Prostamax
A Khavinson prostate bioregulator preparation marketed in Russia for prostate aging, with the synthetic KEDP tetrapeptide (Prostagen) as its characterized active fragment. Russian-language evidence base; no FDA/EMA status; no independent Western clinical replication.
A prostate-tissue-derived peptide bioregulator preparation in the Khavinson cytomedine series. The associated synthetic tetrapeptide is Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro (KEDP), variously marketed under the name Prostagen, claimed in Khavinson-group studies to modulate prostate-tissue gene expression and support benign prostate aging. As with the rest of the Khavinson short-peptide series, the evidence base consists of Russian-language studies from a single research network, and mechanistic claims should be regarded as preliminary.
Mechanism of action
Proposed to modulate prostate-tissue gene expression in a "tissue-specific" Khavinson-framework manner. Mechanistic claims have not been independently validated in peer-reviewed Western literature. Speculative at the molecular level.
Primary uses
- Benign prostatic aging support (Russian nutraceutical positioning)
- Post-prostatitis recovery support (Russian clinical use)
Typical dosing
The amounts in circulation come from the maker's directions, not a controlled study, so no amount is printed here.
Regulatory status
Not FDA- or EMA-approved. Sold in Russia and CIS markets as a nutraceutical supplement; the synthetic KEDP tetrapeptide (Prostagen) is sold as a research chemical in grey-market catalogs. No registered-medicine status in any Western jurisdiction.
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
Six papers indexed on PubMed name Prostamax. This section records the identity, the regulatory status on the date below, what those papers measured, and every search we ran.
Identity, computed
| Sequence | Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro (KEDP) |
| Formula | C20H33N5O9 |
| Average mass | 487.51 g/mol |
| Monoisotopic mass | 487.2278 Da |
| Isoelectric point | 4.18 (net charge -1.02 at pH 7) |
NLM MeSH supplementary record C500342 lists Prostamax as lysyl-glutamyl-aspartyl-proline (H-Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro-OH), and a 2012 paper describes it the same way. An earlier version of this entry gave the formula C18H30N6O8 (458.47), which this sequence cannot produce; it was corrected on October 4, 2026.
Regulatory status, read October 4, 2026
Drugs@FDA: 0 records for “prostamax”. EMA medicines list: 0 records for “prostamax”. 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 Russian sellers and the developers: Prostamax, a prostate bioregulator, supports the aging prostate. The indexed studies were done in human blood cells and in rat tissue explants; none tested the prostate in people.
About the family, not this compound
The Khavinson peptides are di-, tri- and tetrapeptides developed at the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, most first isolated from animal tissue extracts and later made synthetically. The group proposes that they reach the cell nucleus and change gene expression in the tissue they are named for. Nearly all of the indexed work comes from that group and its collaborators.
A 2023 modelling study from the same group docked 26 of these short peptides, including AED, EDL, EDG and KEDG, into the amino-acid and peptide transporters LAT1, LAT2 and PEPT1, and proposed those transporters as their route into cells (Khavinson et al., 2023). It is a computer model of binding, not a measurement in cells, and it says nothing about any one product's effects.
What the studies of Prostamax show
Most of the work is on chromatin in white blood cells from people aged 75 to 88. Prostamax, like several other short peptides tested alongside it, loosened tightly packed chromatin and activated ribosomal genes (Lezhava et al., 2004). In cells from people aged 75 to 86 it roughly doubled sister-chromatid exchanges, to 12.0 per cell from 5.9, and raised active nucleolar organiser regions to 2.5 per cell from 0.95 (2012). Heat-denaturation measurements in lymphocytes found small shifts consistent with chromatin relaxation (2004), and copper and cadmium were compared with it in the same system (2009).
In explant cultures of rat prostate, heart, lung and pancreas, Prostamax and three sibling peptides at 0.05 ng/ml stimulated growth of their matching tissue in young and 18-month-old rats (2006). More sister-chromatid exchange is often read as a sign of DNA stress rather than renewal, and the authors interpret the chromatin changes as rejuvenating; neither reading has been tested against health outcomes. The papers are in the References.
What we looked for and did not find
No human trial in men with prostate conditions, no animal study of the prostate in a living animal, no pharmacokinetic data, no registry record and no dose from a controlled study.
| Source | Query | Results, October 4, 2026 | What it was |
|---|---|---|---|
| PubMed | prostamax | 6 | the six papers above |
| PubMed | Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro | 1 | the 2012 chromatin paper |
| PubMed | KEDP | 4 | one transporter model; the rest unrelated abbreviations |
| NLM MeSH | prostamax | 1 | record C500342 (lysyl-glutamyl-aspartyl-proline) |
| ClinicalTrials.gov | prostamax | 0 | |
| Drugs@FDA (openFDA) | prostamax | 0 | |
| EMA medicines list | prostamax | 0 |
References
- [review] Khavinson VK, et al. "Tetrapeptide Prostamax stimulates gene expression and protein synthesis in prostate tissue." Bull Exp Biol Med, 2010;149:354-356.
- [review] Anisimov VN, Khavinson VK. "Peptide bioregulation of aging: results and prospects." Biogerontology, 2010;11:139-149. PMID: 19830585.
- [pubmed] Dzhokhadze TA, et al. "[Deheterochromatinization of the chromatin in old age induced by oligopeptide bioregulator (Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro)]." Georgian Med News, 2012:76-82. PMID: 23221144.
- [pubmed] Khavinson VKh, et al. "Effects of short peptides on lymphocyte chromatin in senile subjects." Bull Exp Biol Med, 2004;137(1):78-81. PMID: 15085253.
- [pubmed] Meskhi T, et al. "[The influence of the peptide bioregulator prostamax on heterochromatin of human lymphocytes in situ]." Biofizika, 2004;49(6):1091-3. PMID: 15612551.
- [pubmed] Kiladze M, et al. "Microcalorimetric study of human blood lymphocytes culture at presence of copper, cadmium and prostamax." Georgian Med News, 2009:104-7. PMID: 19359734.
- [pubmed] Zakutskiĭ AN, et al. "[The tissue-specific effect of synthetic peptides-biologic regulators in organotypic tissues culture in young and old rats]." Adv Gerontol, 2006;19:93-6. PMID: 17152728.
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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.