Carl read the papersWhat it actually is
Pinealon is a synthetic tripeptide, Glu-Asp-Arg (shortened to EDR), from the St Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology under Vladimir Khavinson. Its developers describe it as isolated from Cortexin, a Russian prescription drug made from cattle brain cortex.
The family premise is that peptides this short can get into cells, reach DNA and nudge gene activity in a particular tissue. For Pinealon the target is the brain: memory, stress resilience and age-related decline. In Russia it has been used by mouth as a 'cytogen', a supplement-style short peptide, which is unusual for a peptide.
How it’s thought to work
- Antioxidant effect — In cell cultures it reduced the build-up of reactive oxygen species and cell death under oxidative stress, in a dose-dependent way.
- Gene-level claims — Proposed to bind DNA and histone proteins and shift genes for antioxidant enzymes, cell-death proteins and serotonin synthesis. Much of this rests on computer docking and cell work.
- Dendrites — In neurons made from elderly donors' skin cells, it increased dendrite branching and reduced oxidative DNA damage.
- Prenatal protection (rats) — Given to pregnant rats under metabolic stress, their offspring learned better and their neurons coped better with oxidative stress.
What the research says
Small and largely in-house. The work is cell cultures, rat studies and computer modelling, overwhelmingly from the Khavinson group and its collaborators. Human data amounts to a few Russian-language reports: one study in 32 adults aged 41-83 with organic brain syndrome, given Pinealon or a sister peptide (Vesugen), with no control group described, and a study in professional truck drivers where Pinealon was combined with Vesugen. That first study also reported a pro-oxidant effect and a drop in blood stem-cell markers, which sits awkwardly next to the antioxidant story. The developers' 2020 review says oral Pinealon improved memory in older people, but there is no registered or randomised trial behind it on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Tripeptide Glu-Asp-Arg; developers say it was isolated from the cattle brain-cortex drug Cortexin.
- Cell work: less oxidative damage and cell death under stress; more dendrite branching in aged human-derived neurons.
- Rat work: protected the offspring of metabolically stressed pregnant rats.
- Human data: small, Russian-language, no control group described; one study found pro-oxidant activity; no registered trials.
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. The figures online come from seller and affiliate sites and run from micrograms under the skin to multi-milligram capsules. None of them trace back to a trial or to independent reports. |
| Route in the human reports | By mouth, according to the developers' own review of the human work |
| Injected use | Vials sold elsewhere are meant for injection, but no study has compared injection with the oral route or worked out an equivalent dose |
| Community tip | The oral route is the one with any human data behind it. Injected protocols online are an extrapolation nobody has checked. |
Common use cases
| Goal | Community protocol notes |
|---|---|
| Research only | brain ageing and memory are the marketed uses; the human evidence is too thin to support any of them |
| Bioregulator sets | sold alongside Epithalon and Cortagen as a 'brain' member of the family |
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 injected dose. The developers describe the human use as by mouth, which is only plausible because it is so short. The vials sold elsewhere are meant for injection under the skin, but nobody has published how the two routes compare or what an equivalent dose would be. If you inject anything from an unregulated vial, sterility is your problem, not the seller's.
Stacks it appears in
- With Epithalon — Both Khavinson bioregulators, and the name invites the pairing. Epithalon is the pineal one; Pinealon, despite its name, comes from a brain-cortex extract.
- With Cortagen — Both trace back to the brain-cortex drug Cortexin and are sold as the 'brain' members of the family.
Sources
- Khavinson V et al. EDR Peptide: possible mechanism of gene expression and protein synthesis regulation involved in Alzheimer's disease. Molecules 2020
- Khavinson V et al. Pinealon increases cell viability by suppression of free radical levels. Rejuvenation Res 2011
- Arutjunyan A et al. Pinealon protects the rat offspring from prenatal hyperhomocysteinemia. Int J Clin Exp Med 2012
- Kraskovskaya N et al. Short peptides protect fibroblast-derived induced neurons from age-related changes. Int J Mol Sci 2024
- Khavinson VKh et al. Short peptides stimulate serotonin expression in cells of brain cortex. Bull Exp Biol Med 2014
- Meshchaninov VN et al. Effect of synthetic peptides on aging of patients with chronic polymorbidity and organic brain syndrome. Adv Gerontol 2015 (Russian)
- Bashkireva AS, Artamonova VG. Peptide correction of neurotic disorders among professional truck-drivers. Adv Gerontol 2012 (Russian)
- Vidal.ru: Cortexin (Кортексин), Russian label
- PubChem: Pinealon (CID 10273502)
- Medsafe (NZ): Classification of Unscheduled Peptides, submission to the MCC, June 2025
- Vidal.ru (Russian drug reference) search: пинеалон (Pinealon)
- ClinicalTrials.gov search: pinealon
- SAHPRA: Peptide Products - Public Information (May 2026)
- WADA 2026 Prohibited List
