A practical reference on epitalon: what it is, how it behaves, what the literature reports, and where the honest uncertainties sit.
This page was last updated on 2025-08-01 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.
The peptide is a synthetic analogue of epithalamin, a preparation extracted from bovine pineal glands. Investigators sought a short, chemically defined molecule that would reproduce some of the endocrine and gerontological observations attributed to the glandular extract. Proposed mechanisms centre on induction of telomerase activity, an effect reported in cultured human somatic cells in the early 2000s, together with influences on melatonin secretion and neuroendocrine regulation. Those mechanisms remain incompletely characterised, and the reported telomerase response has not been consistently reproduced by independent groups working in comparable systems.
Published work on this compound consists mainly of in vitro experiments, animal studies, and small clinical investigations, a substantial share of which appeared in Russian-language journals. Sample sizes are generally small, control conditions differ between studies, and several endpoints rely on markers whose clinical meaning is itself debated. Reviews of the longevity field treat the peptide as an early example of telomerase-directed research rather than an established intervention. Regulatory treatment varies by country: some jurisdictions place it under prescription controls, others treat it as a laboratory material, and importation may be restricted regardless of local status.
Because epitalon has no pharmacopoeial monograph, quality assessment depends on supplier documentation and independent testing. Certificates of analysis typically report a purity figure from a single chromatographic run, a measured mass and sometimes an appearance description, but methods and acceptance criteria are not harmonised across vendors. Third-party laboratories can repeat identity and purity measurements, and mismatches between labelled and measured peptide content have been described for research peptides generally. What constitutes adequate identity confirmation for a molecule of this size stays an open question, since mass agreement alone does not separate closely related sequences.
Identity testing for epitalon relies on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography for purity and mass spectrometry for mass confirmation. Because the sequence contains no tryptophan or tyrosine, ultraviolet detection at 280 nanometres is insensitive, so chromatographic methods usually monitor absorbance near 214 nanometres, where the peptide backbone absorbs. Electrospray ionisation or matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation then checks the intact mass against the expected value near 390 daltons. Peptide mapping or amino acid analysis after acid hydrolysis can supplement these measurements, although such confirmatory work is seldom reported on commercial certificates of analysis.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Peptide sequence | Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly | Often abbreviated AEDG in research literature |
| Common synonyms | Epithalon, epitalon, AEDG | Spelling variants refer to the same tetrapeptide |
| Molecular formula | C14H22N4O9 | Theoretical monoisotopic mass near 390.35 Da |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Typically supplied as a lyophilised solid |
| Solubility class | Freely soluble in water | Hydrophilic peptide; dissolves in aqueous buffer |
The compound is generally described as a synthetic analogue of a fragment isolated from a pineal gland extract. Researchers associated with the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology introduced it during the 1980s and 1990s while studying short peptides from animal tissue. The original extract, called epithalamin, is a heterogeneous mixture, whereas epitalon is a single defined sequence. That distinction matters because findings reported for the extract are not automatically findings about the pure tetrapeptide, and claims about broader biological effects remain a separate question from the chemical identity described here.
Residue composition is the property that most cleanly separates verified material from mislabelled samples. Alanine, glutamate, aspartate and glycine appear in that order from the N-terminus, and the two acidic residues sit in the middle of the chain. Because the peptide is short, it can be produced by solid-phase synthesis and characterised by mass spectrometry without ambiguity. Any reported sample whose measured mass departs substantially from 390 daltons is a different compound or a degraded mixture rather than epitalon.
Regulatory treatment differs by country. No formulation of epitalon holds a marketing authorisation as a medicine in the United States or the European Union, where material sold for laboratory use is handled as a research chemical and is not intended for human consumption. In Russia, several short peptide preparations from the same institute's peptide series are registered medicinal products, and epitalon appears in that national context. Elsewhere it is frequently offered as a cosmetic ingredient, a category with lighter requirements. Advertising claims about longevity or disease prevention are restricted in most jurisdictions, which limits how sellers describe the compound.
Freeze-dried epitalon is normally kept at minus twenty degrees Celsius in a sealed, desiccated container, protected from light. Short excursions at ambient temperature during shipping are generally tolerated, but repeated warming and cooling cycles encourage moisture uptake, which shortens shelf life. Once dissolved, the peptide is far less stable than the solid: aqueous solutions are subject to hydrolysis and to deamidation at the aspartate and glutamate residues. Working solutions are therefore held refrigerated and used within days, and repeated freezing and thawing of the same vial is best avoided.
In its supplied form epitalon is a white to off-white powder, usually lyophilized and often hygroscopic. It dissolves readily in water and in aqueous buffers, and it is commonly handled as the acetate or trifluoroacetate salt to improve stability during purification and drying. The amide backbone is labile in aqueous media, so solutions are less durable than the dry solid. Handling notes in the chemical literature therefore emphasize keeping the powder dry, cool and shielded from light until it is dissolved.
Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide whose sequence is alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, written in single-letter code as AEDG. The four residues are joined by three peptide bonds, giving a linear backbone with no branching and no disulfide bridges. Its calculated molecular mass for the free form is approximately 390.3 daltons, a figure that rises when the compound is supplied as an acetate or trifluoroacetate salt. Because the chain is short, the molecule is defined entirely by its residue order rather than by any folded three-dimensional structure.
Naltrexone/bupropion, sold under the brand name Contrave among others, is a fixed-dose combination medication for the management of chronic obesity in adults in combination with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. It contains naltrexone, an opioid antagonist, and bupropion, an aminoketone atypical antidepressant. It is taken by mouth. Both component medications have individually demonstrated some evidence of effectiveness in promoting weight loss, and the combination has been shown to produce some synergistic effects on weight. In September 2014, a sustained release formulation of the drug was approved for marketing in the United States under the brand name Contrave. The combination, sold under the brand name Mysimba, was subsequently approved by the European Medicines Agency for medical use in the European Union in the spring of 2015. It was approved in Canada under the Contrave brand name in 2018.
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The two medial giant axons connect with each other and send signals from the front to the rear. Stimulation of these causes the earthworm to very quickly retreat, contracting into its burrow and flattening its tail, thus anchoring it in its burrow to escape a surface predator. The presence of a nervous system is essential for an animal to be able to experience nociception or pain. However, other physiological capacities are also required such as opioid sensitivity and central modulation of responses by analgesics. Enkephalin and α-endorphin-like substances have been found in earthworms. Injections of naloxone (an opioid antagonist) inhibit the withdrawal responses of earthworms. This indicates that opioid substances play a role in sensory modulation, similar to that found in many vertebrates.
=== Cellular localization === Several factors that regulate eIF4E functions also modulate the subcellular localization of eIF4E. For instance, overexpression of PRH/Hex leads to cytoplasmic retention of eIF4E, and thus loss of its mRNA export activity and suppression of transformation. PML overexpression leads to sequestration of eIF4E to nuclear bodies with PML and decrease of eIF4E nuclear bodies containing RNA, which correlates to repressed eIF4E dependent mRNA export and can be modulated by stress. Overexpression of LRPPRC reduces eIF4E's co-localization with PML in the nucleus and leads to increased mRNA export activity of eIF4E. As discussed above, Importin 8 brings eIF4E into the nucleus and its overexpression stimulates the RNA export and oncogenic transformation activities of eIF4E in cell lines. Transduction of primary AML cells with IkB-SR resulted not only in reduction of eIF4E mRNA levels, but also re-localization of eIF4E protein.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Kalra graduated from Christian Medical College, Ludhiana. He completed his postgraduation (MD) in Medicine at Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak, and his fellowship (DM) in Endocrinology and Metabolism at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
Scientists and scholars from different countries visited the salon regularly to discuss ideas and share knowledge, and Sablière studied physics, astronomy and natural history with her guests. 1680: French astronomer Jeanne Dumée published a summary of arguments supporting the Copernican theory of heliocentrism. She wrote "between the brain of a woman and that of a man there is no difference". 1685: Frisian poet and archaeologist Titia Brongersma supervised the first excavation of a dolmen in Borger, Netherlands. The excavation produced new evidence that the stone structures were graves constructed by prehistoric humans – rather than structures built by giants, which had been the prior common belief. 1690: German-Polish astronomer Elisabetha Koopman Hevelius, widow of Johannes Hevelius, whom she had assisted with his observations (and, probably, computations) for over twenty years, published in his name Prodromus Astronomiae, the largest and most accurate star catalog to that date. 1693–1698: German astronomer and illustrator Maria Clara Eimmart created more than 350 detailed drawings of the moon phases. 1699: German entomologist Maria Sibylla Merian, the first scientist to document the life cycle of insects for the public, embarked on a scientific expedition to Suriname, South America. She subsequently published Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium, a groundbreaking illustrated work on South American plants, animals and insects.
=== Shelf life === The shelf life of canned evaporated milk varies according to both its added content and its proportion of fat. For the regular unsweetened product, a shelf life of 15 months may be expected before any noticeable destabilization occurs.
=== Other === The role of the circadian clock in rheumatoid arthritis suggests a correlation between an early morning rise in circulating levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6 and painful morning joint stiffness.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Epitalon is a synthetic four-amino-acid peptide with the sequence alanine–glutamate–aspartate–glycine, also written AEDG. It was developed in Russian gerontology research and is studied for proposed effects on telomerase, melatonin regulation, and neuroendocrine function. It is not an approved pharmaceutical in the United States or the European Union.
No. Epithalamin is a peptide-rich extract prepared from bovine pineal glands, while epitalon is a short synthetic peptide designed as a defined analogue of it. The synthetic version was intended to provide a reproducible molecule with some of the same proposed biological activity.
Telomere elongation and telomerase activation have been reported in cultured human somatic cells, but evidence from living human subjects is limited and has not been independently confirmed at scale. Reported findings come largely from small studies with differing designs, so the question remains open rather than settled.
The molecule lacks aromatic residues, so it absorbs weakly near 280 nanometres, the wavelength applied to many other peptides. The peptide bond absorbs strongly below 220 nanometres, making 214 nanometres a practical compromise. Gradient methods must therefore use mobile phases with low ultraviolet absorbance to keep the baseline clean.