Rauwolscine

What is being tested

Rauwolscine, also called alpha-yohimbine, is a stereoisomer of yohimbine and an alpha-2 adrenergic antagonist. This experiment originally targeted a daily exposure of 3 mg rauwolscine, with the acute thermogenic response as the primary measurement and weight or fat loss as the longer-term outcome.

Delivery product

Six Gorilla Mind Cyclean AM capsules (two labeled servings) supply the 3 mg rauwolscine exposure. The same six capsules also supply 1,500 mg acetyl-L-carnitine, 600 mg naringin, 560 mg hesperidin, 300 mg caffeine, 250 mg Coleus forskohlii extract standardized to 20% forskolin, 120 mg bitter-orange extract providing 60 mg synephrine, 50 mg gamma-butyrobetaine ethyl ester, and 50 mg grains-of-paradise extract standardized to 12.5% 6-paradol. Those ingredients remain part of the exposure context, but rauwolscine is the named intervention.

The proposed thermogenic mechanism

Alpha-2 adrenergic receptors act as an inhibitory brake on norepinephrine release and fat mobilization. Blocking those receptors is the reason rauwolscine is proposed to increase adrenergic signaling and lipolysis. The initial evening walk gave the experiment a consistent activity window in which to look for a repeatable increase in warmth and sweating.

The human evidence gap

Direct human rauwolscine trials for fat loss, body composition, or chronic safety are not available. The human argument is therefore borrowed from yohimbine: fasted oral yohimbine increased glycerol, free fatty acids, and norepinephrine, with exercise strengthening the response and a meal suppressing it. That supports fat mobilization under the right conditions, not a demonstrated rauwolscine fat-loss outcome.

The mixed yohimbine outcome record

Two small, short studies reported favorable results. Twenty women on a low-energy diet lost more weight with yohimbine over three weeks, and ten professional soccer players receiving yohimbine for 21 days showed a lower measured body-fat percentage without a body weight or performance change. A longer six-month trial in overweight men found no effect on body weight, body fat, or fat distribution. That makes the outcome evidence suggestive rather than consistent.

Thermogenesis is not automatically fat loss

A warmer walk, more sweat, or a short increase in energy expenditure can establish an acute thermogenic response. It does not establish the size of the calorie effect or prove that enough additional fat was oxidized to change body composition. The acute and longer-term outcomes therefore remain separate in this ledger.

Stimulant context during the evening test

During the evening test, the 3 mg rauwolscine exposure was delivered with 300 mg caffeine and 60 mg synephrine in six Cyclean AM capsules. The listed full Gorilla Mode serving separately supplied 400 mg caffeine, bringing the logged total on a test day to 700 mg before any other caffeine. The rauwolscine serving was scheduled at the end of the day rather than alongside the morning pre-workout. Its proximity to sleep made sleep onset, sleep continuity, and next-morning recovery central tradeoff measures. Gorilla Mind's own guidance says not to combine Cyclean AM with another caffeine or stimulant product.

Sources

• PubChem: Rauwolscine: compound identity and pharmacology references.
• Gorilla Mind Cyclean AM label and product page: delivery-product composition, ingredient amounts, directions, and stimulant-stacking guidance.
• Galitzky et al., European Journal of Clinical Investigation 1988: fasted yohimbine, exercise, meals, norepinephrine, and lipid mobilization.
• Kucio et al., Israel Journal of Medical Sciences 1991: three-week yohimbine weight-loss trial in women.
• Ostojic, Research in Sports Medicine 2006: three-week yohimbine body-composition trial in soccer players.
• Sax, International Journal of Obesity 1991: negative six-month yohimbine weight and fat-distribution trial.

Start and protocol

I started a planned one-month rauwolscine experiment on August 17, 2026. The initial logged exposure was 3 mg/day, delivered by six Gorilla Mind Cyclean AM capsules immediately before the one-hour walk I complete every evening before sleep. This records what I used; it is not a suggested serving, timing strategy, or protocol.

Why I stopped

I paused the experiment on August 22, 2026, and removed rauwolscine from the Daily Stack. The evening six-capsule Cyclean AM exposure produced a very strong thermogenic response, nausea, and difficult sleep. Later lower-exposure tests did not solve the central problem. Around 1 mg or more felt disproportionately harsh, with heavy sweating and a pronounced lethargic or wiped-out feeling that could last five to eight hours. Even 750 mcg ultimately felt physically unacceptable. I closed the experiment on September 17, 2026.

Primary measurement

The primary read was the thermogenic effect: whether I experienced a clear and repeatable increase in warmth and sweating during the same one-hour evening walk. The consistent activity window made day-to-day comparisons more useful, although warmth and sweating are practical proxies for heat production rather than a resting-energy-expenditure measurement by indirect calorimetry. The initial evening exposure produced a clear acute thermogenic signal: sweating began around minute 20 instead of my usual minute 55, was very heavy by minute 40, and remained visibly pronounced at minute 50. The signal was strong, but the experience was not useful enough to justify continuing.

Longer-term measurements

The longer-term question (whether the acute effect translates into weight or fat loss) was not answered. I stopped before completing a meaningful body-weight, waist, photo, or visible-leanness assessment. Heavy sweating established an acute effect; it did not establish a successful fat-loss outcome.

Tradeoff measurements

Resting and walking heart rate, blood pressure, palpitations, headache, anxiety or agitation, gastrointestinal response, hydration, sleep onset, sleep continuity, and next-morning recovery provided the tradeoff read. The initial evening test included mild nausea, sweating that continued until about 11 PM, difficult sleep, and an overnight respiratory rate of 14.3 breaths per minute versus my typical 13. Later testing showed that the broader tolerability issue persisted at lower rauwolscine exposures. The initial Cyclean AM event remains a full-formula exposure, while the later lower-dose observations informed the final rauwolscine decision.

Final decision

The thermogenic signal was repeatable and obvious, but the physical cost dominated the result. Because even 750 mcg did not feel acceptable, I am not looking for another timing slot or a lower working dose. The experiment is closed as a negative result, and rauwolscine will remain off the Daily Stack.