If you have been reading about tetrapeptide and want a single page that covers the useful parts, this is it: definitions, context, how it is studied, and the questions that come up repeatedly.
Updated 2025-09-21. Numbers and descriptions here follow the published literature rather than marketing material.
Animal and clinical reports appear mainly in Russian-language journals from the 1990s and 2000s, covering endpoints such as melatonin rhythm, lifespan in aged rodents, and retinal function. Many of these papers involve small groups, lack blinding or placebo comparison, and are difficult to retrieve through indexed databases. Review articles published in English generally summarise the claims without reanalysing the underlying data. Because no large randomised trial exists, the clinical importance of these reported effects stays unresolved and is properly described as an open question.
No national medicines regulator has approved epitalon as a therapeutic product. It is generally distributed as a research chemical, and in some jurisdictions selling peptides for human consumption without approval is restricted or prohibited. Certificates of analysis accompanying commercial material vary in which tests are performed, and independent verification of identity and purity is uncommon. Statements about anti-ageing or disease-prevention benefits on vendor pages are marketing claims rather than regulatory findings, a distinction that shapes how the compound is discussed in scientific and popular sources alike.
Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide whose four residues are alanine, glutamate, aspartate and glycine, commonly abbreviated AEDG. Its molecular formula is C14H22N4O9 and its monoisotopic mass is near 390.35 daltons. The peptide carries two acidic side chains, so it is neutral to negatively charged in most aqueous buffers. Published reference summaries usually list it under both spellings, epitalon and epithalon, and treat the two names as the same material.
The compound is generally described as a synthetic analogue of a fragment isolated from a pineal gland extract. Researchers associated with the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology introduced it during the 1980s and 1990s while studying short peptides from animal tissue. The original extract, called epithalamin, is a heterogeneous mixture, whereas epitalon is a single defined sequence. That distinction matters because findings reported for the extract are not automatically findings about the pure tetrapeptide, and claims about broader biological effects remain a separate question from the chemical identity described here.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory status | Not an approved drug | Marketed in most countries as a research chemical |
| Main literature language | Russian and English | Early reports concentrated in Russian journals |
| Typical stated purity | ≥95% by HPLC | Supplier declaration, seldom independently verified |
| Principal studied endpoint | Telomerase activity in vitro | Measured in cultured human cells |
| Reported administration routes | Subcutaneous, intranasal | Described in exploratory use reports |
Regulatory status varies by country and is not harmonized. Epitalon is not an approved drug in major Western jurisdictions. In some countries it is sold as a research chemical, and in others it has appeared in products marketed for other categories. This inconsistent status means that purity, labeling accuracy, and documentation differ widely between suppliers, and verification of identity and purity through independent analysis is the usual way buyers assess a given lot.
Epitalon appears in the literature primarily through a small number of research groups, most of them associated with the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. Publications describe cell culture experiments, animal studies, and a limited number of small human studies. Independent replication outside this network is sparse. As a result, reviews of the topic usually separate descriptive reports of observed effects from the question of whether those effects generalize, and they note the difficulty of comparing studies that use different preparations and endpoints.
Analytical characterization of epitalon relies on standard peptide methods. Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography is used to assess purity, and mass spectrometry confirms identity by checking the observed mass against the expected value near 390 daltons. Amino acid analysis can verify composition. Because the peptide is short and hydrophilic, it elutes early on many reverse-phase columns, so method development often requires ion-pairing reagents to achieve adequate retention and resolution from related impurities.
Discussions in the literature often conflate three distinct entities: the pineal extract epithalamin, the isolated tetrapeptide AEDG, and commercial preparations sold under similar names. Reviews citing older Russian-language studies sometimes omit detail on purity, route of administration and control groups, which makes cross-study comparison difficult. Researchers working with the compound generally note the need for independent replication, standardized enzyme assays, and clearer reporting of peptide identity. These caveats are relevant when weighing claims that appear in secondary sources rather than in primary reports.
（TG:@pojiaai）Epitalon is a synthetic linear tetrapeptide with the sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, abbreviated AEDG. It emerged from work on epithalamin, a peptide fraction prepared from bovine pineal tissue, and was designed as a short, chemically defined analogue of that extract. Early publications came mainly from Russian laboratories studying pineal peptides and aging-related endpoints. The compound appears in the literature under several spellings, including epithalon and epithalone, which complicates systematic searching. Its small size makes solid-phase assembly and routine analytical characterization straightforward.
Chemically, the molecule consists of four amino acid residues joined by three peptide bonds, with a free N-terminal amino group and a free C-terminal carboxyl group. Its molecular formula is C14H22N4O9, and its monoisotopic mass is approximately 390 daltons. The acidic glutamate and aspartate side chains give the peptide a net negative charge near neutral pH, a property that shapes its chromatographic behaviour and solubility profile. No disulfide bridges or other post-translational modifications are present, so the primary sequence alone defines the structure.
Stability of the tetrapeptide follows ordinary peptide chemistry rather than any unusual structural feature. The aspartate-glycine pair is prone to aspartimide formation under mildly basic or neutral conditions, and deamidation can follow, altering both mass and chromatographic retention. Dry lyophilised powder kept at or below minus twenty degrees Celsius is the usual handling recommendation, with repeated freeze-thaw cycles avoided. Once dissolved in neutral aqueous buffer, degradation proceeds over days to weeks depending on pH and temperature, while acidic conditions generally slow the aspartimide route. A formal stability-indicating study has not been published in the indexed literature.
Because epitalon has no pharmacopoeial monograph, quality assessment depends on supplier documentation and independent testing. Certificates of analysis typically report a purity figure from a single chromatographic run, a measured mass and sometimes an appearance description, but methods and acceptance criteria are not harmonised across vendors. Third-party laboratories can repeat identity and purity measurements, and mismatches between labelled and measured peptide content have been described for research peptides generally. What constitutes adequate identity confirmation for a molecule of this size stays an open question, since mass agreement alone does not separate closely related sequences.
Identity testing for epitalon relies on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography for purity and mass spectrometry for mass confirmation. Because the sequence contains no tryptophan or tyrosine, ultraviolet detection at 280 nanometres is insensitive, so chromatographic methods usually monitor absorbance near 214 nanometres, where the peptide backbone absorbs. Electrospray ionisation or matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation then checks the intact mass against the expected value near 390 daltons. Peptide mapping or amino acid analysis after acid hydrolysis can supplement these measurements, although such confirmatory work is seldom reported on commercial certificates of analysis.
=== Innere Systematik === Ob der Schwertwal nur eine Art darstellt oder in mehrere Arten aufgespalten werden sollte, wird seit dem 19. Jahrhundert diskutiert. Obwohl zwischen den Ökotypen deutliche unterschiedliche Verhaltensweisen, verschiedener Körperbau und reproduktive Isolation vorliegen, konnte sich bis vor kurzem keine Auftrennung durchsetzen. In einer jüngeren Studie (Morin u. a. 2010) wurde das mitochondriale Genom (die komplette mitochondriale DNA) von 139 Schwertwalen aus verschiedenen Regionen sequenziert und kladistisch analysiert. Die Ergebnisse sprechen sehr stark dafür, eine Reihe von separaten Arten und Unterarten aufzustellen. Nach molekularer Uhr vollzog sich die Aufspaltung in verschiedene Ökotypen vor 700.000–150.000 Jahren. Bei der Untersuchung der gut erforschten Populationen im Nordpazifik wurden zwei Ökotypen, Bigg’s-Schwertwal und der Residente Schwertwal, in einer Ende März 2024 veröffentlichten Arbeit zu eigenständigen Arten erklärt (Orcinus rectipinnus und Orcinus ater).
Der Schwertwal war vom Walfang nicht so stark betroffen wie andere Arten. Japanische Walfänger erlegten von 1946 bis 1981 jährlich im Schnitt 43 Exemplare, hauptsächlich für den menschlichen Verzehr. Der norwegische (1938–1981, durchschnittlich 56 pro Jahr) und der russische (1939–1975, durchschnittlich 26, in der Saison 1979/1980 jedoch 916) Walfang zielte hingegen auf die Produktion von Tierfutter ab. Nach Daten vom Stand 2008 werden noch kleine Stückzahlen vor Japan, Indonesien, Grönland und einigen karibischen Inseln erlegt. Mitte der 1950er Jahre ersuchte die isländische Regierung die US-Streitkräfte um Hilfe, da große Schwertwal-Herden im Nordatlantik aus der Sicht der Isländer die Heringsbestände und die Schleppnetze der Fischer bedrohten. Auf Island stationierte US-Flugzeuge nutzten daher über mehrere Jahre Schwertwale als Übungsziele und beschossen die Wale im Tiefflug mit Maschinengewehren und Raketen und warfen Wasserbomben auf die Tiere ab. Es wird davon ausgegangen, dass hunderte von Schwertwalen in den 1950er Jahren durch US-Flugzeuge getötet wurden. Ab 1960 rückte jedoch für die US-Navy mit dem Beginn des sog. Marine Mammal Program (NMMP) die Erforschung des militärischen Nutzens von Meeressäugetieren wie Walen bzw. Delfinen und Seelöwen in den Fokus. So wurde zum Beispiel im Rahmen des Projektes „Deep Ops“ die Bergung von Objekten wie Torpedos in einer Tiefe von bis zu 1.000 Metern mit Grind- und Schwertwalen erprobt.
Schwertwale werden von zahlreichen indigenen Kulturen verehrt; auch spielen sie in der Populärkultur eine Rolle, etwa in den Free-Willy-Filmen. Sie gehören zu den bevorzugten Arten beim Whale Watching und sind ein beliebtes Modell für aufblasbare Gummitiere. Angriffe frei lebender Schwertwale auf Menschen sind sehr selten und könnten auch mit einer Überfischung durch Hochseeflotten zusammenhängen. Schwertwale in Delfinarien haben jedoch in mehreren Fällen Menschen angegriffen und getötet, was auch mit der beengten Haltung zusammenzuhängen scheint. Besonders bekannt ist in dieser Hinsicht der Wal Tilikum, der für drei dieser Fälle verantwortlich gemacht wurde.
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
=== Zwischenfälle mit Segelbooten === In der Straße von Gibraltar und vor den iberischen Küsten wurden seit Mitte 2020 über 200 Vorfälle gemeldet (Stand Juni 2022), bei denen Orcas Boote, fast ausschließlich Segelyachten, rammten. Davor waren glaubhafte Berichte von derartigen Interaktionen zwischen Orcas und Booten seltene Ausnahmen. Die größten Schäden verursachten die Tiere an den Ruderanlagen; die Boote waren danach regelmäßig eingeschränkt oder nicht mehr manövrierfähig. Wenn auch nicht so häufig, waren ebenfalls Kiel und Rumpf der Boote beschädigt worden. Laut Forschern der Arbeitsgruppe Iberian Orca scheinen die Schwertwale die Funktion des Ruders zu verstehen. Als Ursache für ihr Verhalten wird Nahrungskonkurrenz vermutet. Möglich ist auch, dass es sich um ein Spielverhalten handelt, das sich als Trend in einer Schwertwalgruppe etabliert hat. Unstrittig ist, dass die iberischen Schwertwale unter starkem Stress stehen. Die Arbeitsgruppe Iberian Orca entwickelte einen Verhaltenskodex für Bootsführer, der dazu beitragen soll, dass Boote sicher durch die Gewässer gelangen können und dass Orcas nicht zusätzlich gefährdet werden. Bis Juli 2022 blieben diese wiederkehrenden Interaktionen zwischen Orcas und Segelyachten, bis auf reparaturbedürftige Schäden an Kiel, Rumpf und Ruder, weitgehend folgenlos. Am 31. Juli 2022 kam es dann zum ersten Seenotfall in Folge einer Interaktion zwischen Orcas und einer Segelyacht. Diese wurde 11 km vor der portugiesischen Küste so oft und heftig gerammt, dass sie aufgrund der strukturellen Schäden zu sinken begann.
Sources: de.wikipedia.org
Small studies with human participants have been reported, chiefly in Russian-language journals, but they are limited in size and design. No large randomised controlled trial with published results is available.
The most reproducible biochemical observation comes from cultured cells, where the peptide was reported to raise telomerase activity. Whether this translates into measurable health effects in animals or humans is not established.
It is offered as a research chemical for laboratory use, which places it outside the approval pathways applied to medicines. Buyers should expect documentation to differ between suppliers.
It is a four-amino-acid peptide built from alanine, glutamate, aspartate and glycine in that order. Its formula is C14H22N4O9, and it is made by chemical synthesis rather than extracted from tissue. The synthetic peptide is a single defined molecule, unlike the pineal extracts it is often compared with.