| Pack Size | Single Vial, 10-Pack |
|---|
Intranasal-spray format. Ships unreconstituted: lyophilized peptide in a 10 mL spray bottle, reconstituted with the included 0.3% potassium sorbate solution. Research use only; not for human use.
Epithalon is a synthetic four-amino-acid pineal-tetrapeptide bioregulator with sequence Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly, originally developed by the Khavinson laboratory at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology as a synthetic analogue of the natural pineal-extract complex epithalamin. The molecule has been studied across longevity, telomerase-activation, and gene-expression research streams, with a literature record spanning more than two decades. Every Ronin batch is independently verified by Janoshik Analytical using HPLC for purity and mass spectrometry for identity, with the minimum acceptance threshold set at 99 percent purity by HPLC. The compound is supplied as a lyophilized powder in a sealed glass vial, 10 mg per vial. For laboratory research use only — not for human or veterinary use.
Description
Epithalon is a synthetic four-residue tetrapeptide whose sequence — Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly, written as AEDG in one-letter code — corresponds to a fragment isolated from the natural pineal-gland-extract complex epithalamin. The compound was developed by Vladimir Khavinson and collaborators at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology in the late 1980s and 1990s as part of a broader research programme on short peptide bioregulators. The Russian peptide-bioregulator school established by Khavinson has produced a family of related short peptides; AEDG is the most extensively characterised of this family in the contemporary international literature.
The compound's sequence is short enough that the four residues span the entire peptide. Alanine at position one, glutamic acid at position two, aspartic acid at position three, and glycine at the C-terminus. The two acidic residues at positions two and three give the peptide an acidic isoelectric point. The sequence has been used as a structural probe for the broader question of how short peptides cross cell membranes and engage gene-regulatory machinery.
The compound is supplied as a lyophilized white-to-off-white powder in a lyophilized in a 10 mL intranasal-spray bottle; reconstituted with the included 0.3% potassium sorbate solution. Each vial contains 10 mg of peptide. Reconstitution with bacteriostatic water is required before the peptide can be drawn into an insulin syringe. Researchers planning bench preparations should review the Reconstitution accordion below for mechanics.
Epithalon has been the subject of a preclinical literature spanning longevity research, telomerase-activation studies, anti-carcinogenesis animal-model work, neuronal differentiation research, and recent wound-healing investigations. A 2000 paper in Mechanisms of Ageing and Development reported that epitalon treatment increased lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster (PMID 11087911). A 2002 paper in Cancer Letters documented inhibitory effects on colon carcinogenesis in rodent models (PMID 12049808). A 2025 review in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences compiled the broader bioactive-properties research framings (PMID 40141333). A 2025 paper in Biogerontology characterised that epitalon increased telomere length in human cell lines through telomerase upregulation (PMID 40908429).
Across the literature the compound appears under several alternate spellings and identifiers. Epithalon (with H) and Epitalon (without H) are both common in the published research record. AEDG peptide and pineal tetrapeptide refer to the same molecule. The CAS registry number 307297-39-8 and PubChem CID 219042 anchor the canonical chemical identifiers.
No regulatory authority — Health Canada, the FDA, the EMA, the TGA, or any equivalent — has cleared Epithalon for therapeutic use in humans or animals. The compound has not progressed through a drug-approval pathway in any major jurisdiction, although Russian-federation peptide-bioregulator research has produced extensive preclinical and clinical-stage work. Ronin Peptides ships the compound exclusively as a research-grade reagent for benchwork. Dosing protocols, treatment regimens, and administration instructions are out of scope and not provided in any form.
Mechanism in research literature
The mechanistic anchor for Epithalon is its activation of telomerase, the enzyme that maintains telomere length at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. A 2025 paper in Biogerontology characterised that epitalon increased telomere length in human cell lines through upregulation of the telomerase enzyme component (PMID 40908429). The telomerase-activation finding has been a defining mechanism feature of Epithalon since the early-2000s Khavinson-laboratory work, with implications for the broader anti-aging research framework around cellular replicative senescence.
Telomerase mechanism research has been compiled in multiple contemporary reviews. A 2013 review in Trends in Genetics covered the broader telomerase-cancer-aging intersection (PMID 23876621). A 2020 review in Biomolecules characterised the human telomerase RNA component beyond its conventional reverse-transcription function (PMID 32517215). These broader telomerase-mechanism reviews provide context for interpreting Epithalon-specific findings against the wider telomerase research literature.
Beyond direct telomerase activation, Epithalon has been characterised as a regulator of gene expression and protein synthesis. A 2020 paper in Molecules characterised that the AEDG peptide stimulated gene expression and protein synthesis during neurogenesis, with possible epigenetic modulation through histone-modification routes (PMID 32019204). The gene-expression mechanism work links the telomere-maintenance findings to broader cellular-aging-marker regulation.
Pineal-axis modulation is the third mechanism stream. The compound was originally derived from the natural pineal-gland-extract complex epithalamin, and research has investigated whether AEDG retains some of the parent extract's effects on melatonin biosynthesis and pineal-gland function. The pineal-axis findings link the compound to circadian-rhythm research and to broader pineal-gland-aging research framings.
Recent literature has extended the mechanism work into wound-healing contexts. A 2025 paper in Stem Cell Reviews and Reports characterised that epitalon enhanced delayed wound healing in an in vitro model, with antioxidant activity contributing to the wound-bed response (PMID 40493162). The wound-healing findings broaden the application bracket beyond the foundational longevity and anti-cancer streams.
Studied properties
Longevity research forms the largest body of preclinical work on Epithalon. The 2000 Drosophila lifespan paper provided one of the foundational findings (PMID 11087911), and Khavinson-laboratory rodent studies extended the lifespan observations into mouse and rat model systems through the 2000s. A 2002 review by Khavinson compiled the peptides-and-ageing research agenda then in development (PMID 12374906). A 2022 paper in Aging characterised that epitalon protected against post-ovulatory aging-related damage of mouse oocytes in vitro (PMID 35413689), framing one route by which the compound engages reproductive-aging research.
Telomerase-activation and telomere-maintenance research has emerged as a defining stream. The 2025 Biogerontology paper anchored the cell-line telomerase-upregulation framing (PMID 40908429). The broader telomerase-mechanism literature, including the 2013 Trends in Genetics review (PMID 23876621) and the 2020 Biomolecules review (PMID 32517215), provides context for interpreting Epithalon-specific telomerase findings. Researchers consulting this stream should attend to the distinction between cell-line telomerase upregulation and in vivo organism-level telomere maintenance, since the translation between the two is not straightforward.
Anti-carcinogenesis research forms a third stream. A 2002 paper in Cancer Letters documented that epitalon inhibited colon carcinogenesis induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine in rodent models (PMID 12049808). A 2006 paper in In Vivo characterised that the synthetic pineal peptide suppressed spontaneous carcinogenesis in animal models (PMID 16634527). Researchers consulting this stream should attend to the framing carefully — the carcinogenesis-suppression findings are mechanistic and preclinical, not therapeutic claims.
Neural and neurogenesis research forms a fourth stream. A 2007 paper in Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology characterised that intranasal administration of epitalon affected neuron activity in the rat neocortex (PMID 17955380). A 2019 paper in the International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology characterised effects of short peptides including AEDG on neuronal differentiation of stem cells (PMID 30791821). The 2020 Khavinson Molecules paper extended the neurogenesis work into gene-expression and protein-synthesis characterisation (PMID 32019204).
Recent literature has expanded the application bracket. A 2022 paper in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences characterised effects on proliferative activity and inflammatory pathways in monocyte/macrophage THP-1 cell research (PMID 35408963). The 2025 Stem Cell Reviews and Reports wound-healing paper (PMID 40493162) and the 2025 Araj overview review in IJMS (PMID 40141333) represent the contemporary expansion-era framing of the compound's research applications.
Compound specifications
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Common name | Epithalon |
| Alternate names | Epitalon (without H); AEDG peptide; Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly tetrapeptide; pineal tetrapeptide |
| Molecular formula | C14H22N4O9 |
| Molecular weight | 390.35 g/mol |
| CAS number | 307297-39-8 |
| PubChem CID | 219042 |
| Sequence (one-letter) | AEDG |
| Sequence (three-letter) | Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly |
| Length | 4 amino acids (tetrapeptide) |
| Parent extract | Epithalamin (natural pineal-gland-extract complex) |
| Form | Lyophilized white-to-off-white powder |
| Solubility | Bacteriostatic water; sterile water for injection |
| Peptide fill | 10 mg peptide, lyophilized in a 10 mL intranasal-spray bottle; reconstituted with the included 0.3% potassium sorbate solution |
| Purity | ≥99% by HPLC (verified per batch by Janoshik Analytical) |
Storage and handling
Unopened lyophilized vials hold up well under dry ambient storage; usable activity persists for several weeks even without refrigeration. The recommended container is the unopened original vial — keep the seal intact until reconstitution. Refrigeration at 2–8 °C is appropriate once the working timeline extends past a month. A standard freezer at −20 °C handles archival storage; ultra-low storage at −80 °C is rarely needed for typical bench-research timescales.
Keep vials shielded from light, ideally in their original outer packaging. Repeated temperature cycling accelerates degradation noticeably more than steady storage at any single temperature inside the recommended bands — minimise transitions between cold and ambient.
After reconstitution, refrigerate the solution at 2–8 °C without delay. The typical working window for a reconstituted preparation is four to six weeks at fridge temperature. Past that window, peptide concentration drifts downward through chemical degradation pathways even though the bacteriostatic water's benzyl alcohol still suppresses microbial growth. The 0.9% benzyl alcohol holds back bacterial contamination — the dominant spoilage path — but does not arrest the slower hydrolysis, oxidation, and aggregation processes that accumulate in any aqueous peptide solution.
When a research timeline extends past six weeks, common practice is splitting the reconstituted solution into single-use volumes and freezing them at −20 °C immediately. Ice-crystal formation during each freeze-thaw cycle inflicts mechanical damage on peptide chains, and pre-splitting eliminates the cumulative loss that comes from thawing one vial multiple times. Thaw individual aliquots overnight in a refrigerator — never at room temperature — and use them within a few days of thaw.
The reconstituted product should be visually clear and colourless. Discard any vial showing turbidity, suspended particulate, yellowing, or visible precipitate. The diluent of choice is USP-grade bacteriostatic water containing 0.9% benzyl alcohol — see the bacteriostatic water product page for reconstitution-grade water.
Compare with similar compounds
| Compound | Primary research area | Documented mechanism (preclinical) | Format at Ronin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Epithalon | Aging research; pineal-axis research | Telomerase activation; gene-expression modulation; pineal-tetrapeptide bioregulation | 10 mg vial |
| MOTS-c | Metabolic regulation; mitohormesis | AMPK pathway activation; nuclear translocation; mitochondrial biogenesis | 10 mg vial |
| NAD+ | Cellular energy; sirtuin pathway | NAD+ co-factor restoration; sirtuin and PARP enzyme support | 500 mg vial |
| 5-Amino-1MQ | Metabolic regulation; NNMT inhibition | NNMT enzyme inhibition; methyl-donor pool research | 10 mg vial |
Epithalon sits within Ronin's anti-aging compound category alongside MOTS-c, NAD+, and 5-Amino-1MQ. The four compounds engage non-overlapping mechanisms — Epithalon through telomerase activation and pineal-axis bioregulation, MOTS-c through AMPK and mitochondrial biogenesis, NAD+ through co-factor restoration, and 5-Amino-1MQ through NNMT enzyme inhibition. Researchers planning multi-compound aging-research protocols sometimes examine Epithalon alongside one of the others.
Intranasal reconstitution and use
This nasal spray ships unreconstituted. The peptide is supplied lyophilized in a 10 mL intranasal-spray bottle together with the 0.3% potassium sorbate solution required to reconstitute it (included) — potassium sorbate acts as a preservative suited to an intranasal solution. Add the full 10 mL of the included solution to reconstitute; the resulting concentration is the bottle’s peptide load divided by 10 mL. A typical metered intranasal actuation delivers approximately 0.1 mL, so each spray delivers roughly one-hundredth of the total peptide load.
- Bring the spray bottle and the included 0.3% potassium sorbate solution to room temperature.
- Sanitise the stoppers with an alcohol swab.
- Add the full 10 mL of the included 0.3% potassium sorbate solution to the lyophilized peptide, directing the liquid against the inner wall — never onto the lyophilized cake.
- Invert slowly or swirl gently until dissolved. Do not vortex or shake.
- Attach the spray pump to the bottle and prime it before first use.
- Store the reconstituted solution refrigerated at 2–8 °C and avoid repeated freeze–thaw cycles.
Frequently asked questions
What is Epithalon?
Epithalon is a synthetic four-residue tetrapeptide with sequence Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly (AEDG). The compound was developed by Vladimir Khavinson and collaborators at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology in the late 1980s and 1990s as a synthetic analogue of the natural pineal-gland-extract complex epithalamin. Research has investigated Epithalon across longevity research, telomerase-activation studies, anti-carcinogenesis animal-model work, neuronal differentiation research, and recent wound-healing investigations. Ronin supplies the compound as a lyophilized vial reconstituted with bacteriostatic water at the bench. Sale is limited to laboratory research applications; human and veterinary use are excluded.
Why is Epithalon spelled two ways?
Both Epithalon (with H) and Epitalon (without H) appear in the published research literature and across research-supply listings. The H-spelling reflects the relationship to the parent natural complex epithalamin; the non-H spelling reflects the Russian-language transliteration convention used in much of the originating Khavinson-laboratory work. Both spellings refer to the same molecule: the synthetic four-residue tetrapeptide Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly, CAS 307297-39-8. Ronin's product page uses the H-spelling, but the catalog cross-reference lists both forms.
What is the regulatory status of Epithalon?
No regulatory body — Health Canada, the FDA, the EMA, the TGA, or any equivalent — has approved Epithalon as a drug for human or veterinary use. The compound has not progressed through a drug-approval pathway in any major Western jurisdiction, although Russian-federation peptide-bioregulator research has produced extensive preclinical and clinical-stage work over more than two decades.
Epithalon is not listed as a scheduled controlled substance under the international drug-control conventions or under the major national scheduling systems. It sits within the regulatory layer covering laboratory reagents and research chemicals, not the layer governing human therapeutics.
Ronin Peptides supplies the compound as a research-grade reagent for laboratory and bench-research applications. Buyers operate under their own jurisdictional laws and any applicable institutional review protocols when handling the compound — Ronin Peptides assumes no oversight of downstream lab practice.
How is Epithalon verified?
Each batch passes through Janoshik Analytical — an independent peptide-analytics lab — for HPLC purity quantification and MS identity confirmation, with the minimum acceptance threshold set at 99 percent purity by HPLC. Every Janoshik COA includes a verification key that resolves at janoshik.com. To pull the COA covering the batch on your order, email support@roninpeptides.ca from the address used at checkout, with your order number; the typical reply turnaround is well under 24 hours.
How does Epithalon engage telomerase?
Telomerase is the enzyme that maintains telomere length at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. Telomere shortening with cell-division cycles is a key marker of cellular replicative senescence. Research has characterised that Epithalon upregulates telomerase activity in human cell-line systems, with corresponding increases in telomere length over experimental treatment periods (PMID 40908429). The cell-line findings sit within a broader telomerase-mechanism literature compiled in 2013 and 2020 reviews; researchers consulting this stream should attend to the distinction between in vitro cell-line telomerase upregulation and in vivo organism-level telomere maintenance, which is a separate translational question.
How is Epithalon reconstituted?
The standard preparation is 2 mL of bacteriostatic water added to a 10 mg vial, producing a 5 mg/mL solution. Inject the water against the inside wall of the vial — never directly onto the lyophilized powder, which causes foaming and surface denaturation. Swirl gently or invert slowly until fully dissolved (typically 30–60 seconds). Refrigerate at 2–8 °C immediately after reconstitution. Use the Ronin reconstitution calculator for non-standard volumes or to convert target doses to insulin-syringe units.
How do I receive the COA for my batch?
Email support@roninpeptides.ca from the email address used at checkout, with your order number (e.g., RP-CA-1234) and the compound name. We reply within 24 hours — typically the same business day — with the COA PDF attached. The COA includes the Janoshik verification key, which you can check independently at janoshik.com to confirm the test results match what the laboratory ran on your specific batch. COAs are not published publicly to protect supply-chain privacy and prevent competitor scraping.
References
- Khavinson VK et al. Effect of epitalon on the lifespan increase in Drosophila melanogaster. Mech Ageing Dev. 2000;120(1-3):141-149. PMID: 11087911 | doi:10.1016/s0047-6374(00)00217-7
- Anisimov VN et al. Inhibitory effect of peptide Epitalon on colon carcinogenesis induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine in rats. Cancer Lett. 2002;183(1):1-8. PMID: 12049808 | doi:10.1016/s0304-3835(02)00090-3
- Khavinson VKh. Peptides and Ageing. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2002;23 Suppl 3:11-144. PMID: 12374906
- Kossoy G et al. Effect of the synthetic pineal peptide epitalon on spontaneous carcinogenesis in female C3H/He mice. In Vivo. 2006;20(2):253-257. PMID: 16634527
- Sibarov DA et al. Effects of intranasal administration of epitalon on neuron activity in the rat neocortex. Neurosci Behav Physiol. 2007;37(9):889-893. PMID: 17955380 | doi:10.1007/s11055-007-0095-3
- Bernardes de Jesus B et al. Telomerase at the intersection of cancer and aging. Trends Genet. 2013;29(9):513-520. PMID: 23876621 | doi:10.1016/j.tig.2013.06.007
- Caputi S et al. Effect of short peptides on neuronal differentiation of stem cells. Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol. 2019;33:2058738419828613. PMID: 30791821 | doi:10.1177/2058738419828613
- Khavinson V et al. AEDG Peptide (Epitalon) Stimulates Gene Expression and Protein Synthesis during Neurogenesis. Molecules. 2020;25(3):609. PMID: 32019204 | doi:10.3390/molecules25030609
- Rubtsova M et al. Human Telomerase RNA: Telomerase Component or More? Biomolecules. 2020;10(6):873. PMID: 32517215 | doi:10.3390/biom10060873
- Yue X et al. Epitalon protects against post-ovulatory aging-related damage of mouse oocytes in vitro. Aging (Albany NY). 2022;14(7):3191-3202. PMID: 35413689 | doi:10.18632/aging.204007
- Avolio F et al. Peptides Regulating Proliferative Activity and Inflammatory Pathways in the Monocyte/Macrophage THP-1 Cell Line. Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(7):3607. PMID: 35408963 | doi:10.3390/ijms23073607
- Araj SK et al. Overview of Epitalon — Highly Bioactive Pineal Tetrapeptide with Promising Properties. Int J Mol Sci. 2025;26(6):2691. PMID: 40141333 | doi:10.3390/ijms26062691
- Gatta M et al. The Antioxidant Tetrapeptide Epitalon Enhances Delayed Wound Healing in an in Vitro Model. Stem Cell Rev Rep. 2025. PMID: 40493162 | doi:10.1007/s12015-025-10911-x
- Al-Dulaimi S et al. Epitalon increases telomere length in human cell lines through telomerase upregulation. Biogerontology. 2025. PMID: 40908429 | doi:10.1007/s10522-025-10315-x
