Protocol
Epithalon
Epitalon · Epithalamin · AEDG peptide · Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly
The evidence base does not support the healthspan claims made for it. A 2025 review in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Araj et al.) covers roughly 25 years of in vitro, in vivo and in silico work and concludes the mechanism is still uncertain, noting that physico-chemical and structural investigation of the peptide remains limited. Cell-culture work (Khavinson 2003, with a 2025 replication) shows telomerase upregulation and telomere elongation in human fibroblast lines, but telomerase activity did not track telomere length consistently, so even the in-vitro mechanism is unsettled. Animal work reports median and maximum lifespan increases in the region of 12 to 24 percent. What it does NOT show: there is no randomised, placebo-controlled human trial of Epithalon for any longevity or healthspan outcome. The frequently cited human mortality dataset (n=266) was neither randomised nor placebo-controlled and was conducted and reported by the same group that developed the peptide, and no independent group has replicated it under controlled conditions. Nearly all human data originates from a single Russian laboratory and the Soviet-era and Russian pineal-peptide literature. Commercial availability and clinic marketing are far ahead of the evidence. Note also that surface-level web results for this compound are heavily contaminated by peptide-vendor SEO pages that assert confident legal and clinical claims without sourcing, and these should not be treated as evidence.
At a glance
- Evidence
- Commercial
- Singapore (HSA)
- No HSA position on file
- Australia (TGA)
- No TGA position on file
- Offered at
- No clinic on file
Singapore
Health Sciences Authority
- HSA status
- No position on file
- In our SG set
- Not tracked in Singapore
- SG clinics
- None on file
Australia
Therapeutic Goods Administration
- TGA status
- No position on file
- In our AU set
- Not tracked in Australia
- AU clinics
- None on file
Evidence is not approvalAn evidence grade describes how strong the science is. A regulatory status describes whether a body has approved the intervention for an indication. They are different questions, answered separately above.
What it is
Plain-language explainer
Epithalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly) derived from a bovine pineal gland extract, developed by Vladimir Khavinson and colleagues at the St Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. It is marketed on the claim that it activates telomerase, lengthens telomeres and normalises circadian and melatonin rhythms, and is typically administered subcutaneously in short cycles. In longevity clinics it is positioned as a general anti-ageing or sleep and circadian protocol rather than a treatment for any named condition.
Categories
Protocol
Keep reading
Related coverage from the newsroom.
Sources
What this profile is built on
- Overview of Epitalon: Highly Bioactive Pineal Tetrapeptide with Promising Properties · International Journal of Molecular Sciences (via PubMed)
- Import and supply of unregistered therapeutic products for patient's use · Health Sciences Authority, Singapore
- Peptide therapy and longevity in Singapore (describes comprehensive hormone panels including thyroid) · Helix Prive
Every entity profile on variis is sourced. Not medical advice.