Yes, yes I know a lot about this drug. What is it? It's elemental lithium attached to a nucleic acid. It's a very active compound, with doses as low as 9 mg/kg/day causing orotic aciduria, which is believed to be caused by competitive inhibition of uridine monophosphate (UMP) synthase, by blocking or otherwise impeding orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase (ODCase).

Lithium orotate (lithium orotate monohydrate) is a metal complex comprised of orotate and water ligands ionically bonded to lithium, it is a salt of orotic acid and an organic compound, with a formula Li+ · C5H3N2O4- · H2O. Crystal structure analysis shows that the lithium ligand is locked within a tetrahedral environment of four O atoms (Lutz 2001). Christensen established in 1983 that orotic acid was typically excreted from the kidneys presumably as sodium orotate, and never as a free acid. Given lithium's greater ionic strength than sodium, it is safe to conclude it doesn't dissolve or work the same way lithium carbonate does within the body. Kling stated, in 1978: "Lithium orotate was prepared by dissolving 20 m equiv LiOH · H2O (BDH Chemicals Ltd.) in distilled water and adding a stoichiometric amount of orotic acid (Sigma Chemical Co.). This mixture was heated with stirring until the orotic acid dissolved. From this upon cooling to 20°, a fine precipitate formed. The pH was adjusted to 7.4 with HCI, and the volume was adjusted to 100 ml. The resulting slurry was throughly and constantly stirred while portions were removed for injection with 25 gauge needles intraperitoneally into rats.". Smith also noted similar insolubility in his study.

It's unknown what lithium orotate is capable of, the medical community literally abandon it in the 1970s when they found it didn't behave like lithium carbonate, this was in large part to DF Smith's highly critical article involving renal impairment. He noted: "The kidneys weighed significantly more in rats given lithium orotate than in those in the three other groups. Inspection of the kidneys showed those from rats given lithium orotate to be larger and paler than the kidneys from the other rats." What Smith described in his report is hypochromic and megaloblastic anemia, which are symptoms of orotic aciduria, no one ever connected the two together, until just now.

It remains to be seen if lithium orotate is safe in small doses, in large doses it is toxic. Even more so than lithium carbonate. I believe it to be a very potent ODCase inhibitor. I think it works by one of three methods: a) lithium is decarboxylated inside the cell, b) it is recycled via pyrimidine savage pathways, or c) it is incorporated directly into proteins. Smith noted a renal lithium clearance 24 times less then lithium carbonate. Dewar noted in his 1971 study that lithium orotate promotes rapid RNA turnover in rats, wether this is a good or bad thing remains to be seen.

For those reasons, I would not recommend anyone take large doses of this stuff. I tested it personally, at 9 mg/kg/day, and by day 6 by kidneys felt like they were on fire. My urine pH had dropped below 4.5 as measured with a pH test strip... which is another symptom of orotic aciduria. I discontinued immediately, but urine pH did not return to normal levels until almost two full weeks had elapsed. I resumed experimenting with it at lower doses, 4 mg/kg/day produced meningitis like symptoms, later it was realized this was actually a continuous migraine with multiple auras per day, and was crippling all the way down to 1 mg/kg/day. 30 mg/day was the highest dose I had observed no adverse effects at, I would recommend this as the starting dosage for this compound. It is worth noting that during the time I was experimenting with lithium orotate I was also taking a lithium carbonate 300 mg/day.

Lithium carbonate is an inorganic soluble lithium salt, while lithium orotate is an organic insoluble salt. They are completely different, it's apples and oranges. In my option this compound should not be available without a prescription. People worry about lithium toxicity while on this compound, but the reality is you will die from protein inhibition well before you reach toxic lithium levels from this compound. If you feel sick, lethargic, have migraines, or feel a burning sensation emanating from your kidneys reduce the dosage or discontinue immediately.

It's highly active within the body, this is certain beyond any doubt. However, it's effectiveness and safety in treating disease is entirely unknown. It could be a miracle compound, or it could possible be a tumor promoting agent. The medical community stuck their noses up at it back in the 70s. The research I have just described, that lithium orotate is a UMP / ODCase inhibitor is my own, that I have just now revealed. I reached my conclusions after a systematic review of the chemistry and medical literature dating back to 1971, and empirical experimentation on myself.

Let me know if you have any questions, ideas, or suggestions? Half the reason I'm posting this here is to bounce the idea off of others... let me know what you guys think. If you've taken it, what dosage did you take and what effects did you notice?