Pinealon
A Khavinson tripeptide proposed to cross the blood–brain barrier and support neuronal gene expression in aging brain tissue — animal data in hypoxia and oxidative stress models; no Western clinical trials.
A Khavinson-group short tripeptide (Glu-Asp-Arg) proposed to cross the blood–brain barrier and act on neuronal DNA promoter regions to support survival under oxidative stress, with published animal data in cerebral hypoxia and oxidative-damage models but no controlled Western clinical evidence.
Mechanism of action
Proposed to enter neurons and bind promoter regions supporting expression of antioxidant and anti-apoptotic gene programs. Animal studies from the Khavinson group report reduced neuronal damage after induced hypoxia and hydrogen-peroxide oxidative stress.
Primary uses
- Investigational neuroprotection (Russian literature)
- Research into cognitive aging
Typical dosing
Typical supplement protocols use 10–20 mg daily for 10–20 days.
Educational information, not medical advice. The doses on this page come from approved labels, published studies and, where no study exists, amounts reported by users. None is a recommendation for you. An unapproved compound has no established safe or effective human dose, and products sold for “research use only” are not made or tested for people. Talk to a doctor before acting on anything on this site, including before you start, stop or change any medicine or dose. Full medical disclaimer.
Regulatory status
Not FDA-approved. Marketed in Russia as a bioregulator supplement.
Status as of this entry's last review, October 4, 2026. Approvals, compounding rules and sport rules change; the regulatory tracker is checked more often.
What we checked
Pinealon (Glu-Asp-Arg) is indexed on PubMed in about two dozen papers, mostly cell and rat work from the Khavinson network, plus one small study in people that does not name it in the title. Its study cards are below; this section adds identity, status and that human study.
Identity, computed
| Sequence | Glu-Asp-Arg (EDR) |
| Formula | C15H26N6O8 |
| Average mass | 418.41 g/mol |
| Monoisotopic mass | 418.1812 Da |
| Isoelectric point | 4.18 (net charge -1.02 at pH 7) |
The dataset's formula C15H26N6O8 and mass 418.4 agree with the calculator for Glu-Asp-Arg.
Regulatory status, read October 5, 2026
Drugs@FDA: 0 records for “pinealon”. EMA medicines list: 0 records for “pinealon”. Run for semaglutide, the same queries return 6 and 5 records (and the registry search 84 trials), so a zero here is an absence, not a broken search. Not named on the WADA 2026 and 2027 Prohibited Lists. As a substance with no current approval for human therapeutic use, it falls under section S0 (non-approved substances), which is prohibited at all times; the lists were read on September 27, 2026.
What the maker or sellers claim
Claim, from its developers and Russian sellers: pinealon protects the ageing brain and improves memory. A 2020 review by the developers says it improves memory problems in elderly patients; the abstract does not cite a controlled trial for that.
About the family, not this compound
The Khavinson peptides are di- to tetrapeptides from the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, most first isolated from animal tissue and later made synthetically; the group proposes that they enter the nucleus and change gene expression. Nearly all indexed work comes from that group and its collaborators.
The one study in people
A 2015 Russian study gave pinealon or vesugen to 32 people aged 41 to 83 with several chronic illnesses and an organic brain syndrome in remission. The authors report anabolic effects and slowed biological-age markers, more with vesugen than pinealon, alongside a pro-oxidant signal and lower CD34+ blood stem-cell counts, and no change in chromatin condensation. It had no placebo group, and its title does not name the compound, so it sits in the References rather than on a card.
What we looked for and did not find
No randomised or placebo-controlled human trial, no registry record, no pharmacokinetic data and no dose from a controlled study.
| Source | Query | Results, October 5, 2026 | What it was |
|---|---|---|---|
| PubMed | pinealon | 22 | cell, rat and Russian clinical papers |
| PubMed | Glu-Asp-Arg | 48 | |
| ClinicalTrials.gov | pinealon | 0 | |
| Drugs@FDA (openFDA) | pinealon | 0 | |
| EMA medicines list | pinealon | 0 |
What the studies show
Pinealon is the tripeptide Glu-Asp-Arg, from the Russian short-peptide research programme. Its studies are in cells and rats, several of them from the same group; none has given it to people in a controlled trial.
In Vitro · 2011
Free radicals and cell survival
In cerebellar granule cells, neutrophils and PC12 cells, pinealon limited reactive oxygen species and cell death in a dose-dependent way and delayed ERK1/2 activation, effects the authors take to go beyond antioxidant activity.
Animal · 2012
Rat offspring
In pups of rats fed excess methionine during pregnancy, pinealon improved spatial orientation and learning and reduced reactive oxygen species and necrotic cells in cerebellar neurons.
Animal · 2014
Old rats and hypoxia
In old rats under acute hypoxia, pinealon was associated with normalised serum interleukin-6 and TNF and with brain caspase-3 activity, which the authors read as reduced neuroinflammation.
Animal · 2015
Aged rats under stress
Pinealon and Cortexin were compared for effects on behaviour and brain chemistry in 18-month-old rats exposed to acute hypobaric hypoxia and mild hypothermia.
References
- [pubmed] Khavinson V, et al. "Peptide EDR prevents hypoxia-induced neuronal death in rat cortical cells." Bull Exp Biol Med, 2012;153:115-117.
- [pubmed] Kolchina N, et al. "Short peptides prevent hypoxia-induced death of cortical neurons." Exp Gerontol, 2016;83:131-134.
- [pubmed] Khavinson V, et al. "Pinealon increases cell viability by suppression of free radical levels and activating proliferative processes." Rejuvenation Res, 2011;14(5):535-41. PMID: 21978084.
- [pubmed] Arutjunyan A, et al. "Pinealon protects the rat offspring from prenatal hyperhomocysteinemia." Int J Clin Exp Med, 2012;5(2):179-85. PMID: 22567179.
- [pubmed] Mendzheritskiĭ AM, et al. "[Regulation of content of cytokines in blood serum and of caspase-3 activity in brains of old rats in model of sharp hypoxic hypoxia with Cortexin and Pinealon]." Adv Gerontol, 2014;27(1):94-7. PMID: 25051764.
- [pubmed] Mendzheritsky AM, et al. "[Pinealon and Cortexin influence on behavior and neurochemical processes in 18-month aged rats within hypoxia and hypothermia]." Adv Gerontol, 2015;28(3):532-539. PMID: 28509493.
- [pubmed] Meshchaninov VN, et al. "[EFFECT OF SYNTHETIC PEPTIDES ON AGING OF PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC POLYMORBIDITY AND ORGANIC BRAIN SYNDROME OF THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM IN REMISSION]." Adv Gerontol, 2015;28(1):62-7. PMID: 26390612.
- [pubmed] Khavinson V, et al. "EDR Peptide: Possible Mechanism of Gene Expression and Protein Synthesis Regulation Involved in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease." Molecules, 2020;26(1). PMID: 33396470.
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Guides & tools
This entry is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Dosing information reflects published regulatory or research data and is not a recommendation. Many compounds described here are not approved for human use in the United States. Consult a licensed medical professional before considering any peptide therapy.