epithalamin is one of those subjects where the details matter more than the headlines. This page pulls together the background, the mechanisms, and the practical points readers ask about most.
Last reviewed on 2026-08-01. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide with the sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, commonly abbreviated AEDG. It was designed at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology as a short, chemically defined analogue of epithalamin, a fraction obtained from bovine pineal tissue. Small peptide bioregulators of this type formed a long-running line of work there from the 1980s onward. Because the molecule is produced by solid-phase synthesis rather than extraction, its composition is exact and its purity can be measured directly.
The most frequently cited proposed action is induction of telomerase, the enzyme that adds repeat sequences to chromosome ends. Cell-culture work from the originating group reported higher telomerase reverse transcriptase expression and measurable telomere elongation in human somatic cells after exposure. How a four-residue peptide would reach nuclear gene regulation is not established, and no cell-surface receptor or uptake route has been identified. Additional reports describe changes in melatonin secretion, antioxidant enzyme activity and lipid peroxidation in aged animals, but these findings remain mechanistically unconnected to the telomerase observation.
Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide with the residue sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, commonly abbreviated AEDG. Its monoisotopic mass is approximately 390.35 daltons, and it is usually supplied as a lyophilised trifluoroacetate or acetate salt. The compound was derived from a pineal gland extract called epithalamin, a heterogeneous preparation investigated in the former Soviet Union. Researchers associated with the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology described the tetrapeptide as a constituent fragment of that extract. Commercial material is offered as a laboratory reagent rather than as a finished pharmaceutical product.
Literature searches for this compound must account for several spelling variants. Indexing databases contain epitalon, epithalon, epithalone, and AEDG, and relevant records are scattered across Russian-language and English-language journals that do not consistently cross-cite. Early publications describe the parent extract as a mixture of many peptides, whereas later work addresses the single synthetic tetrapeptide. That shift in nomenclature complicates comparison between studies, because extract data and tetrapeptide data are sometimes cited interchangeably. A search strategy omitting the alternate spellings will return an incomplete set of references.
Reported biological findings come mainly from cell culture and rodent experiments. Those studies describe changes in telomerase catalytic subunit expression, melatonin rhythm amplitude, and antioxidant enzyme activity after peptide exposure. Human data are sparse and consist of small trials with limited blinding and inconsistent endpoints. The proposed mechanisms remain hypotheses rather than established facts, and there is no consensus on whether effects observed in animals carry over to people. Independent replication outside the original research groups is limited, which is a recognised gap in the published literature.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular formula | C14H22N4O9 | Calculated from the four residues with three water losses |
| Molecular mass | About 390.35 g/mol | Monoisotopic mass near 390.14, used for mass-spectrometric identification |
| Peptide sequence | Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly | Single-letter form AEDG; no disulfide bonds or modified residues |
| Appearance | White to off-white solid | Supplied as a dried powder |
| Isoelectric point | Around 4 | Estimated from aspartate and glutamate side-chain pKa values |
Laboratory work has examined effects on telomerase activity in cultured cells, on melatonin rhythms in animals, and on markers of oxidative stress. Some experiments report measurable changes while others show none, and the reported findings rest largely on small studies. The absence of large independent trials means the generality of these results is unresolved rather than settled. Review articles occasionally apply the label geroprotector, a term that reflects a research hypothesis about ageing rather than an established clinical finding.
Epitalon is the common name for a synthetic tetrapeptide with the sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, usually abbreviated AEDG. All four residues are proteinogenic amino acids, and the free peptide has a calculated mass near 390 grams per mole. Because the chain is short and carries no modifications, it is assembled readily by solid-phase synthesis and is distributed mainly as a freeze-dried solid for laboratory work. Catalogue listings use the spellings epitalon, epithalone, and simply AEDG, and the three refer to the same sequence.
The compound is generally presented as a synthetic fragment of epithalamin, a pineal gland extract investigated in the former Soviet Union from the 1970s onward. Vladimir Khavinson and colleagues in Saint Petersburg developed short peptides modelled on such extracts, and epitalon became the most widely cited of those sequences. Most primary reports appeared in Russian-language journals or in proceedings with limited international circulation. Independent replication in laboratories outside that network remains sparse, and much repeated secondary material traces back to a small number of originating groups.
Proposed mechanisms centre on cell-culture observations rather than a defined receptor interaction. Several reports describe increased expression of the telomerase catalytic subunit after exposure of cultured human cells, and the authors attributed the effect to short peptide fragments entering the nucleus and influencing gene transcription. No receptor for the tetrapeptide has been identified, and the free peptide is expected to be degraded rapidly by plasma peptidases. Whether any measurable fraction reaches intact tissues after administration remains an unresolved question rather than an established finding.
The published literature is dominated by a small number of research groups, much of it in Russian-language journals, and independent replication outside those groups is limited. Studies are typically small, use cultured cells or rodent models, and report endpoints that differ between papers, which makes comparison difficult. Large randomised human trials have not appeared in the indexed literature. Questions about absorption, distribution and clearance are therefore still treated as open in reviews that mention the compound.
The therapeutic index (TI) is used to quantify the risks and benefits of a certain drug. It describes the relationship between toxic dose and minimum effective dose, thus providing an important insight into the safety of a drug. The Therapeutic Index is calculated using the following equation: TI = TD50 / ED50, where TD50 is the dose at which toxicity presents in 50% of the population, and ED50 is the dose needed to produce 50% of maximal response. From the equation, a high TI indicates that the drug needs a high dose to induce toxicity in 50% of the population or a low dose to achieve the minimum effective dose, and vice versa. In the case of physiological antagonists, for example, insulin has a narrow TI. A narrow TI indicates that either excess or lack of insulin can cause significant risks. On one hand, lack of insulin may result in high blood glucose levels and kidney or cardiovascular damage. On the other hand, excess insulin may result in insulin-induced hypoglycemia as aforementioned. Another example is dimercaprol, a chemical antagonist in treating metal toxicity. Dimercaprol has a narrow TI so it is replaced by its derivative, 2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA).
Clinical data management Clinical Quality Management System Clinical trial management system Clinical trial Electronic data capture Electronic Common Technical Document (eCTD) Drug development Stuart Summerhayes, CDM Regulations Procedures Manual, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN 1-4051-0740-5 Tai BC, Seldrup J., A review of software for data management, design and analysis of clinical trials, Ann Acad Med Singap. 2000 Sep;29(5):576-81. Greenes RA, Pappalardo AN, Marble CW, Barnett GO., Design and implementation of a clinical data management system, Comput Biomed Res. 1969 Oct;2(5):469-85. CDMS at Mayo Clinic Association for Clinical Data Management Society for Clinical Data Management French network of Data Managers in Academic biomedical research Data Quality Research Institute Data Security Software for Clinics
Tellurium-128 and -130 are essentially stable. They only decay by double beta decay, with half-lives >1020 years. They constitute the major fraction of natural occurring tellurium at 32 and 34% respectively. Tellurium-132 and its daughter 132I are important in the first few days after a criticality. It was responsible for a large fraction of the dose inflicted on workers at Chernobyl in the first week. The isobar forming 132Te/132I is: Tin-132 (half-life 40 s) decaying to antimony-132 (half-life 2.8 minutes) decaying to tellurium-132 (half-life 3.2 days) decaying to iodine-132 (half-life 2.3 hours) which decays to stable xenon-132. The creation of tellurium-126 is delayed by the long half-life (230 k years) of tin-126.
== Amplification of product plasmid == The plasmid is often transformed into a bacterium like E. coli. Ideally when the bacterium divides the plasmid should also be replicated. In the best case scenario, each bacterial cell should have several copies of the plasmid. After a good number of bacterial colonies have grown, they can be miniprepped to harvest the plasmid DNA.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
== Exposure to benzene == According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, benzene is both a synthetically made and naturally occurring chemical from processes that include: volcanic eruptions, wild fires, synthesis of chemicals such as phenol, production of synthetic fibers, and fabrication of rubbers, lubricants, pesticides, medications, and dyes. The major sources of benzene exposure are tobacco smoke, automobile service stations, exhaust from motor vehicles, and industrial emissions; however, ingestion and dermal absorption of benzene can also occur through contact with contaminated water. Among those in the United States who are exposed to benzene, over half of the known exposures occur due to tobacco smoking. Benzene is hepatically metabolized and excreted in the urine. Measurement of air and water levels of benzene is accomplished through collection via activated charcoal tubes, which are then analyzed with a gas chromatograph. The measurement of benzene in humans can be accomplished via urine, blood, and breath tests; however, all of these have their limitations because benzene is rapidly metabolized in the human body. Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulates levels of benzene in the workplace. The maximum allowable amount of benzene in workroom air during an 8-hour workday, 40-hour workweek is 1 ppm.
== Uses == NMF is a specialized solvent in oil refineries. It is a precursor in specialized amidation reactions where formamide would not be suitable. These reactions can generally be categorized by the following equation:
A glucose tolerance test requires IV or oral administration of a sugar. Multiple blood draws are then performed to measure blood glucose and insulin levels over time. The area under this curve is the best indicator of insulin resistance, but it may also be evaluated just based on the peak value and time to return to baseline. The combined glucose-insulin test requires less time to perform than the glucose tolerance test. It involves a baseline blood draw, followed by an IV injection of dextrose, and then an injection of insulin. Blood glucose is measured every 10–15 minutes over the course of 2.5 hours. Samples are evaluated for time to return to baseline blood glucose levels, and insulin blood concentration. Elevated insulin concentration suggest insulin resistance. Rarely, this test can result in hypoglycemia, which requires administration of IV dextrose to correct.
DNA gel electrophoresis is usually performed for analytical purposes, often after amplification of DNA via polymerase chain reaction (PCR), but may be used as a preparative technique for other methods such as mass spectrometry, RFLP, PCR, cloning, DNA sequencing, or Southern blotting for further characterization.
where KD is the process equilibrium constant, [A] represents the concentration of solute A being tested, and "org" and "aq" refer to the organic and aqueous phases respectively. The IUPAC further recommends "partition ratio" for cases where transfer activity coefficients can be determined, and "distribution ratio" for the ratio of total analytical concentrations of a solute between phases, regardless of chemical form.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
To avoid the complications involved in using activities, stability constants are determined, where possible, in a medium consisting of a solution of a background electrolyte at high ionic strength, that is, under conditions in which
The convention had reverted to defining the atomic mass of hydrogen as 1, although at the level of precision of measurements at that time – relative uncertainties of around 1% – this was numerically equivalent to the later standard of oxygen = 16. However the chemical convenience of having oxygen as the primary atomic mass standard became ever more evident with advances in analytical chemistry and the need for ever more accurate atomic mass determinations. The name mole is an 1897 translation of the German unit Mol, coined by the chemist Wilhelm Ostwald in 1894 from the German word Molekül (molecule). The related concept of equivalent mass had been in use at least a century earlier. In chemistry, it has been known since Proust's law of definite proportions (1794) that knowledge of the mass of each of the components in a chemical system is not sufficient to define the system. Amount of substance can be described as mass divided by Proust's "definite proportions", and contains information that is missing from the measurement of mass alone. As demonstrated by Dalton's law of partial pressures (1803), a measurement of mass is not even necessary to measure the amount of substance (although in practice it is usual). There are many physical relationships between amount of substance and other physical quantities, the most notable one being the ideal gas law (where the relationship was first demonstrated in 1857). The term "mole" was first used in a textbook describing these colligative properties.
AM-1235 metabolism differs only slightly from that of JWH-018. AM-1235 N-dealkylation produces 1-fluoropentane instead of pentane or other simple alkanes in general. It had been speculated that the fluoropentane might function as an alkylating agent or be further metabolized into toxic fluoroacetic acid. This is not true, however, as fluoroalkanes do not act as alkylating agents under normal conditions and odd-length fluoroalkane chains metabolize into substantially less toxic fluoropropanoic acid.
=== Books === Wadden, Thomas A.; Van Itallie, Theodore B. (1992). Treatment of the Seriously Obese Patient. Guilford Press. Stunkard, Albert J.; Wadden, Thomas A. (1993). Obesity: Theory and Therapy (2nd ed.). Raven Press. Brownell, Kelly D.; Wadden, Thomas A. (1998). The LEARN Program for Weight Control: Special Medication Edition. American Health Publishing. Wadden, Thomas A.; Stunkard, Albert J. (2002). Handbook of Obesity Treatment. Guilford Press. Wadden, Thomas A.; Bray, George A. (2018). Handbook of Obesity Treatment (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
No. Epithalamin is a peptide-containing extract of bovine pineal glands, while epitalon is a single synthetic tetrapeptide. The extract contains many peptides and other tissue components, so its composition varies between batches in ways that a synthesised sequence does not.
It is not recognised as an endogenous peptide hormone. The four-residue sequence can appear inside larger proteins and in digestive fragments of dietary protein, but no dedicated pathway producing it as a signalling molecule has been identified.
Several cell-culture reports describe increased telomerase activity after treatment, measured by enzyme assays or by transcript levels. Results differ between cell types and laboratories, and measured telomere lengthening has been reported in some studies but not in others, which leaves the physiological relevance open.
It is based on epithalamin, a peptide-rich preparation obtained from pineal gland tissue and studied in the former Soviet Union. Researchers later identified the tetrapeptide AEDG as a constituent fragment of that material. Modern supplies are produced by chemical synthesis rather than tissue extraction.