Epithalon

Also known as: Epitalon, N-Acetyl Epitalon, AEDG peptide, Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly

Wellness

In plain English

Epithalon is a lab-made four-amino-acid peptide based on a substance from the pineal gland, promoted as an "anti-aging" compound that may lengthen telomeres (the protective caps on chromosomes). The supporting research comes almost entirely from one Russian group and includes lab studies and long-term observations using a related pineal extract; it is not confirmed by independent large trials. It is not FDA-approved, and claims about extending human lifespan are not established.

The science

Epithalon (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly) is the synthetic tetrapeptide derived from the pineal preparation epithalamin. Cell studies reported induction of telomerase activity and telomere elongation in human somatic cells (Khavinson et al., 2003), and long-term clinical observations using epithalamin (not always the synthetic tetrapeptide) reported reduced mortality in elderly cardiac patients over 12 years (Korkushko et al., 2006). This body of work originates largely from a single St. Petersburg research group, has not been independently replicated in large randomized trials, and often conflates epithalamin (extract) with epitalon (peptide). Human clinical evidence is limited and low-certainty; it is not FDA-approved.

References

• Khavinson VK et al., Bull Exp Biol Med 2003 (telomerase in human cells)
• Korkushko OV et al., Bull Exp Biol Med 2006 (epithalamin, 12-yr elderly study)