Carl read the papersWhat it actually is
Ovagen is a synthetic tripeptide, Glu-Asp-Leu (EDL), from the short peptide bioregulators developed at the St Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology under Vladimir Khavinson. Same family as Epithalon and Bronchogen.
Websites file it under liver and gut, and a few online posts even sell it as an ovary peptide. The institute's own 2022 table lists it as a nephroprotector (kidney) first and a hepatoprotector second, and the hepatoprotector line cites a patent rather than a paper. Small detail. It tells you how thin the liver evidence is.
How it’s thought to work
- Bioregulator premise — Very short peptides are proposed to enter cells, reach DNA and nudge gene expression in one tissue. The group has published docking models of EDL sitting on DNA.
- Ageing markers in kidney cells — In young and ageing kidney cell cultures, EDL was reported to lower the senescence markers p16, p21 and p53 and raise SIRT-6. Cell-dish results.
- Kidney protection in rats — Reduced damage markers in rat models of kidney injury from gentamicin, cisplatin and cut-off blood supply (ischaemia-reperfusion).
- Liver regeneration (claimed) — The developer's 2006 patent filing reports more dividing liver cells in rats after two-thirds of the liver was removed, plus less damage in a chemical liver-injury model. We could not find either as a peer-reviewed paper.
What the research says
Thin, and nearly all from one place. The published work on EDL is cell cultures and rats, with Khavinson's institute on almost every author list; the kidney papers are a collaboration with a Ukrainian medical university. There is no registered human trial. The only human data we found is in the developer's own patent filing: 34 people with chronic hepatitis, 19 given the peptide and 15 on standard care, split at random with no blinding described, and a dose that was 1 mcg, 10 mcg or 5 mg depending on how ill the patient was. That is a pitch for an idea, not evidence.
- Tripeptide Glu-Asp-Leu from the Khavinson family; the institute lists it first as a kidney peptide.
- Rat studies report kidney protection in gentamicin, cisplatin and ischaemia-reperfusion injury models.
- Cell studies report lower ageing markers (p16, p21, p53) and higher SIRT-6 in kidney cell cultures.
- The liver claim and the only human data come from the developer's own patent filing, not a peer-reviewed trial.
Reported protocols
These are the doses the peptide community actually reports running (Reddit & forums), alongside published research — logged for education, not as a recommendation to use.
| Parameter | Commonly reported range |
|---|---|
| Community dose | Not established. We found no genuine user reports, only websites repeating each other |
| Figures quoted online | 10 to 20 mg a day as oral capsules, in 10 to 20 day courses, on peptide database sites. No study is cited for these numbers |
| Patent figures | Injected into muscle once daily for 10 days at 1 mcg, 10 mcg or 5 mg depending on disease severity. A filing, not a validated dose |
| Cycle | Short courses of 10 to 20 days, the same pulsed pattern described for the rest of the family |
| Carl's note | The patent alone spans 1 mcg to 5 mg, a 5,000-fold range, and websites add 10 to 20 mg by mouth. Nobody has tested any of it in a proper human trial. |
Common use cases
| Goal | Community protocol notes |
|---|---|
| Liver support (how it is sold) | the claim rests on a patent filing, not published human data |
| Kidney research | where the actual papers are, all in rats and cell cultures |
| As part of a bioregulator set | the same Khavinson family as Livagen, Bronchogen and Epithalon |
Mixing it (reconstitution)
Freeze-dried peptides must be reconstituted with bacteriostatic water before they can be measured. Carl’s calculator turns “mg in the vial + ml of water + target dose” into “units on the syringe” — and tells you how long the vial lasts.
→ Open the Reconstitution Calculator
Injection & handling
There is no established dose to inject. The only injected figures come from the developer's patent filing, which gave 1 mcg, 10 mcg or 5 mg into the muscle once a day for 10 days depending on how ill the patient was, and they were never tested in a proper trial. Websites mostly describe oral capsules at 10 to 20 mg a day in short courses, with no source given. If you are holding a vial, you are holding a research reagent with an unknown human dose, not a protocol. Reconstituted peptide belongs in the fridge.
Stacks it appears in
- With Livagen — The other bioregulator sold for the liver. No study has combined them.
- With Epithalon or Bronchogen — Same Khavinson family, run in the same short courses. No combination data.
Sources
- Khavinson et al. 2022, Int J Mol Sci: Transport of ultrashort peptides (table of named bioregulators)
- Khavinson et al. 2021, Molecules: Peptide regulation of gene expression, systematic review
- Khavinson et al. 2014, Adv Gerontol: Tripeptides slow down ageing in renal cell culture
- Zamorskii et al. 2017, Bull Exp Biol Med: Nephroprotective effect of EDL peptide
- Zamorskii et al. 2015, Bull Exp Biol Med: Peptides in cisplatin-induced acute renal failure
- Khavinson et al. 2016, Bull Exp Biol Med: Short peptides regulate gene expression (DNA docking)
- Patent WO2007139430A1: Peptide substance stimulating liver tissue regeneration (H-Glu-Asp-Leu-OH)
- McNatty et al. 1989, N Z Vet J: Superovulation in goats treated with Ovagen and Folltropin (name clash)
- Samartzi et al. 2008, Reprod Domest Anim: porcine vs ovine FSH (Ovagen) on pig oocytes
- Peptide Resource Center (Skool) post: 'Ovagen: The Ovarian Bioregulator...' (example of the ovary claim)
- peptide-db.com Ovagen page (figures quoted online)
- ClinicalTrials.gov search: ovagen
- SAHPRA: Peptide Products - Public Information (May 2026)
- WADA 2026 Prohibited List (S0 non-approved substances)
