This is a working overview of tetrapeptide, written for readers who want more than a one-paragraph summary but less than a textbook.
Reviewed 2026-03-26. Anything still debated is marked as such rather than presented as settled.
Epitalon is a synthetic four-amino-acid peptide with the sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, commonly abbreviated AEDG. Its molecular formula is C14H22N4O9, and its calculated molar mass is approximately 390.35 grams per mole. The compound is a short fragment related to a peptide fraction isolated from bovine pineal gland extracts, and it is normally supplied as a lyophilised powder intended for laboratory research. It is not a registered pharmaceutical product in most countries.
The peptide emerged from research carried out in Saint Petersburg from the late 1980s onward, where investigators searched for shorter active fragments of a pineal preparation known as epithalamin. The name epitalon was chosen to reflect that parent extract. Early reports described effects on neuroendocrine markers and on the lifespan of laboratory animals. Much of that work appeared in Russian-language journals, with English translations following later, which affects how readily the original protocols can be assessed by outside groups.
The proposed relationship between epitalon and pineal function is a central part of its background. Khavinson's group reported that short peptides corresponding to regions of larger pineal proteins could influence gene expression in cells. Epitalon was framed as a synthetic analogue of an active fragment rather than a direct isolation product. Whether the tetrapeptide reproduces the effects of the parent extract is an open question, because comparative studies are limited and the parent extract itself is not a single defined substance.
Interest in epitalon is usually discussed within the broader field of short peptide bioregulators, a category that includes other synthetic di-, tri-, and tetrapeptides studied by the same research group. These compounds share a common rationale: that small fragments of tissue-derived proteins can retain biological activity and can be produced reproducibly. The category as a whole remains outside mainstream pharmacological consensus, and epitalon specifically has a limited presence in independent, non-Russian research literature, which shapes how its evidence base is described.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular formula | C14H22N4O9 | Derived from the four-residue sequence |
| Molar mass | About 390.35 g/mol | Free peptide, counter-ion not included |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Lyophilised solid from aqueous solution |
| Water solubility | Freely soluble | Short, polar peptide chain |
| Common synonyms | AEDG; epithalone | Catalogues use the names interchangeably |
Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide with the sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, abbreviated AEDG. Its molecular formula is C14H22N4O9 and its calculated monoisotopic mass is approximately 390.35 daltons. The compound does not occur naturally as a free peptide; it is produced by solid-phase peptide synthesis. Because it contains two acidic residues and no basic residues, the neutral form carries a net negative charge at physiological pH. This charge profile influences how the peptide behaves in solution and during chromatographic analysis.
Laboratory-grade epitalon is typically supplied as a lyophilized powder. Purity is commonly assessed with reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, often paired with mass spectrometry to confirm molecular identity. Amino acid analysis and peptide mapping can provide additional confirmation of sequence. Certificates of analysis for research materials frequently report purity above 95 percent, although the methods behind such figures vary between suppliers. The absence of a pharmacopeial monograph means that no single standardized assay defines the compound, so reported results depend on the analytical protocol chosen.
Discussions in the literature often conflate three distinct entities: the pineal extract epithalamin, the isolated tetrapeptide AEDG, and commercial preparations sold under similar names. Reviews citing older Russian-language studies sometimes omit detail on purity, route of administration and control groups, which makes cross-study comparison difficult. Researchers working with the compound generally note the need for independent replication, standardized enzyme assays, and clearer reporting of peptide identity. These caveats are relevant when weighing claims that appear in secondary sources rather than in primary reports.
(TG:@pojiaai)Epitalon is a synthetic linear tetrapeptide with the sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, abbreviated AEDG. It emerged from work on epithalamin, a peptide fraction prepared from bovine pineal tissue, and was designed as a short, chemically defined analogue of that extract. Early publications came mainly from Russian laboratories studying pineal peptides and aging-related endpoints. The compound appears in the literature under several spellings, including epithalon and epithalone, which complicates systematic searching. Its small size makes solid-phase assembly and routine analytical characterization straightforward.
His grandson, Liu Shizao reportedly said that upon reading a news article on Liu Wencai's activities, Liu Wenhui stated, "What the hell are they talking about?" He was also unable to stop Red Guards from associating him with Liu Wencai and ransacking his house in 1966. Although his son Liu Yuanyan in an interview by CCTV stated that he was never explicitly dismissed from the Forestry Minister post, he lost all authority in the wake of the chaotic Cultural Revolution. He had a negative opinion of the Cultural Revolution, stating, "An ironclad nation, smashed to pieces just like that!"; however, he did not make this sentiment public. Liu's public statements during his latter period according to primary communist sources were focused on promoting Chinese reunification. In 1972, he wrote an article for the pro-Beijing Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po, calling on his old colleagues in Taiwan to work towards unification. He reiterated these statements in a 1974 New Year's address.
=== Information technology === The last decade has seen a proliferation of information technology use in the planning and conduct of clinical trials. Clinical trial management systems are often used by research sponsors or CROs to help plan and manage the operational aspects of a clinical trial, particularly with respect to investigational sites. Advanced analytics for identifying researchers and research sites with expertise in a given area utilize public and private information about ongoing research. Web-based electronic data capture (EDC) and clinical data management systems are used in a majority of clinical trials to collect case report data from sites, manage its quality and prepare it for analysis. Interactive voice response systems are used by sites to register the enrollment of patients using a phone and to allocate patients to a particular treatment arm (although phones are being increasingly replaced with web-based (IWRS) tools which are sometimes part of the EDC system). While patient-reported outcome were often paper based in the past, measurements are increasingly being collected using web portals or hand-held ePRO (or eDiary) devices, sometimes wireless. Statistical software is used to analyze the collected data and prepare them for regulatory submission. Access to many of these applications are increasingly aggregated in web-based clinical trial portals.
An enzyme is a biological macromolecule, usually a protein, that acts as a biological catalyst, accelerating chemical reactions without being consumed in the process. The molecules on which enzymes act are called substrates, which are converted into products. Nearly all metabolic processes within a cell depend on enzyme catalysis to occur at biologically relevant rates. A metabolic pathway is typically composed of a series of enzyme-catalyzed steps. The study of enzymes is known as enzymology, and a related field focuses on pseudoenzymes—proteins that have lost catalytic activity but may retain regulatory or scaffolding functions, often indicated by alterations in their amino acid sequences or unusual 'pseudocatalytic' behavior. Enzymes are known to catalyze over 5,000 types of biochemical reactions. Other biological catalysts include catalytic RNA molecules, or ribozymes, which are sometimes classified as enzymes despite being composed of RNA rather than protein. More recently, biomolecular condensates have been recognized as a third category of biocatalysts, capable of catalyzing reactions by creating interfaces and gradients—such as ionic gradients—that drive biochemical processes, even when their component proteins are not intrinsically catalytic. Enzymes increase the reaction rate by lowering a reaction's activation energy, often by factors of millions. A striking example is orotidine 5′-phosphate decarboxylase, which accelerates a reaction that would otherwise take millions of years to occur in milliseconds.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
For research purposes, curium is obtained by irradiating not uranium but plutonium, which is available in large amounts from spent nuclear fuel. A much higher neutron flux is used for the irradiation that results in a different reaction chain and formation of 244Cm:
== Conservation status == Rattlesnakes tend to avoid developed areas, preferring undisturbed, natural habitats. Rapid habitat destruction by humans, mass killings during events such as rattlesnake round-ups, and deliberate extermination campaigns all pose threats to rattlesnake populations in many areas. Several species, such as the timber rattlesnake, massasauga, and canebrake rattlesnake, are listed as threatened or endangered in many U.S. states. Many rattlesnakes die from being run over by cars. In more heavily populated and trafficked areas, reports have been increasing of rattlesnakes that do not rattle. This phenomenon is falsely attributed to selective pressure by humans, who often kill the snakes when they are discovered. However, snake experts have dismissed this theory, stating that snakes simply do not rattle as often as laymen expect them to, and that snakes that live near populated areas simply get used to people passing by, only rattling when a person lingers too long or gets too close.
parameters. Another common practice is to reduce the number of codons by forbidding the stop (or nonsense) codons. This is a biologically reasonable assumption because including the stop codons would mean that one is calculating the probability of finding sense codon
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
It is a synthetic tetrapeptide built from alanine, glutamate, aspartate and glycine. The four residues are joined by standard peptide bonds, giving a linear chain rather than a branched structure.
The name derives from epithalamin, a pineal gland extract studied in the former Soviet Union. Researchers proposed that short fragments of that extract carried the biological activity of interest.
No major regulatory agency has approved it as a medicine. It is handled as a research chemical, and products sold under this name are not standardised drugs with defined clinical labelling.
Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide composed of four amino acids: alanine, glutamate, aspartate, and glycine. It is written as Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly. The free peptide has a molecular weight of about 390 daltons and is normally supplied as a lyophilized powder.