N-Acetyl Versions of Semax Selank Are They Really Better
I've talked about Semax and Selank before, but I haven't really covered the N-Acetyl amidate versions of both. After playing around with them, I think they blow the regular versions out of the water. Here's what's different and why I'd spend my money on these instead.
A quick note on nootropics
Before I get into this, I want to set the foundation. When you're hormonally optimized, using testosterone and the practices I talk about, you really don't need that many nootropics.
Most people approach the nootropic game wrong. They treat it as the foundation when it's really just the decorations on the house. Hormones are the foundation of a sharp, controlled mind.
So get your hormones checked first. These peptides are great ancillaries, not an end-all be-all.
Semax recap
Semax is a synthetic peptide derived from ACTH. It was originally developed in Russia for stroke recovery and cognitive impairment.
How it works:
- Binds to receptors in the brain that increase BDNF, supporting neuroplasticity
- Modulates dopamine and serotonin, which is why I think it's a better alternative to SSRIs (testosterone is the best alternative, but I digress)
- Boosts antioxidant defenses in the brain, protecting brain cells from oxidative stress
Benefits include better focus and mental clarity, improved memory, neuroprotection after brain injury, and reduced anxiety. One thing I'll add that doesn't get talked about enough, Semax is great for central nervous system recovery after intense exercise. I love taking it post-workout to wind down the CNS.
Regular Semax dosing: 200 to 600 mcg, two to three times per day, intranasally or subcutaneously. I prefer subcutaneous because it works faster.
Selank recap
Selank is another Russian-developed peptide, derived from Tuftsin. This one is more of an anxiolytic.
How it works:
- Influences the GABAergic system, calming the nervous system
- Increases serotonin metabolism to stabilize mood
- Has mild immunomodulatory effects, which can help people with autoimmune conditions that come with anxiety and depression
Benefits include reduced anxiety, increased focus (sounds counterintuitive, but trust me, you have to take it to understand), better mental clarity under stress, and mood stabilization.
When you stack Semax and Selank, you get a calm, driven focus instead of a jittery one.
Regular Selank dosing: Same as Semax. 200 to 600 mcg per administration.
What the N-Acetyl versions actually are
When we add an N-Acetyl group to either peptide, we get a modified version with distinct properties. Acetylation enhances stability and bioavailability, making the peptide more potent and longer lasting.
Think of it like supplement extracts. You can take turmeric, or you can take turmeric extract. The extract is more concentrated and lasts longer. Same idea here.
N-Acetyl Semax Amidate
- More resistant to enzymatic breakdown
- Binds more effectively to brain receptors for stronger cognitive and neuroprotective effects
- Crosses the blood-brain barrier more efficiently
- Smaller doses, less frequent dosing
I can say without a shadow of a doubt I felt a stronger effect from N-Acetyl Semax versus regular Semax. With regular Semax, I'm kind of, "eh." My theory is that if you have strong dopamine signaling from testosterone already, you might not feel much from regular Semax.
Dosing: 100 to 300 mcg, one to two times per day. You can go up to 1 mg subcutaneously if you want a stronger effect.
N-Acetyl Selank Amidate
- Increased stability and stronger anxiolytic effects
- Longer lasting, ideal if you only want to dose once in the morning
- Better blood-brain barrier penetration
- Lower dose required
For people with chronic anxiety, this one is huge. Chronic anxiety tends to be more crippling than lack of focus, and N-Acetyl Selank handles it better than the regular version.
Dosing: 100 to 300 mcg, one to two times per day. For severe anxiety or chronic stress, I'd start at 500 mcg and work up to 1 mg per dose.
Which version is right for you
Regular Semax is fine if you want a mild cognitive or mood boost with short-term effects. N-Acetyl Semax is for anyone wanting stronger, longer-lasting cognitive enhancement, neuroprotection, or focus with fewer doses.
Regular Selank works for mild to moderate anxiety with shorter duration. N-Acetyl Selank is better for potent, extended anxiety relief and mood stabilization, especially with chronic stress or more severe anxiety.
I get messages all the time, "I have severe anxiety, how much Selank can I take? Is there a limit?" There's probably a threshold where more just doesn't matter. Try the N-Acetyl version first. You'll likely notice a bigger effect.
Injection vs nasal spray
Nasal spray works. I just don't think it works as well.
The injection actually works faster, even though you'd think injecting in your belly would be slower since it's further from your brain. Systemically, it's faster and I get more benefit. Injecting is also more convenient for me than messing with a nasal spray.
My take
If you're going to spend money on these peptides, get the N-Acetyl amidate versions. The regular ones are fine, but the N-Acetyl versions are noticeably better in my experience.
I use them maybe two to three times a week, usually first thing in the morning on heavy work days or after an intense workout to help my nervous system recover. You can absolutely stack Semax and Selank together.
Just remember, get your hormones dialed in first. These are great enhancers, but they're decorations, not the foundation.
Full transcript click any paragraph to jump video
Hey everybody, this is Hunter Williams. I hope you were doing amazing wherever you are in the world. Today's video is going to be about N-Acetyl C-Max Amidate and N acetylsilank amidates. So I've made videos about both C max and salank. And today I wanted to revisit something I haven't really talked about, which is the Nacetylamidite version of both of those. The reason is in practice, I think they're better. And truth be told, when you're hormonally optimized, so when your using testosterone and practicing all the hormonal optimization practices,
I espouse, you really don't need that many nootropics. You can kind of use them as ancillaries here or there to get the benefits that you want, whether that's like enhanced focus or you need to like have a little bit of extra mental energy or something like that. But I think most people approach the noootropic game the wrong way. They look at that as the foundation when really it's just decorations in the house and the foundations of a smart um, active controlled mind are hormones and the hormones of the building block of a really smart mind. So I think a lot of people forsake that.
I always want to preface any video I talk about in the tropics with that, however, I've recently been playing a with the N acetyl amidate versions of both C max and saline and they just blow the other ones out of So I know just because I track a lot of what's going on in the research world, more people are still buying the regular version, the Cmax and Slink, which are fine, but I think more should probably transition into getting this Amidate version. So that's what I'm going to explain today and why. This will be a little bit of a recap of CMax and the Slank, and then we'll go to the Inacetyl Amidae versions of them and explain why they're different.
And if there's any sort of differences in dosing and anything we need to be conscious of. So, uh, before I hop into that, don't forget to check out the peptide cheat sheet. I've got the dosage on there for CMAX and Selenq, which I forgot I didn't have on their before for a while. If you want to check out those dosages or any of the other dosage of peptides that I recommend. And then also to checkout fully optimized health. Don't forget if you ever have questions or video suggestion topics to drop them in that suggestion box down the description of every video. So without further ado, I'm going to share my screen and today we're going go into these amazing nootropics.
All right, I'm Hunter Williams. And today we're going to learn about the differences and similarities of N-acetyl-Symax-Celanx-amidate. So let's jump into this and figure out what's going on here. Let's just do a recap of C-max and Celank, like I said. They're obviously potent cognitive enhancers for stress, focus, and neuroprotection. But when we look at peptides, there's a lot of people that are trying to get into peptide game one because they know they can enhance their brain power and also to A lot of people think they're going to turn their brain into a super supercomputer, which you can.
So let's jump into how we can use these to do that. Obviously they are the two most popular nootropic peptides. They're both Ruski in origin and have lots of medical research there. Oftentimes not translated to English, but if shown promise of improving cognition, enhancing mood and reducing stress and anxiety, So we're going to walk into how they work and then more specifically the N-Acetyl version. So what is CMAX? It's basically a synthetic peptide derived from ACTH. It was originally developed in Russia as a treatment for conditions such as stroke recovery and cognitive impairment.
Its renowned for its ability to improve cognitive performance, alleviate stress, and enhance neuroprotection, which it does, all those things. Let's look at the mechanism. What it does is it binds to receptors in the brain that increase BDNF. So this supports neuroplasticity, which is basically just the ability of the to change and adapt and learn new things. In doing so, it enhances learning and memory. It also modulates dopamine and serotonin systems, Which are critical for mood, motivation, and focus. Notice how I said modulate, so they don't bring them too low, they Don't Bring them to high.
And I think that's why a lot of times it would be really better alternatives to things like SSRIs, and ultimately to, I think the best alternative to SSR is testosterone, but I digress. Then we've also got antioxidant defenses specifically in the brain, so by supporting the body's response to oxidative stress, CMAX aids in protecting brain cells from damage, it also supports the nervous system. One thing I'll talk about this with the benefits is that CMAX improves focus and mental clarity. It enhances memory and cognitive performance.
Um, it has neuro protective effects, particularly after brain injury and also reduces anxiety and enhances mood. I know I will add two to that. Um, just cause this came to me is that it really helps with central nervous system recovery, specifically after, uh, exercise that can be intense. Um. So I really love it for that. Taking it after exercise just to wind down the central system and help with the recovery there, um, for the next workout. Now, let's look at dosage. So when we look the N-acetylaminate versions, those tend to be increased in potency.
If we have regular C-max, typical dose is going to range from 200 to 600 micrograms, administered potentially two to three times per day. It's oftentimes taken nasally or intranasally. I like it subcutaneously because I think it works faster and better. But anyway, if you're doing the nasal, it's 200 to 600 micrograms. Same thing for the injection. Due to its potency, a lower dose of 100 to 300 micro grams taken one to two times per day of the Amidate version is often enough so that in a sedal version, may offer similar or even stronger effects of lower-dose.
with a longer duration of action. And so since n acetyl c max is more bioavailable and penetrates the blood brain barrier more effectively. A lot of times I just recommend people start with the lower dose and adjust gradually based on the response. You can obviously go up to really like what I'll do a lot times is like one milligram and that's injected subcutaneously. But we'll talk about that a little bit later. Let's just recap Selenq. So Selanq is another peptide developed in Russia, similar to CMAX. This one is more of an anti-anxiety or an anxiolytic peptides. It's derived from Tuftsyn, which is a naturally occurring peptid that modulates the immune system with modifications allowed to produce beneficial effects
on mood, cognition, and stress. Let us look at how Selinq works as a pair to a C-Max. It begins by influencing the GABAergic system. So this system is responsible for calming the nervous system, which helps to reduce anxiety and stress. It also increases serotonin metabolism, so by modulating seratonin, it helps stabilize mood. And we also got that immune system activity, So it has mild immunomodulatory effects, Which helped reduce inflammation and support immune health. I think also too for people with autoimmune conditions that end up having anxiety, depression, that can be very beneficial as well.
One of the benefits, obviously, just reducing anxiety definitely works to help that. It also, I think, increases focus too, which kind of seems there would be counterintuitive, reduces anxiety, but increases focused. But you have to take it to know it, to be able to like kind to comprehend, But just trust me, it does. Enhances mental clarity too especially under stress. Supports the immune system and it stabilizes mood, Which is obviously like I mentioned, beneficial for mild depression. And I think when you combine C-Max and Selenq, it works really good to give you a calm, driven focus instead of a jittery focus.
Not that C Max makes you jittery, but it just tends to be a little bit more of cool, calm focus Now when we look at dosage, pretty identical to C Mac itself. So for the regular version, Selanq dosages typically around 200 to 600 micrograms per administration. intranasally, I prefer injection, but it would be the same dosing of injection. I know some people will say, well, you need a higher dose of intrasal to get the effect for a lower dose injection that's true. But I just kind of stick to that for easy purposes for remembering.
Then we have the N-Acetyl version. Usually it causes a slightly lower dose because of the increased potency. So a lot of people take 100 to 300 micrograms one to two times per day. Similar to C-Max, the n-acetylamidate version offers more sustained effects. For individuals with severe anxiety or chronic stress, I would recommend just go straight to the in acetyloversion and probably start around 500 micro grams and then go up to like one milligram per. Just see how you respond to that.
Now, let's look at the N-Acetyl version. So, both C-Max and C Lank with the n-acetyls versions, basically what happens is we're adding an n acetyyl group to the peptide, resulting in a modified version with some distinct properties. Acetylation often enhances the stability and bioavailability of a peptides, making it more potent or longer lasting. When we look these versions Um, you probably know with like supplements, there's like extracts of certain supplements. So you can take like turmeric or you take turmeric extract, kind of think of these as like the extract versions.
They're more, uh, potent and they have longer lasting effects than the regular version. What does that mean? So N acetyl C max is more resistant to enzymatic breakdown, enhancing absorption, the effectiveness. Um. And this is for C-max and N-acetyls Cmax. We look at potency, N-acetyl C-max may bind more effectively to brain receptors, which is going to give you a stronger cognitive and neuroprotective effect. It also efficiently crosses the blood brain barrier, probably more efficiently than the regular version.
And then users may require smaller doses for enhanced results or even less frequent doses as well. I can say without a shadow of a doubt with the N acetylaminate version, I definitely Um, got like a strong feeling effect that was good versus like regular CMAX. I'm kind of like, and I think that probably has to do with the dopamine signaling from testosterone, um, just because that's so powerful. If you have that, you probably aren't going to necessarily feel anything from C max. So that my theory anyway. Um, very similar with saline. If we look at the antecedal version of Solank.
So, um, basically when we add that antecetal, modification to it increases the stability of salang, which is enhancing the analytical effects, making it more bioavailable and ultimately more effective at calming the nervous system. It also provides longer lasting effects, ideal for users needing sustained anxiety relief or mood stabilization. Or if you can maybe only take it for like one time, like in the morning, and like you're injecting it, you know, take in in morning. And if don't want to inject it when you are at work or something like that, it'll last better than regular saline.
Then same thing, we've got to improve blood brain barrier penetration. So inacetyl saline can cross the blood-brain barrier more effectively and the enhanced delivery can increase the effectiveness in reducing anxiety. And obviously it's going to be stronger so we don't need as much of a dose. But I think for people, people chronic anxiety tends to be more of a crippling problem than chronic lack of focus, even though that can be crippled too. But I think for more people, if they could just get their anxiety under control, and this would be very beneficial to that. So I would use the N-Acetyl version of it.
Which one is for you? Let's look at my criterion for choosing the right version. Regular CMAX best for individuals who want a mild boost in cognition or mood with short-term effects. So it may be suitable for people who don't need the enhanced bioavailability or stability of the n-acetyl form. Whereas the N-Acetyls C-MAx is ideal for users seeking stronger and longer lasting cognitive enhancement, neuroprotection or focus. Hmm, which one are you? I think I know what I am. But it's especially useful for those looking for fewer doses with stained effects, I Fewer doses with more pronounced effects.
That's why you would use it, which is obviously why it's more popular now and probably more expensive. Or if it not, hopefully it will become. And also too with C-LINK, it is good for managing mild to moderate anxiety, improving focus under stress and boosting immune system function, but it suitable for those who want a general effect and shorter duration. Um, and then the antecedal version is optimal for individuals who need potent and extended anxiety relief or mood stabilization can be particularly useful for chronic stress or more severe anxiety needs. You know, a lot of people messaged me like, Oh, I've got severe. How much slang can I take?
Is there like a limit to the dosage? And I would say, eh, you probably take a lie. And there's not going to be like any downside. I think there is probably a threshold to which it just doesn't really matter if you take more. Um. But I'd say try the anti-seedle version. If you haven't tried that and you're probably going, it knows more of an effect. Here's just a little chart comparing these. Obviously, if you look at this pound for pound, you know, the NSCO versions are going to be better. I'll say just from my personal experience, I thought that they did way more than just the regular version.
So that's the only thing I buy now. And I don't use them often, maybe two to three times a week. You know, especially if there's days that I'm creating content. Ironically, I didn't take any today and I've been creating a lot of content today, but I did take some I think on like, you know three or four days ago and i definitely still probably feel the effects. So again, i would just always say like get your hormones checked first but these are very good ancillers that you can add on. They're not gonna be like an end all be all, but they definitely are there for enhancement and work for that. So that is it for the slides.
And that my assessment and review of the N-Acetyl versions of CLA and CMAX Amidate. Hopefully that was helpful to you guys. I think if there's one takeaway from this, if you're gonna spend your money on it, I would get the n-acetyls versions. The regular versions are fine, But I they're just so much better out there. In terms of delivery mechanism, The nasal spray works. I just don't think it works as well. Actually think the injection works faster. So if you really want to feel it right away, I would say use the Injection, which you would think, you know, be counterintuitive,
because when you inject in your belly, it's further away from your brain. But just just think systemically speaking, It works way faster, and I get more benefit. so I like to inject these. To me, injecting is actually more convenient than doing them, intranasally, but just my opinion. So I would say if you're going to spend the money and get these peptides, try them, see what they do for you. But I will get the N-acetyl-amidate versions of both. You can definitely use them both together. Like I said, I like to use either the first thing in the morning on a day that I got really intense work or even sometimes after a workout just to help
my nervous system rest, recover. and get back up to speed that much better. So that is it for this one, guys. I appreciate you guys so much. If you have any sort of comment, anything about the video, I would love to hear the feedback down in the comments. Good or bad. One of those things I always do my best to remain a neutral observer. And if you had bad feedback, it really doesn't hurt me personally, and I actually use it and make the channel better, so for all the people giving constructive criticism out there, thank you. Actually do appreciate that. passive aggressive ways.
So that's it for this one. Thank you guys so much again. I don't thank you guy enough, but really I'm humbled and privileged to be able to, to bring these messages to you each and every day.
