tetrapeptide is one of those subjects where the details matter more than the headlines. This page pulls together the background, the mechanisms, and the practical points readers ask about most.
Updated 2026-04-19. Numbers and descriptions here follow the published literature rather than marketing material.
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.
Published studies on epitalon are dominated by a small number of research groups, and independent replication in other laboratories remains limited. Proposed mechanisms include activation of telomerase and modulation of melatonin rhythms, but the evidence for either rests mainly on cell cultures and animal models. Whether the peptide produces comparable effects in humans is an open question, and the absence of large controlled trials means the literature is best read as exploratory rather than settled.
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.
Published work on this compound consists mainly of in vitro experiments, animal studies, and small clinical investigations, a substantial share of which appeared in Russian-language journals. Sample sizes are generally small, control conditions differ between studies, and several endpoints rely on markers whose clinical meaning is itself debated. Reviews of the longevity field treat the peptide as an early example of telomerase-directed research rather than an established intervention. Regulatory treatment varies by country: some jurisdictions place it under prescription controls, others treat it as a laboratory material, and importation may be restricted regardless of local status.
| 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, commonly abbreviated AEDG. Its design traces to epithalamin, a peptide fraction prepared from bovine pineal gland extracts that researchers in Saint Petersburg began investigating in the 1970s. The compound has a molecular formula of C14H22N4O9 and a nominal molecular mass near 390 daltons. It holds no approved drug status in the United States or the European Union, and material sold under this name is generally offered as a research chemical rather than a finished pharmaceutical product.
Proposed mechanisms centre on cell-culture observations rather than a defined receptor interaction. Several reports describe increased expression of the telomerase catalytic subunit after exposure of cultured human cells, and the authors attributed the effect to short peptide fragments entering the nucleus and influencing gene transcription. No receptor for the tetrapeptide has been identified, and the free peptide is expected to be degraded rapidly by plasma peptidases. Whether any measurable fraction reaches intact tissues after administration remains an unresolved question rather than an established finding.
Chemically, the molecule consists of four amino acid residues joined by three peptide bonds, with a free N-terminal amino group and a free C-terminal carboxyl group. Its molecular formula is C14H22N4O9, and its monoisotopic mass is approximately 390 daltons. The acidic glutamate and aspartate side chains give the peptide a net negative charge near neutral pH, a property that shapes its chromatographic behaviour and solubility profile. No disulfide bridges or other post-translational modifications are present, so the primary sequence alone defines the structure.
Most experimental work has been carried out in cell culture and animal models. Several reports describe changes in telomerase activity and proliferation in cultured cells, while rodent studies have examined lifespan, melatonin rhythm and reproductive endpoints. Human data remain limited, and much of the published clinical material consists of small trials with incomplete reporting of methods and controls. Whether the cell and animal findings translate into measurable effects in people is an open question, and the mechanistic basis of the reported telomerase changes is not fully established.
==== Body fluids ==== Cocaine and its major metabolites may be quantified in blood, plasma, or urine to monitor for use, confirm a diagnosis of poisoning, or assist in the forensic investigation of a traffic or other criminal violation or sudden death. Most commercial cocaine immunoassay screening tests cross-react appreciably with the major cocaine metabolites, but chromatographic techniques can easily distinguish and separately measure each of these substances. When interpreting the results of a test, it is important to consider the cocaine usage history of the individual, since a chronic user can develop tolerance to doses that would incapacitate a cocaine-naive individual, and the chronic user often has high baseline values of the metabolites in his system. Cautious interpretation of testing results may allow a distinction between passive or active usage, and between smoking versus other routes of administration.
=== NMR (1H and 13C) spectroscopy of metallocenes === Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is the most applied tool in the study of metal sandwich compounds and organometallic species, giving information on nuclear structures in solution, as liquids, gases, and in the solid state. 1H NMR chemical shifts for paramagnetic organotransition-metal compounds is usually observed between 25 and 40 ppm, but this range is much more narrow for diamagnetic metallocene complexes, with chemical shifts usually observed between 3 and 7 ppm.
== Academic career == Following his Ph.D. degree research into the pharmacokinetics of amphetamines, he took up a postdoctoral research appointment in the laboratory of Sidney Riegelman, School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco (1965-1967), studying the pharmacokinetics of aspirin, and then took up a faculty position there (1967–75). While at UCSF. Rowland became a member of the joint Pharmacy-Medicine NIGMS funded program in Clinical Pharmacology, and moved his research from a prevailing descriptive approach to a more mechanistic, physiologically-based one, including the clearance concept that helped lay the foundations of modern pharmacokinetics. Together with Riegelman and Leslie Benet he founded the Journal of Pharmacokinetics and Biopharmaceutics (1973) (renamed Journal of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics, 2001), and was a senior editor of it until 2007. In 1975 Rowland returned to the United Kingdom to take up a position of Professor of Pharmacy, University of Manchester where he extended his research on physiologically based pharmacokinetics including development of an in silico method for predicting tissue distribution of drugs based on tissue composition and physicochemical properties. In 1983 he founded Medeval, undertaking early stage clinical evaluation of new medicines under development. Together with Brian Houston and Leon Aarons he established the Centre for Applied Pharmacokinetic Research (1996). He has promoted the application of microdosing in clinical drug development.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Methionine salvage === Homocysteine can be recycled into methionine. This process uses N5-methyl tetrahydrofolate as the methyl donor and Methylcobalamin (vitamin B12)-related enzymes. More detail on these enzymes can be found in the article for methionine synthase.
=== Other === The Congress that passed the Taft–Hartley Amendments considered repealing the Norris–La Guardia Act to the extent necessary to permit courts to issue injunctions against strikes violating a no-strike clause, but chose not to do so. The Supreme Court nonetheless held several decades later that the act implicitly gave the courts the power to enjoin such strikes over subjects that would be subject to final and binding arbitration under a collective bargaining agreement. Finally, the act imposed a number of procedural and substantive standards that unions and employers must meet before they may use employer funds to provide pensions and other employee benefit to unionized employees. Congress has since passed more extensive protections for workers and employee benefit plans as part of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA").
Glycoproteins and phosphoproteins are usually associated with covalent bonds since they have a carbohydrate or phosphate residue attached to the side chains of certain amino acid residues like asparagine, serine, and threonine. On the other hand, metalloproteins usually involve coordination bonds where there would be bonds between the metal ions and side chains of some amino acids like histidine, cysteine, or aspartic acid. All of these interactions create stable structures that are important for protein function. It is common for the prosthetic group to contribute to the function of the protein. An example of this is if the prosthetic group is broken away from the protein, the function of that protein is lost. This is seen in hemoglobin. When the heme group of hemoglobin is removed, the function of the protein is lost, making it a nonfunctional protein. This all highlights the prosthetic groups importance in maintaining both the structure and protein activity of conjugated proteins.
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 four-amino-acid peptide with the sequence alanine–glutamate–aspartate–glycine, also written AEDG. It was developed in Russian gerontology research and is studied for proposed effects on telomerase, melatonin regulation, and neuroendocrine function. It is not an approved pharmaceutical in the United States or the European Union.