and those who choose to sit over books. It’s an organic compound known for more than a century. Its discoverer, German Albrecht Kossel, received a Nobel Prize in 1910 but not for the discovery of agmatine.

Agmatine and lithium interact with the same NMDA receptors. In this way, the two substances enhance each other’s antidepressant effects. The study was conducted on rodents.

Enhances the analgesic effect of morphine, meaning morphine doses can be reduced. It also reduces opioid dependence. The study was conducted on rats.

Agmatine can reduce inflammation in muscles caused by intense training. For that reason, it is used by sportsmen both before and after training.

This amine is stored in nerve cells and is ejected into the body when needed, it has an effect on some of the enzymes.

Agmatine as a pre-workout

Before a workout, especially one at the gym, many athletes use so-called pre-workout supplements. They have various compositions, but most of them are mainly meant to stimulate the nervous system and increase blood supply to the muscles. Agmatine covers the latter aspect, i.e. pumps more blood to working muscles, which is supposed to both transport more nutrients to them and improve the mental well-being of the exerciser, instantly (albeit briefly) increasing the size of his muscles and enhancing the feeling of hardness and “overtraining” of a given muscle part.

Dosage and side effects

There are no documented studies on a larger number of patients regarding dosage. It is assumed that 0.5 to 1.5 grams of agmatine per day are used for training purposes. When used as an antidepressant or nootropic, larger doses are needed – 1 gram to 3 grams per day. It is also likely to be used over a long period of time. Even several years without a noticeable increase in tolerance and without serious side effects.

Do not use yohimbine when taking together with Agmatine. They act on the same receptor – α2A but in opposite ways. This can negate the effects of Agmatine.

Agmatine stacks

• Lithium – enhancing the antidepressant effect;
• fluoxetine, imipramine, bupropion and MK-801 (dizocilpine) – enhancing antidepressant effects. Dizocilpine even 100 times.

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/2/576
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091305714003475
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6251039/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8255568/