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Epitalon Background And Nomenclature — 2026 Update

By Editorial Desk · published 2025-08-18 · last reviewed 2025-10-10 · Data

Everything below concerns bioregulator. We keep the language plain, cite what the science says, and separate well-supported claims from open questions.

Updated 2025-10-10. Numbers and descriptions here follow the published literature rather than marketing material.

Epitalon Background and Nomenclature

Epitalon is the common name for a synthetic tetrapeptide with the sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, usually abbreviated AEDG. All four residues are proteinogenic amino acids, and the free peptide has a calculated mass near 390 grams per mole. Because the chain is short and carries no modifications, it is assembled readily by solid-phase synthesis and is distributed mainly as a freeze-dried solid for laboratory work. Catalogue listings use the spellings epitalon, epithalone, and simply AEDG, and the three refer to the same sequence.

The compound is generally presented as a synthetic fragment of epithalamin, a pineal gland extract investigated in the former Soviet Union from the 1970s onward. Vladimir Khavinson and colleagues in Saint Petersburg developed short peptides modelled on such extracts, and epitalon became the most widely cited of those sequences. Most primary reports appeared in Russian-language journals or in proceedings with limited international circulation. Independent replication in laboratories outside that network remains sparse, and much repeated secondary material traces back to a small number of originating groups.

Laboratory work has examined effects on telomerase activity in cultured cells, on melatonin rhythms in animals, and on markers of oxidative stress. Some experiments report measurable changes while others show none, and the reported findings rest largely on small studies. The absence of large independent trials means the generality of these results is unresolved rather than settled. Review articles occasionally apply the label geroprotector, a term that reflects a research hypothesis about ageing rather than an established clinical finding.

Chemical Identity and Research Background

The compound is described in the literature as a derivative of epithalamin, a preparation obtained from bovine pineal tissue. Work on this peptide family was carried out mainly by a research group in Saint Petersburg beginning in the 1980s, and the substance was later registered for clinical use in Russia under the name Epitalon. Outside that region it is generally treated as a research chemical rather than an approved medicine. Statements about its biological activity rest on a relatively small number of studies, and independent replication remains limited.

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.

Epitalon at a glance

PropertyValueNotes
Molecular formulaC14H22N4O9Computed for the free acid of Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly
Molecular massAbout 390.35 g/molFree peptide; salt forms shift the value
AppearanceWhite to off-white solidTypical of short peptides after freeze-drying
Solubility classFreely soluble in waterAqueous buffers are also commonly used
Common synonymsEpitalon, epithalone, AEDGAEDG is the single-letter sequence

Epitalon Peptide Background and Structure

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.

Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide with the amino acid sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, abbreviated Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly or AEDG. It was developed by the Russian researcher Vladimir Khavinson and colleagues during work on peptide bioregulators derived from the pineal gland. The compound is short enough to be produced by standard solid-phase peptide synthesis and is typically handled as a lyophilized white powder. Its small size distinguishes it from larger pineal peptides such as epithalamin, a complex extract from which the tetrapeptide was conceptually derived.

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Background and Proposed Mechanism

The most frequently cited proposed action is induction of telomerase, the enzyme that adds repeat sequences to chromosome ends. Cell-culture work from the originating group reported higher telomerase reverse transcriptase expression and measurable telomere elongation in human somatic cells after exposure. How a four-residue peptide would reach nuclear gene regulation is not established, and no cell-surface receptor or uptake route has been identified. Additional reports describe changes in melatonin secretion, antioxidant enzyme activity and lipid peroxidation in aged animals, but these findings remain mechanistically unconnected to the telomerase observation.

Published evidence comes mainly from Russian-language journals and from a single research group, with small sample sizes and limited independent replication. A few laboratories outside that group have examined related peptides and reported weaker or absent telomerase effects, so the central claim is best described as contested rather than settled. Rodent studies report modest changes in some ageing markers and in survival, but designs vary and control conditions are often sparse. No large randomised trial in humans has been published, and long-term safety data in healthy populations are correspondingly thin.

Notes from published material

Cns1 is a oxidoreductase/dehydrogenase. Cns2 is a HDc-family metal-dependent phosphohydrolase. There is a binding interaction between Cns1 and Cns2. Cns3 is a bifunctional protein. It has an N-terminal (9–101 aa) nucleoside/nucleotide kinase (NK) domain and a C-terminal (681-851 aa) HisG-family ATP phosphoribosyltransferase domain. Cns4 is an ABC transporter, specifically of the putative pleiotropic drug resistance (PDR) family. To produce cordycepin:

=== Pacific islands === During an El Niño event, New Zealand tends to experience stronger or more frequent westerly winds during their summer, which leads to an elevated risk of drier than normal conditions along the east coast. There is more rain than usual though on New Zealand's West Coast, because of the barrier effect of the North Island mountain ranges and the Southern Alps. Fiji generally experiences drier than normal conditions during an El Niño, which can lead to drought becoming established over the Islands. However, the main impacts on the island nation is felt about a year after the event becomes established. Within the Samoan Islands, below average rainfall and higher than normal temperatures are recorded during El Niño events, which can lead to droughts and forest fires on the islands. Other impacts include a decrease in the sea level, possibility of coral bleaching in the marine environment and an increased risk of a tropical cyclone affecting Samoa. In the late winter and spring during El Niño events, drier than average conditions can be expected in Hawaii. On Guam during El Niño years, dry season precipitation averages below normal, but the probability of a tropical cyclone is more than triple what is normal, so extreme short duration rainfall events are possible. On American Samoa during El Niño events, precipitation averages about 10 percent above normal, while La Niña events are associated with precipitation averaging about 10 percent below normal.

Calmodulin-like protein 5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CALML5 gene. This gene encodes a novel calcium binding protein expressed in the epidermis and related to the calmodulin family of calcium binding proteins. Functional studies with recombinant protein demonstrate it does bind calcium and undergoes a conformational change when it does so. Abundant expression is detected only in reconstructed epidermis and is restricted to differentiating keratinocytes. In addition, it can associate with transglutaminase 3, shown to be a key enzyme in the terminal differentiation of keratinocytes. Human CALML5 genome location and CALML5 gene details page in the UCSC Genome Browser. Overview of all the structural information available in the PDB for UniProt: Q9NZT1 (Human Calmodulin-like protein 5) at the PDBe-KB.

In bioconjugation (forming a stable covalent link between a biomolecule and a functional payloads, such as fluorescent dyes, cytotoxic agents, or tracers), linking of the payload was classically achieved using maleimide heterobifunctional reagents (for example, see SMCC). However, when administered into living organisms, maleimide-containing bioconjugates were found to be relatively unstable and lose the payload in the blood circulation due to reversibility of the addition reaction between maleimide moiety and cysteine residue of a protein (retro Michael addition). Due to increased stability of bioconjugates obtained with analogous APN-based payloads (a schematic reaction is shown in the Figure 2 below), their use is often preferable when high selectivity and biostability are especially important: namely for the preparation of antibody−drug conjugates and other biologics. Standard procedure for APN protein labeling consists in incubation of a protein containing free cysteine residues with an APN-functionalized probe in PBS buffer at pH 7.5-9.0 at room temperature for 2–12 hours, followed by an optional step of purification of the resulting bioconjugate using size exclusion chromatography or ultrafiltration.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Further detail

== See also == Arylalkylamine Substituted amphetamine Substituted methylenedioxyphenethylamine Substituted cathinone Substituted phenylmorpholine Substituted methoxyphenethylamine 2C, DOx, 4C, Ψ-PEA, scaline, 3C, 25-NB, FLY Substituted tryptamine PiHKAL The Shulgin Index

for engineering alloys is 100 mm and for ceramics is 0.001 mm. If we assume that manufacturing processes can give rise to flaws in the order of micrometers, then, it can be seen that ceramics are more likely to fail by fracture, whereas engineering alloys would fail by plastic deformation.

=== Origins === Chronic widespread pain had been described in the literature in the 19th century. Fibromyalgia was first recognized in the 1950s. Many names, including muscular rheumatism, fibrositis, psychogenic rheumatism, and neurasthenia had been applied historically to symptoms resembling those of fibromyalgia. The term fibromyalgia was first used in 1976, when Phillip Kahler Hench used it to describe widespread pain symptoms, and it was used by researcher Mohammed Yunus in a scientific publication in 1981. A 1977 paper on fibrositis by Smythe and Moldofsky was important in the development of the fibromyalgia concept. The first clinical, controlled study of the characteristics of fibromyalgia syndrome was published in 1981, providing support for symptom associations. In 1984, an interconnection between fibromyalgia syndrome and other similar conditions was proposed, and in 1986, trials of the first proposed medications for fibromyalgia were published. A 1987 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association used the term 'fibromyalgia syndrome', while saying it was a "controversial condition". The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) published its first classification criteria for fibromyalgia in 1990. Later revisions were made in 2010, 2016, and 2019.

=== Disclosure of the identity of BasedBeffJezos === Forbes disclosed in December 2023 that the @BasedBeffJezos persona is maintained by Guillaume Verdon, a Canadian former Google quantum computing engineer and theoretical physicist. The revelation was supported by a voice analysis conducted by the National Center for Media Forensics of the University of Colorado Denver, which further confirmed the match between Jezos and Verdon. The magazine justified its decision to disclose Verdon's identity on the grounds of it being "in the public interest". On 29 December 2023 Guillaume Verdon was interviewed by Lex Fridman on the Lex Fridman Podcast and introduced as the "creator of the effective accelerationism movement".

=== Operations === Penn Station currently operates in a hybrid mode, with some trains turning back at the station and others running through the station. Almost all Amtrak trains servicing the Northeast Corridor run through Penn Station in either revenue-to-revenue or revenue-to-non-revenue mode, while LIRR and NJT operate both turning trains and through-running trains. This hybrid regime is optimized for the peak commuter demand between the suburbs and Manhattan, with a highly optimized operating plan for each railroad that results in unbalanced service. During the morning peak period, many commuter trains are "through-run" to storage yards after dropping off passengers, a mode of operation which requires the shortest station dwell times and helps achieve maximum throughput. Roughly one-third of LIRR trains arriving from the east between 6:00 AM and 10:00 AM continue on to the West Side Yard, and a similar percentage of NJT trains arriving from the west continue on to Sunnyside Yard in Queens. The afternoon peak operation is similar but in reverse. The balance of daily trains turn at the station, either running back in revenue service or "deadheading" back to outlying termini to return for another trip or to await the next peak period. The following table summarizes peak hour train movements:

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Supporting material

Balances for accurately measuring materials. Laboratory glassware, such as burettes and pipettes, for performing titrations. Colorimeters for solution tests which apply the Beer–Lambert law. Spectrophotometer to measure the concentrations of the key parameter nitrate and other nutrients, such as phosphate, sulfate or iron. Containers for growing and storing the plants. Using chemical equipment for hydroponic solutions can be beneficial to growers of any background because nutrient solutions are often reusable. Because nutrient solutions are virtually never completely depleted, and should never be due to the unacceptably low osmotic pressure that would result, re-fortification of old solutions with new nutrients can save growers money and can control point source pollution, a common source for the eutrophication of nearby lakes and streams.

== Background == Competence is the ability of bacteria to pull DNA fragments from the environment and integrate it into their chromosome. Competence stimulating peptides (CSP) are a 17-amino acid signal peptide that triggers quorum sensing, which aids competence, biofilm formation, and virulence. The propensity of S. pneumoniae to become competent is critical to the bacterium's development of antibiotic resistance. A substantial fraction of cells in the culture of species whose appearance of competence has been studied shows that specific growth conditions (ex. growth-limiting conditions) have led to the development of competence. S. pneumoniae is unique in the sense that virtually all cells of a culture develop the ability to become competent at the same time. The density that the cells have reached during exponential growth plays a role at determining when the competency is triggered. This competency period only lasts for a short period of time, and studies indicate that this does not affect the growth rate of the culture. There are two main specificity groups that S. pneumoniae can be divided into based on the CSP signal they produce and their compatible receptors. The CSP1 signal is received by receptor ComD1 and the CSP2 signal is received by ComD2.

Portugal's road network includes a system of 48 motorways, which, as of 2023, ranked as the seventh largest among 42 European countries. The busiest Portuguese airports are Lisbon Airport, Porto Airport, Faro Airport, Madeira Airport, and Ponta Delgada Airport. As of 2024, passenger and freight rail transport in Portugal operated on 2,526 km (1,570 mi) of active railway lines, with passenger services operated mainly by Comboios de Portugal (CP). The Port of Sines serves as Portugal's foremost container port and leads the country in cargo tonnage. As of 2023, two-thirds of Portugal's energy supply was imported, representing the 11th-highest level of energy dependency in the European Union. The country is pursuing energy transition and has invested in the development of renewable energy sources such as the Aguçadoura Wave Farm. Portugal has expanded the role of renewable sources in its energy sector, with renewables accounting for 35.2% of energy consumption, as of 2023 up from 21.9% in 2007, and 78.1% of total installed capacity, compared with 59.3% in 2014. In 2021, the country completed the phase-out of coal-fired generation.

==== Australia ==== Harmala alkaloids are considered Schedule 9 prohibited substances under the Poisons Standard (October 2015). A Schedule 9 substance is a substance which may be abused or misused, the manufacture, possession, sale or use of which should be prohibited by law except when required for medical or scientific research, or for analytical, teaching or training purposes with approval of Commonwealth and/or State or Territory Health Authorities.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Frequently asked questions

What is epitalon made of?

It is a four-amino-acid peptide with the sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine. The chain is unmodified and contains only standard proteinogenic residues, which makes it straightforward to produce by solid-phase synthesis and to characterise by standard peptide methods.

Why do two spellings appear in the literature?

Epitalon and epithalon both circulate, and the difference reflects transliteration of a name coined in Russian-language publications. Reference to the extract it derives from, epithalamin, explains the shared stem. Databases and suppliers are inconsistent, so a search for one spelling alone may miss relevant entries.

Is epitalon the same substance as epithalamin?

No. Epithalamin is a multi-component preparation obtained from pineal tissue, and its exact composition is not fully characterised. Epitalon is a single defined tetrapeptide described as a short synthetic counterpart of that extract, so the two are related in origin but not interchangeable in identity.

Which amino acids make up epitalon?

The peptide contains four residues in the order alanine, glutamate, aspartate and glycine, abbreviated AEDG. The chain is linear and held together by three peptide bonds. Its calculated mass for the uncharged free form is about 390.3 daltons.

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