Adrafinil

Eugeroicoral · inferred

An older wakefulness-promoting drug that is converted in vivo to modafinil and other metabolites. It was formerly marketed in France but is not FDA-approved. Human efficacy and pharmacokinetic evidence is sparse and much of the modern literature is forensic or preclinical; the plotted estimate therefore follows an explicitly low-confidence modafinil-equivalent exposure rather than pretending that direct human adrafinil concentration-time data exist.

Projected serum levels — 300 mg, once daily

Adrafinil (precursor)Modafinil (Provigil)
Adrafinil modeled serum levels, 300 mg once daily over 15 days Population-based pharmacokinetic estimate. Steady state reached after approximately 2 days. 0 50 100 150 200 Day 0 Day 4 Day 8 Day 11 Day 15 Time on a regular schedule ≈ steady state · day 2
Adrafinil modeled serum levels with a loading dose of 475 mg, then 300 mg once daily The first dose is larger so levels approach steady state faster. 0 50 100 150 200 Day 0 Day 4 Day 8 Day 11 Day 15 Time on a regular schedule

Maintenance schedule: 300 mg once daily (oral).

Loading schedule: 475 mg on day 1, then 300 mg once daily — reaching therapeutic levels sooner.

Modeled steady state after ~2 days: peak ≈ 106 mg, trough ≈ 51.9 mg body load. Population-based estimate over 15 days for a 300 mg dose at a 70 kg reference body mass — the interactive app scales curves to your doses, timing, and body mass.

Key facts

Category
Eugeroic
Route modeled
Oral
Model confidence
inferred
Half-life
15 h
Common dose
300 mg
Suggested maximum
900 mg/day
Reference dose range
300–900 mg (single dose)
Suggested cadence
once daily

Research behind this entry

  1. Identification of adrafinil and its main metabolite modafinil in human hair Ameline A et al. · Forensic Sciences Research, 2020 DOI

    A validated hair LC-MS/MS method detected both adrafinil and modafinil in beard hair after one volunteer self-administered 200 mg adrafinil, confirming human formation of modafinil. Hair incorporation cannot provide a…

  2. Behavioral activating effects of adrafinil in aged canines Siwak CT et al. · Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 2000 DOI

    Fourteen-day crossover treatment in aged dogs increased locomotor activity at 20-40 mg/kg at two and ten hours after dosing, with variable response and little stereotypy. This supports a prolonged behavioral effect in…

  3. Effectiveness of adrafinil on the memory complaint in the adult over fifty years of age: results of a controlled double blind therapeutic trial of adrafinil versus placebo Derouesne C et al. · La Revue de Geriatrie, 2001

    In a three-month parallel randomized trial, 462 analyzed adults over 50 with subjective memory complaints received adrafinil 900 mg/day or placebo. Subjective memory scores and several attention measures favored…

  4. Adrafinil: psychostimulant and purported nootropic? Lowe DW et al. · American Journal of Psychiatry Residents' Journal, 2021 DOI

    This clinical review found that the human evidence base consists largely of older, limited studies and case reports. It describes hepatic conversion to modafinil, lack of US approval, and safety concerns including a…

4 published studies referenced in the app, each with a plain-language summary.