This compound is supplied for in-vitro and preclinical research only. It is not a medicinal product. It is not approved for human or veterinary use in any jurisdiction. No therapeutic, medicinal, cosmetic, or performance-enhancement claims are made or implied. By proceeding to inquire, you confirm you are an adult researcher acquiring this compound within your own research framework. Full terms on the Research Use Only page.
Epitalon
50 mg freeze-dried vial, synthetic tetrapeptide
Compound specifications, chemistry, and storage.
Technical specifications
Specimen format| Compound name | Epitalon (Epithalon) |
| Also known as | Epithalon, tetrapeptide, AEDG |
| CAS number | 307297-39-8 |
| PubChem CID | 219042 → |
| InChI Key | Reference InChI Key on COA |
| SMILES | Reference SMILES on COA |
| Empirical formula (Hill notation) | C14H22N4O9 |
| Molecular weight | 390.39 g/mol (monoisotopic mass: 390.14) |
| Salt form | Acetate (default) |
| Counter-ion content | Quantified per batch on COA. Custom salt forms (chloride, ammonium, TFA) available on quote. |
| Sequence (1-letter) | AEDG |
| Sequence (3-letter) | Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly |
| Length | 4 amino acids (tetrapeptide) |
| Weight basis | Gross weight per industry standard. Net peptide content quantified on batch COA. |
| Quantity per vial | 50 mg |
| Format | Freeze-dried white powder or thin film, sealed under inert atmosphere. Why does the vial look empty? |
| Appearance | White freeze-dried cake or powder. May also appear as a thin film on the vial wall. |
| Solubility | Water soluble, reconstituted with bacteriostatic water (1 to 2 ml typical) |
| Solution colour | Clear and colourless when correctly reconstituted |
| Purity (HPLC) | Specification ≥98.5%, tested before listing |
| Identity confirmation | LC-MS, batch-specific spectrum on COA |
| Endotoxin (LAL) | Within Ph. Eur. specification, batch report on COA |
| Storage (freeze-dried) | 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, sealed, protected from light. Avoid thermal cycling. |
| Storage (reconstituted) | 2 to 8 degrees Celsius. Use within 4 to 6 weeks. Avoid repeated freeze-thaw. |
| Shelf life | 24 months from synthesis date when storage conditions are maintained |
| Country of synthesis | EU partner facility, Ph. Eur. methodology references |
| Application | In-vitro and preclinical research only. Not for human or veterinary use. |
A synthetic tetrapeptide, and what the published research says about it.
Epitalon (also Epithalon) is a synthetic tetrapeptide first developed by V.Kh. Khavinson and colleagues at the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. Published preclinical and clinical research, predominantly Russian-language, has investigated the peptide’s reported activity in pineal-gland regulation, telomerase modulation, and longevity-pathway research. The sections below summarise what the published research investigates, what Cresten supplies, and what the certificate of analysis confirms.
Where Epitalon comes from.
Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide composed of four amino acids in the sequence Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly. It was identified in the 1990s by Vladimir Khavinson and colleagues at the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, derived from a larger polypeptide preparation called Epithalamin extracted from bovine pineal gland tissue. The synthetic four-amino-acid version was developed as a short, defined research tool to investigate which fragment of the larger Epithalamin extract carried the activity reported in earlier studies.
The peptide is one of the simplest in the research-peptide catalogue at four residues. It is built by standard Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis, purified by reversed-phase HPLC, and freeze-dried. The published research often uses Epitalon and Epithalon interchangeably; the older "Epithalamin" designation refers specifically to the larger pineal extract from which Epitalon was isolated, not to the four-amino-acid synthetic peptide.
PubMed lists roughly 70 papers mentioning Epitalon or Epithalon as of 2026, with the great majority published by the original Saint Petersburg research group and collaborators. Research has focused on telomerase activity in cell culture, lifespan studies in rodent and avian models, and pineal-gland physiology in older animals. Accredited replication outside the original research group remains limited.
What the research looks at.
Epitalon research has concentrated on two related lines of investigation. The first is telomerase activity. Cell-culture studies from the Saint Petersburg group have reported increased telomerase activity in cultured human somatic cells exposed to the peptide, with corresponding measurements of telomere length. These findings have been the basis for most of the cited mechanism literature.
The second strand looks at lifespan and tumour incidence in animal models, primarily mice and chickens. Papers from the original group have reported extended median lifespan in some rodent strains and reduced spontaneous tumour incidence in others, against age-matched controls. Accredited replication of these lifespan findings outside the original research group is limited and has not produced clear consensus.
"The mechanism literature on Epitalon is concentrated in a small number of research groups, and accredited replication of the central findings has been limited."
A separate line of research has examined the peptide in pineal-gland and circadian-rhythm contexts in animal models, building on the original observation that the peptide was extracted from pineal tissue. Studies have measured melatonin secretion patterns and pineal-gland histology in older animals, with papers reporting differences against age-matched controls.
Where the published research does not go: there are no FDA or EMA approvals, no large randomised trials in humans, and no consensus mechanism that would explain the reported telomerase findings in molecular terms. The literature is observational with respect to lifespan and biochemical with respect to telomerase activity in cell culture.
What the certificate confirms.
Every Cresten batch of Epitalon ships with a certificate from an analytical lab, against the test panel described on the Methodology page. The certificate that ships with your batch confirms:
The certificate format is shown on the batch verification page.
Where the published research on Epitalon lives.
PubMed indexes 80+ publications mentioning Epitalon as of 2026. Cresten does not curate a hand-selected reading list. Compound-specific selections influence which papers researchers find first; the unfiltered query, sortable by date, citation count, study type, and species, is queryable directly on PubMed.
Each result on PubMed links to the original journal record and, where available, full-text or open-access copies. Cresten supplies the compound; the literature is for the researcher to evaluate.
Open the full PubMed query →Opens at pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov in a new tab. The query string is preserved so you can refine, filter, or export from there.
What this monograph is not
This monograph summarises what the published research looks at regarding Epitalon mechanism. It is not a therapeutic recommendation. It is not dosing guidance. It is not a clinical protocol. It is not medical advice.
Cresten Labs supplies Epitalon as a research compound for lab-based research only. The decision to investigate any compound in any research framework is the researcher’s decision, within their own ethical, legal, and methodological boundaries.
Cresten makes no claim about human therapeutic use, no claim about clinical effectiveness, no claim about safety in human use, and no claim that this compound has been reviewed by any regulator for any medical use.
Frequently asked questions about Epitalon
Common research-protocol and supply questions about Epitalon, with answers grounded in published peer-reviewed research and Cresten Labs supply practice. All information is for in vitro and preclinical research only.
What is Epitalon?
Epitalon is a tetrapeptide bioregulator, a 4-amino-acid peptide (CAS 307297-39-8, molecular weight 390.35 g/mol). Cresten Labs supplies Epitalon as a freeze-dried vial for in vitro and preclinical research only, with each batch verified at Janoshik Analytical.
What does research suggest Epitalon does?
Published research investigates Epitalon for modulating telomerase activity and pineal-gland melatonin pathway signaling in published research models. The compound is studied primarily in telomerase activity and circadian regulation research. Epitalon is supplied for research use only and is not approved by any regulator for medical use.
What is the typical Epitalon dosage in published research?
Published Epitalon dosage in research protocols ranges from 5 to 10 mg per administration in research protocols, administered subcutaneously, with short 10 to 20 day cycles, usually one or two cycles per year in longevity research. Cresten Labs publishes the typical Epitalon protocol ranges as research-protocol references only; this is not dosing guidance for human use.
How do I reconstitute Epitalon for research?
Standard Epitalon reconstitution adds 2 mL plain bacteriostatic water for the 50 mg vial. Cresten ships lyophilized Epitalon vials for reconstitution by the researcher per their protocol.
What is the Epitalon half-life and how is Epitalon storage handled?
Published research reports Epitalon systemic half-life at short systemic half-life; the protocol is short cycles of 10 to 20 days. Epitalon storage: lyophilized vial stable at room temperature for shipping; reconstituted solution stored at 2 to 8 °C and used within 28 days. The Cresten certificate of analysis lists the synthesis date, batch identifier, and the storage conditions verified for this specific batch.
Epitalon vs standalone in most research protocols: how do they compare in research?
In published research comparing Epitalon vs standalone in most research protocols, Epitalon is typically run as a standalone short-cycle research compound; it is not commonly stacked with other peptides in published protocols. The two compounds are studied separately and in combination depending on the research question. Cresten Labs supplies both as verified research compounds.
What does research literature report about Epitalon side effects?
Published Epitalon research reports the following: preclinical research reports tolerability; long-term human data remains limited. Cresten Labs supplies the compound for research use only; clinical-use side-effect data should be drawn from peer-reviewed clinical trial publications, not from research-vendor pages.
Where to buy Epitalon in Europe?
Cresten Labs supplies Epitalon across the EU single market to 16 European countries. Each Epitalon batch is tested at Janoshik Analytical with the certificate of analysis published on the website before it lists. Epitalon is sold for in vitro and preclinical research only, not for human or veterinary use.
How is Epitalon verified at Cresten Labs?
Every Epitalon batch is tested at Janoshik Analytical in Czech Republic, an third-party peptide-analysis laboratory. Each batch certificate documents HPLC purity, mass-spectrometry identity confirmation, and contamination panels. The certificate publishes with the batch, before it lists.
What is the typical Epitalon stack in published research?
In published research, the typical Epitalon stack pairs the compound with standalone in most research protocols. Epitalon is typically run as a standalone short-cycle research compound; it is not commonly stacked with other peptides in published protocols.