MOLECULAR INFORMATION
Molecular information
- Weight
- 390.4 Da
- Length
- 4 amino acids
- Type
- Synthetic tetrapeptide · claimed pineal regulator and telomerase activator
- Formula
- C₁₄H₂₂N₄O₉
Amino acid sequence
Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly) developed at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology in the 1980s. Marketed in longevity circles for putative telomerase-activating and melatonin-regulating effects.
Claims vs evidence
- Telomerase activation — preclinical only, no human telomere-lengthening RCT
- Pineal / melatonin restoration — small, single-centre Russian studies
- Lifespan extension — claimed in rodent studies, not independently replicated
Why we grade it D
The published evidence is dominated by one research group, in one country, over a 40-year window. Independent Western replication is absent. Not authorised by EMA, FDA, MHRA or Swissmedic. Sold exclusively via grey-market “research peptide” channels. Mechanism is plausible but the claims are not supported by the standard of evidence we require for anything above grade D.