Epitalon

Epitalon (also spelled epithalon) is a synthetic peptide of four amino acids: alanine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid and glycine (AEDG). It was designed from the amino acid make-up of epithalamin, an extract of cattle pineal gland, the small gland in the brain that produces melatonin (Araj 2025). Epitalon and epithalamin are different products, and results for one should not be read as results for the other (Jain 2026).

Almost all epitalon research comes from one group: Vladimir Khavinson and colleagues at the St Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology in Russia, and their close collaborators. Their work covers telomeres, melatonin, lifespan in rodents and small human reports. Few independent labs have tested it; one exception is a 2025 cell study from a UK university (Al-Dulaimi 2025).

It has never been through a modern, independently run clinical trial. A 2026 review concluded that it is biologically active but clinically unproven, with inadequate data on how the body handles it, on dosing and on long-term safety (Jain 2026).

• Type: synthetic peptide, 4 amino acids (AEDG).
• Studied for: telomeres and cell ageing, melatonin rhythm, lifespan in rodents, retinal degeneration.
• Strongest evidence: cell and animal studies, mostly from one group. Human data are small, older reports with unclear methods.
• Legal status: not approved as a medicine in the US.

At a glance: 9 studies report a dose (3 in people, 2 in animals, 4 in cells).

The proposed mechanisms come from cell, animal and computer studies:

• Telomerase: it increased expression of the telomerase catalytic subunit (hTERT) and telomerase activity in normal human cells (Khavinson 2003; Al-Dulaimi 2025).
• Pineal and melatonin: it raised night-time melatonin in old monkeys (Goncharova 2005).
• Gene regulation: computer modelling suggested it binds histone proteins, which could explain changes in gene expression; this has not been shown directly (Khavinson 2020).

1. Wash your hands and work on a clean, uncluttered surface. Let a refrigerated vial reach room temperature so the stopper is easier to pierce.
2. Wipe the rubber stopper of the peptide vial and of the bacteriostatic water with a fresh alcohol swab, and let them air-dry.
3. Draw the chosen volume of bacteriostatic water into a sterile syringe. With 2 mL, a 10 mg vial ends up at 5,000 mcg/mL, or 50 mcg per U-100 unit.
4. Insert the needle through the stopper and let the water run slowly down the inside wall of the vial, not straight onto the powder.
5. Swirl or roll the vial gently until the powder dissolves. Do not shake it: foaming can damage some peptides.
6. Check the solution against the light. It should be clear; cloudiness or particles mean something is wrong with the vial or the water.
7. Write the date and the volume of water on the label. Every unit calculation later depends on that volume.
8. Store the reconstituted Epitalon vial in the refrigerator, away from light.

• A U-100 insulin syringe holds 1 mL in 100 units, so each unit is 0.01 mL. The marks measure volume, not peptide.
• Syringes come in 0.3 mL (30 units), 0.5 mL (50 units) and 1 mL (100 units) sizes. The smaller ones have finer marks and are easier to read for small volumes.
• Read the volume at the top edge of the plunger's rubber seal, at eye level.
• Tap out air bubbles before reading: a bubble takes up volume and makes the reading wrong.
• Use a new sterile syringe and needle every time, and dispose of them in a sharps container.

• The peptide vial, with its certificate of analysis (COA) for that batch. See how to read a COA.
• Bacteriostatic water (water with 0.9% benzyl alcohol), which keeps a multi-use vial from growing bacteria. Sterile water has no preservative.
• Sterile syringes to add the water, and U-100 insulin syringes to measure.
• Alcohol swabs for the stoppers.
• A sharps container for used needles.
• A label or marker to write the date and the volume of water on the vial.

Side effects and safety in people are unknown: there are no modern controlled trials, and data on how the body processes it are lacking (Jain 2026). In its compounding review, FDA said compounded epitalon may carry a risk of immune reactions and impurity problems and that it had not identified safety information for the proposed route.

• Product quality: epitalon sold online is not checked by any regulator for identity, purity, dose or sterility. A 2015 report from Belgium's Scientific Institute of Public Health identified epitalon in two illegal pharmaceutical preparations.
• Telomeres and cancer: lengthening telomeres lets cells keep dividing, which is also how cancer cells become immortal. Epitalon lengthened telomeres in breast cancer cell lines (Al-Dulaimi 2025), although a mouse study found fewer leukaemias (Anisimov 2003). The long-term effect in people is unknown.
• Single-group evidence: most data come from the developers, so benefits and safety have not been independently checked.
• Injection risks: any injected product that is not sterile can cause infection or abscesses.

Before mixing

• Freeze-dried (lyophilised) peptide is the most stable form. It is usually kept refrigerated, or frozen for long storage, sealed and away from light.
• Heat, moisture and light speed up degradation. Keep the vial in its box and avoid leaving it in a car or by a window.

After mixing

• Keep the reconstituted vial refrigerated and away from light. Do not freeze it again: freezing and thawing a solution can break the peptide down.
• How long a mixed vial stays good depends on the peptide and the diluent, and for most research peptides there is no published stability data. Follow the supplier's guidance and discard any vial that turns cloudy.
• Pierce the stopper as few times as possible, and always with a new sterile needle after wiping it with alcohol.
• Write the volume of water on the label (for example "2 mL"). Without it, the unit calculations cannot be checked later.