Bemethyl (bemitil)
NootropicsApproved (Russia)Also known as: Bemitil, Bemithyl, Metaprot, Bemactor, Antihot, 2-ethylthiobenzimidazole, 2-(ethylthio)benzimidazole hydrobromide
Bemethyl, known in the Russian literature as bemitil and sold in the region under names including Metaprot, Bemactor and Antihot, is 2-ethylthiobenzimidazole, normally handled as the hydrobromide salt. It came out of work led by Vladimir Vinogradov at the Department of Pharmacology of the Military Medical Academy in Leningrad during the 1970s, which set out to define a class of drugs the authors called actoprotectors: agents that raise tolerance of physical work without raising oxygen consumption or heat production.
Overview
At A Glance
Bemethyl has no single identified receptor target. Reviews of the actoprotector class attribute its effects to a metabolic action: increased synthesis of RNA and of proteins, particularly gluconeogenesis enzymes in liver and kidney and mitochondrial enzymes, which supports lactat…
Overview
Bemethyl, known in the Russian literature as bemitil and sold in the region under names including Metaprot, Bemactor and Antihot, is 2-ethylthiobenzimidazole, normally handled as the hydrobromide salt. It came out of work led by Vladimir Vinogradov at the Department of Pharmacology of the Military Medical Academy in Leningrad during the 1970s, which set out to define a class of drugs the authors called actoprotectors: agents that raise tolerance of physical work without raising oxygen consumption or heat production. Bemethyl was the first and remains the reference member of that class. It was given to Soviet cosmonauts, used in preparing athletes for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games and issued widely in the Soviet armed forces, and after 1991 its official manufacture stopped in Russia before production resumed in Ukraine (PMID: 24009833). It was later re-registered in Russia as the capsule medicine Metaprot (marketing authorization holder AnviLab, manufacturer Farmproekt, product instruction approved 2014), indicated for restoring working capacity and for asthenia after infection, surgery or head injury (Russian State Register of Medicines, Metaprot). The proposed mechanism is metabolic rather than receptor based. Reviews describe increased synthesis of RNA and protein, particularly gluconeogenesis enzymes in liver and kidney and mitochondrial enzymes, which supports reuse of lactate and maintenance of ATP production under load, along with an indirect antioxidant effect through induction of antioxidant enzymes rather than direct radical scavenging. The authors of that review state plainly that the specific mechanism behind the protein expression effect remains unknown (PMID: 24009833). Animal work is extensive and almost all Russian. In rats, bemethyl distributed into liver, brain, kidney, spleen, heart, skeletal muscle, lung, adipose tissue and testes after single and repeated oral administration, accumulating most in liver (PMID: 17181062). It produced a cerebroprotective effect and normalized brain energy metabolism in rats after craniocerebral trauma (PMID: 15514724), a hepatoprotective effect with reduced fibrosis in rats with experimental cirrhosis (PMID: 16845942), and it strengthened the antioxidant adaptation produced by intermittent hypoxic training in rats (PMID: 16282998). Rat metabolism was mapped in 2021, with nine metabolites identified in 24 h urine after a single oral dose of 330 mg/kg and a benzimidazole-acetylcysteine conjugate as the most abundant (PMID: 34445727). Human data are thin by modern standards. A pharmacokinetic study in healthy volunteers given a single 250 mg oral dose reported a mean peak serum concentration of 0.91 microg/mL at about 1.06 h (PMID: 21870773). Clinical reports cover small groups: 15 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (PMID: 10572751), seven children with epilepsy (PMID: 9324390) and patients with asthenic syndromes after moderate brain injury (PMID: 16404942). No large randomized placebo-controlled trial appears in the indexed English-language literature. Regulatory reality matters here. Bemethyl has no FDA or EMA authorization. In Ukraine it has been certified as a dietary supplement rather than a medicine, while in Russia it is registered as the medicine Metaprot (PMID: 24009833, PMID: 21870773). The World Anti-Doping Agency placed 2-ethylsulfanyl-1H-benzimidazole on its Monitoring Program from 2018 to 2021 and removed it for 2022, so it is on neither the current Prohibited List nor the Monitoring Program; an excretion study in six volunteers showed the parent drug and its glucuronide stay detectable in urine for weeks (PMID: 30346653). What is sold online as a bemethyl solution is a research chemical rather than the capsule product used in the published studies, and nothing verifies its identity or content.
Potential Research Fields
Chemical Information
IUPAC Name
Not yet available
CAS Number
63513-71-3 (hydrobromide); 14610-11-8 (free base)
Molecular Formula
C9H11BrN2S (hydrobromide); C9H10N2S (free base)
Molecular Mass
259.17 g/mol (hydrobromide salt)
Dosing & Protocols
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Interactions
Contraindications
Reported contraindications in the Russian clinical literature are hypoglycemia and concurrent barbiturate treatment (PMID: 24009833). Mechanism-based caution applies to drugs cleared by cytochrome P450, since bemethyl acted as a mixed-type P450 inducer in rat liver and altered monooxygenase activity in human lymphocytes in vitro (PMID: 12227093). Not studied in human pregnancy; the one rat study found lower post-implantation loss, higher fetal weight and faster reflex maturation rather than harm (PMID: 17402591). The Russian Metaprot label lists severe hepatic dysfunction, epilepsy, hypertension, glaucoma, coronary disease, arrhythmias, pregnancy and lactation as contraindications.
Research Disclaimer
This interaction data is compiled from published research and community reports. It may not be exhaustive. Always consult a healthcare professional before combining compounds.
$74.99
$0.0250
1
1
liquid
| Vendor | Product | Form | Qty | Price | $/mg | Coupon | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Bemethyl 100 mg/mL, 30 mL | liquid | 30 mL (100 mg/mL)● In Stock | $74.99BEST | $0.025 | — |
Tracking since Sep 7, 2026 · 1 data point
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Related Compounds
View All9-Me-BC (9-Methyl-β-carboline)
NootropicsPreclinical9-Methyl--carboline (9-Me-BC) is a synthetic -carboline alkaloid that has drawn nootropic-community interest for a preclinical property that is genuinely unusual among -carbolines: in rodent and cell-culture studies it appears to stimulate the dopaminergic phenotype - raising tyrosine hydroxylase, the number of differentiated dopamine neurons and dopamine content - while also showing neuroprotective, neurorestorative and anti-inflammatory effects, plus in-vitro MAO-A/MAO-B inhibition [PMID:17913302, PMID:20374418, PMID:32285253].
Aniracetam
NootropicsApproved (Italy)Aniracetam is a pyrrolidinone in the racetam family, developed by Hoffmann-La Roche under the code Ro 13-5057.
Bromantane
NootropicsRussia ApprovedBromantane is an atypical psychostimulant and anxiolytic developed in the 1980s at the Zakusov Institute of Pharmacology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, originally created as an adaptogen for Soviet military and elite athletic use and later approved in Russia for the treatment of neurasthenic and asthenic disorders under the trade name Ladasten.
Cyclazodone
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Dihexa
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Fasoracetam (NS-105)
NootropicsPhase 2Fasoracetam is a racetam developed by Nippon Shinyaku in Japan under the code NS-105 and taken into clinical development for vascular dementia.
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Protocols, calculator & safety for Bemethyl (bemitil)
Research Score
0 PubMed studies
Quality Indicators
Data Completeness
63%Quick Facts
Half-Life
Not established in humans; in healthy volunteers given a single 250 mg oral dose of the Metaprot capsule form, peak serum ethylthiobenzimidazole averaged 0.91 microg/mL at about 1.06 h, and no terminal half-life was reported (PMID: 21870773)
Molecular Weight
259.17 g/mol (hydrobromide salt)
Administration
Oral
CAS Number
63513-71-3 (hydrobromide); 14610-11-8 (free base)
Trial Phase
Approved (Russia)
Research Disclaimer
This information is for educational and research purposes only. Not intended as medical advice. Consult a healthcare professional before use.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bemethyl (bemitil) used for in research?
Bemethyl, known in the Russian literature as bemitil and sold in the region under names including Metaprot, Bemactor and Antihot, is 2-ethylthiobenzimidazole, normally handled as the hydrobromide salt. It came out of work led by Vladimir Vinogradov at the Department of Pharmacology of the Military Medical Academy in Leningrad during the 1970s, which set out to define a class of drugs the authors called actoprotectors: agents that raise tolerance of physical work without raising oxygen consumption or heat production. Bemethyl was the first and remains the reference member of that class. It was given to Soviet cosmonauts, used in preparing athletes for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games and issued widely in the Soviet armed forces, and after 1991 its official manufacture stopped in Russia before production resumed in Ukraine (PMID: 24009833). It was later re-registered in Russia as the capsule medicine Metaprot (marketing authorization holder AnviLab, manufacturer Farmproekt, product instruction approved 2014), indicated for restoring working capacity and for asthenia after infection, surgery or head injury (Russian State Register of Medicines, Metaprot).
The proposed mechanism is metabolic rather than receptor based. Reviews describe increased synthesis of RNA and protein, particularly gluconeogenesis enzymes in liver and kidney and mitochondrial enzymes, which supports reuse of lactate and maintenance of ATP production under load, along with an indirect antioxidant effect through induction of antioxidant enzymes rather than direct radical scavenging. The authors of that review state plainly that the specific mechanism behind the protein expression effect remains unknown (PMID: 24009833).
Animal work is extensive and almost all Russian. In rats, bemethyl distributed into liver, brain, kidney, spleen, heart, skeletal muscle, lung, adipose tissue and testes after single and repeated oral administration, accumulating most in liver (PMID: 17181062). It produced a cerebroprotective effect and normalized brain energy metabolism in rats after craniocerebral trauma (PMID: 15514724), a hepatoprotective effect with reduced fibrosis in rats with experimental cirrhosis (PMID: 16845942), and it strengthened the antioxidant adaptation produced by intermittent hypoxic training in rats (PMID: 16282998). Rat metabolism was mapped in 2021, with nine metabolites identified in 24 h urine after a single oral dose of 330 mg/kg and a benzimidazole-acetylcysteine conjugate as the most abundant (PMID: 34445727).
Human data are thin by modern standards. A pharmacokinetic study in healthy volunteers given a single 250 mg oral dose reported a mean peak serum concentration of 0.91 microg/mL at about 1.06 h (PMID: 21870773). Clinical reports cover small groups: 15 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (PMID: 10572751), seven children with epilepsy (PMID: 9324390) and patients with asthenic syndromes after moderate brain injury (PMID: 16404942). No large randomized placebo-controlled trial appears in the indexed English-language literature.
Regulatory reality matters here. Bemethyl has no FDA or EMA authorization. In Ukraine it has been certified as a dietary supplement rather than a medicine, while in Russia it is registered as the medicine Metaprot (PMID: 24009833, PMID: 21870773). The World Anti-Doping Agency placed 2-ethylsulfanyl-1H-benzimidazole on its Monitoring Program from 2018 to 2021 and removed it for 2022, so it is on neither the current Prohibited List nor the Monitoring Program; an excretion study in six volunteers showed the parent drug and its glucuronide stay detectable in urine for weeks (PMID: 30346653). What is sold online as a bemethyl solution is a research chemical rather than the capsule product used in the published studies, and nothing verifies its identity or content.
What forms does Bemethyl (bemitil) come in?
Bemethyl (bemitil) is available in liquid form.
How much does Bemethyl (bemitil) cost?
Prices start at $74.99 across 1 verified vendor.
How do I compare Bemethyl (bemitil) vendors?
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Research Tools
Related Compounds
View All9-Me-BC (9-Methyl-β-carboline)
NootropicsPreclinical9-Methyl--carboline (9-Me-BC) is a synthetic -carboline alkaloid that has drawn nootropic-community interest for a preclinical property that is genuinely unusual among -carbolines: in rodent and cell-culture studies it appears to stimulate the dopaminergic phenotype - raising tyrosine hydroxylase, the number of differentiated dopamine neurons and dopamine content - while also showing neuroprotective, neurorestorative and anti-inflammatory effects, plus in-vitro MAO-A/MAO-B inhibition [PMID:17913302, PMID:20374418, PMID:32285253].
Aniracetam
NootropicsApproved (Italy)Aniracetam is a pyrrolidinone in the racetam family, developed by Hoffmann-La Roche under the code Ro 13-5057.
Bromantane
NootropicsRussia ApprovedBromantane is an atypical psychostimulant and anxiolytic developed in the 1980s at the Zakusov Institute of Pharmacology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, originally created as an adaptogen for Soviet military and elite athletic use and later approved in Russia for the treatment of neurasthenic and asthenic disorders under the trade name Ladasten.
Cyclazodone
NootropicsPreclinicalCyclazodone is the N-cyclopropyl derivative of pemoline, a 4-oxazolidinone stimulant.
Dihexa
NootropicsPreclinicalDihexa is a synthetic peptide analogue of the angiotensin IV metabolite LVV-hemorphin-7, developed at Washington State University.
Fasoracetam (NS-105)
NootropicsPhase 2Fasoracetam is a racetam developed by Nippon Shinyaku in Japan under the code NS-105 and taken into clinical development for vascular dementia.
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