Epitalon

Epitalon (also Epithalon, Epithalone; sequence Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly; CAS 307297-39-8; molecular formula C14H22N4O9; molecular weight 390.35) is a synthetic tetrapeptide developed at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology by Vladimir Khavinson and colleagues beginning in the 1980s. The compound was designed as a synthetic analog of an active fragment isolated from a bovine pineal gland extract (the original "Epithalamin" preparation) and is reported to modulate pineal melatonin secretion, support telomerase activity in cultured cell lines, and influence circadian gene expression. The published preclinical record is dominated almost entirely by the Khavinson group and affiliated St. Petersburg laboratories, which is the principal methodological concern in any rigorous review of the literature; independent replication of the most-cited findings (telomerase induction, lifespan extension in rodent models) is sparse. A small number of human studies have been published, primarily uncontrolled or small-sample clinical observation studies in elderly populations, which have been critically reviewed for methodological limitations. Reported activities span pineal function modulation, antioxidant effects, telomere length stabilization in cell culture models, and reduction of age-related pathology markers in animal studies. The compound is not approved by any regulatory authority for human or veterinary use outside of certain Russian clinical contexts where Epithalamin (the parent extract) has historical use. Investigators should approach the literature with awareness of the single-laboratory dominance and the limited independent replication.