A practical reference on epithalamin: what it is, how it behaves, what the literature reports, and where the honest uncertainties sit.
This page was last updated on 2026-06-01 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.
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.
The four residues give epitalon a molecular formula of C14H22N4O9 and a molecular weight near 390.35 daltons. The presence of two acidic residues, glutamate and aspartate, makes the free peptide strongly acidic, while the alanine and glycine ends provide neutral, nonpolar character. This combination produces a molecule with substantial water solubility. Because there are no cysteine, methionine, or tryptophan residues, the peptide lacks the most common oxidation-sensitive side chains, which simplifies handling compared with many longer peptides.
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.
Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide with the sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, commonly abbreviated AEDG. It was designed at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology as a short, chemically defined analogue of epithalamin, a fraction obtained from bovine pineal tissue. Small peptide bioregulators of this type formed a long-running line of work there from the 1980s onward. Because the molecule is produced by solid-phase synthesis rather than extraction, its composition is exact and its purity can be measured directly.
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.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Amino acid sequence | Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly | Tetrapeptide, often abbreviated AEDG |
| Molecular formula | C14H22N4O9 | Free peptide, unmodified termini |
| Molecular weight | ~390.35 Da | Calculated for the free acid form |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Typical lyophilized product form |
| Solubility class | Freely soluble in water | Two acidic residues dominate ionic character |
Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide whose sequence is alanine–glutamate–aspartate–glycine, commonly abbreviated AEDG. It was developed in Russia during the 1980s and 1990s by investigators associated with the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, who studied short peptides as regulators of gene expression and tissue function. The alternative spelling epithalon appears interchangeably in the literature, and the two names refer to the same molecule. Outside Russia it is encountered chiefly as a research chemical rather than a licensed medicine, and it holds no approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency.
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.
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.
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.
Somatostatin, also known as growth hormone-inhibiting hormone (GHIH) or by several other names, is a peptide hormone that regulates the endocrine system and affects neurotransmission and cell proliferation via interaction with G protein-coupled somatostatin receptors and inhibition of the release of numerous secondary hormones. Somatostatin inhibits insulin and glucagon secretion. Somatostatin has two active forms produced by the alternative cleavage of a single preproprotein: one consisting of 14 amino acids (shown in infobox to right), the other consisting of 28 amino acids. Alternate cleavage sites of the SST preproprotein results in the production of the hormone Neuronostatin, which has two active forms as Neuronostatin-13 and Neuronostatin-19. Neuronostatin is distinct from Somatostatin in its amino acid sequence, post-translation modifications and receptor binding. Among the vertebrates, there exist six different somatostatin genes that have been named: SS1, SS2, SS3, SS4, SS5 and SS6. Zebrafish have all six. The six different genes, along with the five different somatostatin receptors, allow somatostatin to possess a large range of functions. Humans have only one somatostatin gene, SST.
== Oxidative bisulfite sequencing == 5-Methylcytosine and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine both read as a C in bisulfite sequencing. In oxidative bisulfite sequencing (oxBS), Tet is used to convert 5-hydroxymethylcytosine to 5-formylcytosine, which subsequently converts to uracil during bisulfite treatment. The only base that then reads as a C is 5‑methylcytosine, giving a map of the true methylation status in the DNA sample. Levels of 5‑hydroxymethylcytosine can also be quantified by measuring the difference between bisulfite and oxidative bisulfite sequencing. Another method, Tet-assisted oxidative bisulfite sequencing (TAB-Seq) by Chuan He at the University of Chicago, converts the bases differently: 5hmC reads as C, while 5mC and C both read as T. To achieve this, 5hmC bases are first "protected" by conversion to β-glucosyl-5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5gmC). The Tet enzyme is introduced to convert all 5mC to 5caC. Bisulfite then converts both C and 5caC into uracil. 5gmC will be read out like C in PCR amplification.
=== Significant dates === According to legend, the coffee plant was discovered in Ethiopia by a goat herder named Kaldi around 850 AD, who observed increased physical activity in his goats after they consumed coffee beans. First cultivation in India (Chikmagalur) – 1600 First cultivation in Europe – 1616 First cultivation in Java – 1699 First cultivation in Caribbean (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico) – 1715–1730 First cultivation in Dutch East Indies – 1720 First cultivation in South America – 1730 Roasted beans first sold on retail market (Pittsburgh) – 1865 Various coffee extracts, and powdered instant coffee, developed in the late 19th century
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Szára, who later worked for the United States National Institutes of Health, researched DMT after his order to acquire LSD from the Swiss company Sandoz Laboratories was rejected on the grounds that the powerful psychotropic could be dangerous in the hands of a communist country. In his paper Dimethyltryptamin: Its Metabolism in Man; the Relation of its Psychotic Effect to the Serotonin Metabolism, Szara employed synthetic DMT, synthesized by the Speeter–Anthony route, which was then administered to 20 volunteers by intramuscular injection. Urine samples were collected from these volunteers for the identification of DMT metabolites. This is considered to be the link between the chemical structure of DMT and its cultural consumption as a psychoactive and religious sacrament. Another historical milestone was the discovery of DMT in plants frequently used by Amazonian natives as additive to the vine Banisteriopsis caapi to make ayahuasca decoctions. In 1957, American chemists Francis Hochstein and Anita Paradies identified DMT in an "aqueous extract" of leaves of a plant they named Prestonia amazonicum [sic] and described as "commonly mixed" with B. caapi. The lack of a proper botanical identification of Prestonia amazonica in this study led American ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes (1915–2001) and other scientists to raise serious doubts about the claimed plant identity. The mistake likely led the writer William Burroughs to regard the DMT he experimented with in Tangier in 1961 as "Prestonia".
Narrated by Henrietta Bess, produced by Nicholas Kent, directed by Peter Webber 19 July What Shall We Do with the Moon?, shown thirty years after the 1969 Moon landing; about colonization of the Moon; Greg Bennett (writer); the Apollo 17 mission, in December 1972; Alan Binder, who worked on the January 1998 Lunar Prospector, which discovered water on the Moon; Jim Benson and his SpaceDev at Poway, California; the Thunderbird proposal of Starchaser Industries; the Nomad rover, developed by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh; chemist Nigel Packham of NASA; physicist David Criswell, and solar power on the Moon. Narrated by Scottish actress Daniela Nardini, produced by Katrina Phillips, directed by Chris Durlacher, made by Wall to Wall Television. Shown on the Discovery Science (European TV channel) 6 September Frozen Hearts, up to 50% of people on a heart-lung machine have some form of brain deterioration, and for one in five, the deterioration is permanent Alan Egar had heart surgery, but he had memory difficulties after the operation; he found difficulty finishing sentences; in the US four-year-old Samantha Summers is put on a heart-lung machine at Boston Children's Hospital; David Eckmann, later the Horatio C.
Proteomics: Large-scale study of proteins, particularly their structures and functions. Mass spectrometry techniques are used. Chemoproteomics: An array of techniques used to study protein-small molecule interactions Immunoproteomics: Study of large sets of proteins (proteomics) involved in the immune response Nutriproteomics: Identifying the molecular targets of nutritive and non-nutritive components of the diet. Uses proteomics mass spectrometry data for protein expression studies Proteogenomics: An emerging field of biological research at the intersection of proteomics and genomics. Proteomics data used for gene annotations. Structural genomics: Study of the three-dimensional structure of every protein encoded by a given genome using a combination of experimental and modeling approaches.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Within two years, they had opened 29 stores in Singapore and Malaysia, almost as many stores as the Hymans had opened in their 35 years of ownership. In 1998, the Sassoons, along with longtime friend Severin Wunderman, purchased the parent company, International Coffee & Tea LLC, from the Hymans, and took it global. Victor Sassoon worked out of Singapore, Sunny Sassoon worked in Los Angeles, and Wunderman was a silent partner with no role in management. International Coffee & Tea, LLC remained the name of the holding company. Sunny Sassoon served as president and CEO from 1998 until 2009, when he moved to the executive chairman position until 2019. In 2009, Mel Elias (Sassoon's brother-in-law) assumed the role of president and CEO of the company, after spending seven years as chief operating officer. In September 2013, a significant equity position in Coffee Bean was acquired from International Coffee & Tea by US-based Advent International, in partnership with South Korea-based Mirae Asset Private Equity and Taiwan-based CDIB Capital. The Sassoon family remains a large shareholder. John Fuller served as president and CEO from 2015 to 2020. In April 28, 2014, Hyman died at the age of 82. He had heart disease. In 2019, the Philippines' Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) acquired The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for $350 million, making it Jollibee's biggest investment at the time. JFC bought it through Java Ventures LLC, a company from the US that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Super Magnificent Coffee Company Pte. Ltd. in Singapore, a subsidiary of Jollibee Worldwide Pte Ltd.
== Patents == Compositions and methods for inducing apoptosis. J. Kopeček, J. Yang, T.-W. Chu. (2019) US 10,251,906 B2. Compositions and methods for using albumin-based nanomedicines. J. Kopeček, J. Yang. US 10,925,973 (Feb. 23, 2021) Polymeric drug delivery conjugates and methods of making and using thereof. H. Pan, J. Yang, P. Kopečková, K. Luo, J. Kopeček (2016) US 9,289,510 B2 Hydrogels of water-soluble polymers crosslinked by protein domains. J. Kopeček, R. Stewart, K. Caldwell, C. Wang, C-H. Ho (2007) US 7,179,487 Synthetic polymeric drugs. J. Kopeček, P. Rejmanová, J. Strohalm, K. Ulbrich, B. Říhová, V. Chytrý, J.B. Lloyd, R. Duncan (1991) US 5,037,883 Copolymers based on N-substituted acrylamides, N-substituted methacrylamides and N,N-disubstituted acrylamides and the method of their manufacturing. J. Kopeček, K. Ulbrich, J. Vacík, J. Strohalm, V. Chytrý, J. Drobník, J. Kálal (1977) US 4,062,831 Device for connecting or joining the ends of interrupted tubular organs in surgical operations without stitching. D. Lím, L. Šprincl, J. Kopeček (1973) US 3,774,615 Increasing permeability of reverse osmosis membranes. J. Kopeček, S. Sourirajan (1970) US 3,536,612
Also in 2021, McLain performed the role of Thelma (or Mama) in a livestreamed version of the play 'night, Mother co-starring Sheila Houlahan on the online platform Twitch with the story adapted by McLain within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The filmed online play, directed by McLain's husband John Patrick Lowrie, is performed through an online face-to-face chat with the screen split between McLain's and Houlahan's screens, occasionally interrupted by cuts to pre-filmed footage relevant to the story. In 2022, McLain provided the voice of GLaDOS for the GEICO insurance ad.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
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.
No. Epitalon is chemically synthesized, not extracted. It was designed as a short synthetic fragment conceptually related to larger pineal peptides studied in the same research tradition, particularly the extract known as epithalamin. The two are distinct materials with different compositions.
The term bioregulator is used in this research tradition for short peptides proposed to influence gene expression or cell function. Epitalon is grouped with other synthetic short peptides under this label. The term reflects a proposed mechanism rather than an established drug classification.
No. Epithalamin is a peptide-containing extract of bovine pineal glands, while epitalon is a single synthetic tetrapeptide. The extract contains many peptides and other tissue components, so its composition varies between batches in ways that a synthesised sequence does not.