STUDresearch · Non-peptide
Selegiline (Deprenyl)
Also known as
Deprenyl · Eldepryl · Emsam · l-deprenyl
Community talk. May be wrong. Not medical advice. Not a protocol. Not for human or animal use.
Non-peptide
Some talk
Systemic
Oral / Transdermal
Longevity / cellular
Systemic MAO-B inhibitor drug.
What people say
Selegiline is an irreversible MAO inhibitor sold in swallowed, orally disintegrating and transdermal forms for different indications; it is a drug, not a peptide.
Doses people talk about
These are U.S. label contexts, not a progression or longevity regimen. Interaction and diet rules depend on formulation, strength and co-medication.
How it may feel
Community reports range from mild or null to stimulation, improved mood or motivation, headache and insomnia. Route, dose, caffeine and indication differ, so one account cannot define a typical response.
Swallowed oral Parkinson's label5 mg twice daily; 10 mg/day total
Common tablet/capsule labeling places doses with breakfast and lunch.
Zelapar ODT Parkinson's label1.25 mg once daily; labeled maximum 2.5 mg once daily
Orally disintegrating product with higher dose-normalized exposure than the swallowed tablet; use context is Parkinson's adjunct treatment.
Emsam transdermal depression label6, 9 or 12 mg/24 h; one patch daily
Tyramine-rich-food restrictions apply to the 9 and 12 mg/24 h strengths and after discontinuation as specified in the label.
Half-life & effect duration
- Half-life in the body
- Swallowed · single doseAbout 70–90 minutes
- Swallowed · repeated useAbout 8.6 hours
- Zelapar dissolving tablet · single doseAbout 1.3 hours
- Zelapar dissolving tablet · steady stateAbout 10 hours
- Felt duration people report
- Accounts across formsMild effects, no effect, brief stimulation or headache
- Longer reportsInsomnia into later nights
Cycles people discuss
Medical use is continuous under a product label; biohacking cycles and intermittent microdoses are nonstandard community practices. Irreversible enzyme inhibition means plasma clearance is not a restart calendar.
Timing
Classic swallowed Parkinson’s-label dosing is at breakfast and lunch; orally disintegrating tablets and depression patches use separate once-daily schedules. Community timing also reflects sleep and side effects. The formulations and their food-interaction rules are not interchangeable.
Stacks
Selegiline has serious, formulation-specific interaction rules with serotonergic, opioid, sympathomimetic and other monoamine-active medicines. Community combinations or apparently low doses do not establish safety.
Watch for
Drug interactions: Tyramine/MAOI rules and serotonin syndrome risk with other agents — serious.
Tap a line to jump into the full notes. Research only — may be wrong.
Timing context & sources
Half-life in the body
About 70–90 minutes after a single swallowed oral dose in human studies.
A 10 mg tablet/solution study observed about 70 minutes; a clinical PK review summarized roughly 1.5 hours. Repeated 5 mg twice-daily dosing produced a much longer mean estimate around 8.6 hours.
Single-dose values do not describe steady state, ODT or transdermal exposure and do not measure duration of irreversible MAO inhibition.
- Pharmacokinetics and relative bioavailability of selegiline in healthy volunteers (opens in a new tab)PubMed abstract reviewed: healthy-volunteer 10 mg tablet or solution study, approximately 70-minute half-life and 30–90-minute Tmax depending on dosage form.Single swallowed dose; does not represent steady state, ODT, transdermal use or pharmacodynamic MAO recovery.
- Clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of selegiline: an update (opens in a new tab)PubMed review abstract inspected for oral 10 mg absorption, ~1.5-hour parent elimination, metabolites, platelet MAO-B inhibition and roughly two-week recovery, plus transdermal route differences.Review-level synthesis and older formulations; platelet enzyme recovery is not felt duration.
- Effect of dosing regimen and food on oral selegiline bioavailability (opens in a new tab)PubMed abstract reviewed: healthy-volunteer 5 mg twice-daily versus 10 mg once-daily and fed/fasted crossover studies; repeated-dose mean parent and desmethylselegiline half-lives 8.6 and 9.5 hours versus single-dose 1.5 and 3.8 hours.Swallowed oral dosing only; high variability and regimen/food effects limit transfer to other forms.
Half-life in the body
The Zelapar label reports a 1.3-hour parent half-life after one 1.25 mg dose.
This is the single-dose parent estimate for the orally disintegrating product; the label also reports 10–15-minute Tmax and higher dose-normalized exposure than a swallowed 5 mg tablet.
A single-dose parent estimate is not steady-state elimination, an inter-individual confidence interval or a felt-duration estimate.
- Zelapar selegiline orally disintegrating tablet prescribing information (opens in a new tab)Current DailyMed label sections 2, 7 and 12.3 reviewed for 1.25/2.5 mg once-daily dosing, contraindications and washouts, 10–15-minute Tmax, 1.3-hour single-dose and 10-hour steady-state parent half-life.Official ODT Parkinson's labeling; not swallowed-tablet, transdermal or off-label longevity guidance.
Half-life in the body
The Zelapar label reports a 10-hour parent half-life at repeated-dose steady state.
This is the repeated-dose steady-state parent estimate for the orally disintegrating product, not the label's single-dose value or its 10–15-minute Tmax.
A steady-state parent estimate is not a single-dose interval, an inter-individual confidence interval or a felt-duration estimate.
- Zelapar selegiline orally disintegrating tablet prescribing information (opens in a new tab)Current DailyMed label sections 2, 7 and 12.3 reviewed for 1.25/2.5 mg once-daily dosing, contraindications and washouts, 10–15-minute Tmax, 1.3-hour single-dose and 10-hour steady-state parent half-life.Official ODT Parkinson's labeling; not swallowed-tablet, transdermal or off-label longevity guidance.
Felt duration people report
No single felt-duration clock fits swallowed, ODT, sublingual-report or patch experiences.
Community reports range from mild or null to brief stimulation, headache or insomnia lasting into later nights. Parent clearance, active metabolites and irreversible MAO inhibition are distinct timelines; platelet MAO-B recovery can take about two weeks.
Self-selected reports use different forms, doses, indications and caffeine or medication combinations; enzyme recovery is not proof of continuous subjective effect.
- Clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of selegiline: an update (opens in a new tab)PubMed review abstract inspected for oral 10 mg absorption, ~1.5-hour parent elimination, metabolites, platelet MAO-B inhibition and roughly two-week recovery, plus transdermal route differences.Review-level synthesis and older formulations; platelet enzyme recovery is not felt duration.
- Any long-term selegiline users with experiences to share? (opens in a new tab)Distinct authors and visible replies reviewed: reports included withdrawal-like symptoms versus none, insomnia for days, 5 mg mild stimulation with later-use insomnia, and one 7-year intermittent microdose account. Authors remain separate.Unverified routes/products and indications, multiple authors, absent medical records and extensive self-theory; cannot establish prevalence or safety.
- Selegiline is too powerful (opens in a new tab)OP reviewed: first sublingual 1.25–1.6 mg exposure with an energy drink, reported overstimulation within about an hour and markedly impaired sleep that night.Single unverified split-tablet exposure, caffeine co-exposure and subjective comparisons; no same-author longer outcome visible.
- Selegiline: thrilled with results (opens in a new tab)OP and visible same-author follow-ups reviewed: prior patch skin problems, 2.5 mg sublingual tablets after 1.25 mg felt insufficient, headache at 5 mg, insomnia, and claimed mood, energy and libido improvement.Unverified off-label administration and product, severe baseline depression, no blinded comparator or clinical records; self-reported benefit and adverse effects.
Other context in this card
- Selegiline Hydrochloride Capsules, USP prescribing information (opens in a new tab)Dosage and Administration reviewed for 5 mg taken at breakfast and lunch, 10 mg/day total.Official swallowed-capsule Parkinson's labeling; not ODT, transdermal use or off-label longevity guidance.
- Emsam selegiline transdermal system prescribing information (opens in a new tab)FDA label sections on strengths, daily application, contraindications, application-site reactions and tyramine-rich-food restrictions at 9 and 12 mg/24 h reviewed.2017 FDA label with current-label caveat on the host page; transdermal depression product only.
What people say
- Nootropic lore: Mood/motivation anecdotes at various doses — medical interactions matter. forum
- Healthspan narrative: Selegiline (Deprenyl) is discussed for aging markers, energy, or recovery more than acute gym pumps. forum
- Slow endpoints: Users often run months, not days, before claiming anything — and still confabulate. anecdote
- Stack noise: Frequently combined with multi-agent longevity stacks that destroy attribution. forum
- Parkinson disease: Established medical use context. trial
Doses people talk about
- Longevity/nootropic off-label talk: microdose folklore exists far below PD labels; it is not a validated “anti-aging dose.” forum
- MAO caution: even “low” oral bands have interaction risk (tyramine, serotonergic drugs) — clinical supervision territory. trial
- Oral Parkinson’s (classic): 5 mg twice daily (breakfast + lunch) = 10 mg/day total for many tablet/capsule labels. trial
- ODT (Zelapar-class): often 1.25 mg once daily, sometimes increased to 2.5 mg once daily after weeks under care. trial
- Transdermal (Emsam-class depression): common strengths 6 / 9 / 12 mg per 24 h patch once daily — food interactions differ by strength. trial
- Framing: Approved MAO-B inhibitor (Parkinson’s / depression patch) — doses below are label/clinical talk, not longevity self-Rx. trial
How it may feel
- Days 1–7: Effects depend strongly on formulation and indication. Community oral/sublingual reports range from mild or null to stimulation, insomnia or headache; transdermal labeling separately reports application-site reactions and insomnia. forumtrial
- Days–weeks: Mood effects timelines vary widely. forum
- Day 1: A characteristic first-dose feel is not established. One sublingual account reported overstimulation and insomnia after about 1.25–1.6 mg with an energy drink; other users described milder, delayed or null effects. forum
- Days 2–7: Side-effect window for many agents; benefits, if any, are easy to mis-attribute. forum
- Weeks 1–2: First honest checkpoint in self-logs. forum
Cycles people discuss
- Medical continuous: Or experimental cycles in biohacking — not standardized. forum
- Common pattern: Many self-protocols use weeks-on / weeks-off rather than indefinite daily use — cost and caution drive this more than hard science. forum
- No magic cycle: There is rarely one universal “correct” on/off calendar across forums. forum
- Reassess: Stop and reassess if adverse effects appear; this is not medical care. forum
Timing
- Timing practicalities: People time doses around side effects, training, and sleep more than perfect PK. forum
- Formulation-specific PK: A single swallowed oral dose has a parent half-life around 70–90 minutes in human studies; repeated 5 mg twice-daily dosing produced a mean 8.6-hour parent half-life. A 1.25 mg ODT label reports 1.3 hours after one dose and 10 hours at steady state. Irreversible MAO-B inhibition can outlast plasma parent drug. trial
- Published PK: Where human PK exists it should override forum half-life memes for Selegiline (Deprenyl). trial
More on what it is
- Research posture: Educational summary of public discussion and literature themes only. forum
- How people talk about it: Forum volume is a popularity signal for Selegiline (Deprenyl), not proof it works for you. forum
- What it is: MAOI-B inhibitor (deprenyl/Emsam/Zelapar) used in Parkinson’s; nootropic/longevity microdose lore exists. trial
- Not a peptide: Drug molecule. trial
- Research only: Not approved advice for self-experimentation; legality and access vary by place. forum
Stacks
- Less is clearer: Solo runs make personal n=1 easier to interpret than five-compound blasts. forum
- Serious interaction combinations: Selegiline labeling contraindicates or restricts multiple serotonergic, opioid, sympathomimetic and other monoamine-active medicines; the exact list and washout depend on formulation and dose. Community co-use reports are not evidence of safety. trial
Storage notes
- No mix instructions here: STUDresearch does not list reconstitution, diluent volumes, or syringe unit charts. People reconstitute many different ways and vial labels differ — that content creates more confusion than clarity. forum
- Storage (general talk only): Unopened research products are usually kept cool, dry, and away from light per the seller label. Anything after first use is product-specific — follow the label, not a universal forum SOP. forum
Watch for
- Unknowns: Long-term safety for gray-market preparations is often poorly characterized. forum
- Stack noise: Sides logged on multi-agent stacks cannot be blamed cleanly on one compound. forum
- Seek care red flags: Severe allergic reaction, chest pain, neuro changes, or uncontrolled BP/glucose need real medical care — not forum advice. forum
- Drug interactions: Tyramine/MAOI rules and serotonin syndrome risk with other agents — serious. trial
- Insomnia / BP: Possible. trial
- Formulation-specific local effects: Transdermal selegiline can cause application-site reactions; swallowed and orally disintegrating products do not share an injection-site pathway. trial
Evidence mix
Mixed trial + community tags
Full: every bullet (trial + community). Use Scan for a faster bro-science read.