Tetrapeptide raises a handful of sensible questions. This page answers them in order, starting with the fundamentals and moving to applications.
Reviewed 2026-05-27. Anything still debated is marked as such rather than presented as settled.
Several names circulate for the same molecule, including epitalon, epithalone, epithalamin tetrapeptide, and the sequence code AEDG. A CAS registry number, 307297-39-8, is commonly cited for it, though catalogue entries should be checked against supplier documentation because mislabelled records occur. In its usual form the peptide carries free amino and carboxyl termini and is neither glycosylated nor lipidated. Researchers distinguish the defined tetrapeptide from epithalamin itself, a crude pineal preparation containing many peptides that is not chemically characterised.
Material supplied for laboratory use is normally a lyophilised white to off-white powder that dissolves readily in water and in isotonic saline. Lyophilised cakes are hygroscopic and should be equilibrated to room temperature before opening to limit condensation on the solid. Solutions are typically prepared at milligram-per-millilitre concentrations and divided into single-use aliquots, because repeated freeze–thaw cycles degrade short peptides. Aqueous solutions are far less stable than the dry powder, and identity is usually verified by mass spectrometry alongside purity estimation from reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.
Epitalon is a synthetic linear tetrapeptide with the sequence alanine–glutamate–aspartate–glycine, abbreviated AEDG. Its molecular formula is C14H22N4O9 and the calculated mass is approximately 390.35 g/mol. The compound is made by solid-phase peptide synthesis rather than extracted from tissue, although early work described it as a short fragment of a peptide fraction obtained from bovine pineal extract. In the research literature the spelling epitalon and the variant epithalone both appear, while AEDG is the standard code used in peptide nomenclature.
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.
Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide with the sequence alanine–glutamate–aspartate–glycine, commonly abbreviated AEDG. Its design traces to epithalamin, a peptide fraction prepared from bovine pineal gland extracts that researchers in Saint Petersburg began investigating in the 1970s. The compound has a molecular formula of C14H22N4O9 and a nominal molecular mass near 390 daltons. It holds no approved drug status in the United States or the European Union, and material sold under this name is generally offered as a research chemical rather than a finished pharmaceutical product.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Amino acid sequence | Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly | Linear tetrapeptide, also written AEDG |
| Molecular mass | About 390.35 g/mol | Value calculated from the sequence |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Lyophilised material forms a loose cake |
| Solubility | Freely soluble in water | Also dissolves in isotonic saline |
| Storage | -20 °C, desiccated | Aliquot solutions to avoid freeze–thaw cycling |
The peptide emerged from research carried out in Saint Petersburg from the late 1980s onward, where investigators searched for shorter active fragments of a pineal preparation known as epithalamin. The name epitalon was chosen to reflect that parent extract. Early reports described effects on neuroendocrine markers and on the lifespan of laboratory animals. Much of that work appeared in Russian-language journals, with English translations following later, which affects how readily the original protocols can be assessed by outside groups.
Published studies on epitalon are dominated by a small number of research groups, and independent replication in other laboratories remains limited. Proposed mechanisms include activation of telomerase and modulation of melatonin rhythms, but the evidence for either rests mainly on cell cultures and animal models. Whether the peptide produces comparable effects in humans is an open question, and the absence of large controlled trials means the literature is best read as exploratory rather than settled.
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.
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.
The parent extract epithalamin was characterised as a low-molecular-weight fraction of pineal tissue rather than a single defined chemical entity. Researchers fractionated it and tested successive fragments for activity, a screening approach typical of peptide discovery work in that era. Epitalon emerged from that process as one of the shorter sequences of interest. Because the original extract was never fully resolved into individual components, claims about which constituent drives a given effect rest on inference. This distinction matters when reading older reports that attribute extract observations to the tetrapeptide itself.
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.
Storage recommendations center on limiting moisture, heat, and light. The dry powder is generally kept at minus 20 degrees Celsius, and some suppliers recommend minus 80 degrees for long-term archival. Once dissolved, solutions are usually aliquoted and frozen to avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles, which can promote aggregation or degradation. Aqueous stability depends on pH and concentration, and buffered saline is often preferred over plain water for biological work. Stability data specific to epitalon remain limited, so general peptide-handling practices are applied by analogy rather than from product-specific validation.
Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide with the sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, abbreviated AEDG. Its molecular formula is C14H22N4O9 and its calculated monoisotopic mass is approximately 390.35 daltons. The compound does not occur naturally as a free peptide; it is produced by solid-phase peptide synthesis. Because it contains two acidic residues and no basic residues, the neutral form carries a net negative charge at physiological pH. This charge profile influences how the peptide behaves in solution and during chromatographic analysis.
Laboratory-grade epitalon is typically supplied as a lyophilized powder. Purity is commonly assessed with reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, often paired with mass spectrometry to confirm molecular identity. Amino acid analysis and peptide mapping can provide additional confirmation of sequence. Certificates of analysis for research materials frequently report purity above 95 percent, although the methods behind such figures vary between suppliers. The absence of a pharmacopeial monograph means that no single standardized assay defines the compound, so reported results depend on the analytical protocol chosen.
== Research == Pinealon has been shown to protect rat offspring from prenatal hyperhomocysteinemia and correspondingly improve post natal cognitive function. Pinealon likewise maintains learning retention rats with experimentally-induced diabetes.
The report published by the committee noted that while methadone itself was potentially addictive, it produced "considerably" less euphoria, sedation, and respiratory depression than morphine at equianalgesic doses and was thus interesting as a commercial drug. The same report also compared methadone to pethidine. German researchers reported that methadone was capable of producing strong morphine-like physical dependence, which is characterized by opioid withdrawal symptoms which are lesser in severity and intensity compared to morphine, but methadone was associated with a considerably prolonged or protracted withdrawal syndrome when compared to morphine. Morphine produced higher rates of self-administration and reinforcing behaviour in both human and animal subjects when compared to both methadone and pethidine. In comparison to equianalgesic doses of pethidine (Demerol), methadone was shown to produce less euphoria, but higher rates of constipation, and roughly equal levels of respiratory depression and sedation. In the early 1950s, methadone (most times the racemic HCl salts mixture) was also investigated for use as an antitussive. Isomethadone, noracymethadol, LAAM, and normethadone were first developed in Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Austria, Canada, and the United States in the thirty or so years after the 1937 discovery of pethidine, the first synthetic opioid used in medicine.
Magnetostratigraphy determines age from the pattern of magnetic polarity zones in a series of bedded sedimentary and/or volcanic rocks by comparison to the magnetic polarity timescale. The polarity timescale has been previously determined by dating of seafloor magnetic anomalies, radiometrically dating volcanic rocks within magnetostratigraphic sections, and astronomically dating magnetostratigraphic sections.
=== Neuroadaptation and sensitization === Reward sensitization is a process that causes an increase in the amount of reward (specifically, incentive salience) that is assigned by the brain to a rewarding stimulus (e.g., a drug). In simple terms, when reward sensitization to a specific stimulus (e.g., a drug) occurs, an individual's "wanting" or desire for the stimulus itself and its associated cues increases. Reward sensitization normally occurs following chronically high levels of exposure to the stimulus. On the incentive-sensitization account, "cue-induced wanting" or "cue-triggered wanting" – a form of craving triggered by drug-associated cues – drives much of the compulsive behavior seen in addiction. During the development of an addiction, the repeated association of otherwise neutral and even non-rewarding stimuli with drug consumption triggers an associative learning process that causes these previously neutral stimuli to act as conditioned positive reinforcers of addictive drug use (i.e., these stimuli start to function as drug cues). As conditioned positive reinforcers of drug use, these previously neutral stimuli are assigned incentive salience (which manifests as a craving) – sometimes at pathologically high levels due to reward sensitization – which can transfer to the primary reinforcer (e.g., the use of an addictive drug) with which it was originally paired. Incentive sensitization is one of several competing accounts of addiction.
=== Additional toxic effects === Apart from its mutagenic nature, thiotepa can exert skin toxicity, such as redness and hyperpigmentation. Other less frequent symptoms are peeling skin and mucositis. These effects can be unified under the term of "toxic erythema of chemotherapy". Due to thiotepa's excretion via sweat, skin exposure is especially high in regions with a high density of sweat glands. Namely, symptoms are more abundant at skin folds, the groin, armpits, and generally obstructed skin where accumulation of sweat can take place. The symptoms can be minimized by washing the skin with water and preventing the use of soap and moisturizers, together with preventing obstructions of the skin, 36 hours after thiotepa administration. Thiotepa's ability to cross the blood-brain barrier can lead to diseases related to the white brain matter and neurotoxic symptoms such as memory deficits, dizziness, blurred vision, and others. Additionally, neurotoxicity and mucositis are the main dose-limiting factors in high-dose treatment (whereas the main dose-limiting factor, myelosuppression, is remedied by applying transplantation of bone marrow). Other general adverse effects of chemotherapy with thiotepa are infections, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, oedema and hair loss. In-vivo experiments in animals displayed additional and potentially important toxicities. Thiotepa has been found to negatively affect fertility in male and female mice by interfering with spermatogenesis and impairing ovarian function, respectively.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
== Clinical significance == As bacteria are the responsible pathogen for many infections and illnesses, the biochemical and structural components that distinguish disease causing bacterial cells from native eukaryotic cells are of great interest from a clinical perspective. Gram-negative bacteria tend to be more antimicrobial resistant than gram-positive bacteria, and also possess a much more significant periplasmic space between their two membrane bilayers. Since eukaryotes do not possess a periplasmic space, structures and enzymes found in the gram-negative periplasm are attractive targets for antimicrobial drug therapies. Additionally, vital functions such as facilitation of protein folding, protein transport, cell signaling, structural integrity, and nutrient uptake are performed by periplasm components, making it rich in potential drug targets. Aside from enzymes and structural components that are vital to cell function and survival, the periplasm also contains virulence-associated proteins such as DsbA that can be targeted by antimicrobial therapies. Due to their role in catalyzing disulfide bond formation for a variety of virulence factors, the DsbA/DsbB system has been of particular interest as a target for anti-virulence drugs. The periplasmic space is deeply interconnected with the pathogenesis of disease in the setting of microbial infection. Many of the virulence factors associated with bacterial pathogenicity are secretion proteins, which are often subject to post-translational modification including disulfide bond formation.
Nineteen states require a bear hunting license, with some also requiring a big game license. In eight states, only a big game license is required. Overall, over 481,500 American black bear hunting licenses are sold per year. The hunting methods and seasons vary greatly according to state, with some bear hunting seasons including fall only, spring and fall, or year-round. New Jersey, in November 2010, approved a six-day bear-hunting season in early December 2010 to slow the growth of the population. Bear hunting had been banned in New Jersey for five years before that time. A Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll found that 53% of New Jersey voters approved of the new season if scientists concluded that bears were leaving their usual habitats and destroying private property. Men, older voters and those living in rural areas were more likely to approve of a bear hunting season in New Jersey than women, younger voters and those living in more developed parts of the state. In the western states, where there are large American black bear populations, there are spring and year-round seasons. Approximately 18,000 American black bears were killed annually in the U.S. between 1988 and 1992. Within this period, annual kills ranged from six bears in South Carolina to 2,232 in Maine. According to Dwight Schuh in his Bowhunter's Encyclopedia, American black bears are the third most popular quarry of bowhunters, behind deer and elk.
In addition, proteins released from cells can impede protein C activation, for example eosinophil, which may explain thrombosis in hypereosinophilic heart disease. Protein C may be up-regulated by platelet factor 4. This cytokine is conjectured to improve activation of protein C by forming an electrostatic bridge from protein C's Gla domain to the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) domain of thrombomodulin, reducing the Michaelis constant (KM) for their reaction. In addition, Protein C is inhibited by protein C inhibitor.
==== Pharmacokinetics ==== In the context of pharmacokinetics (how the body absorbs, metabolizes, and excretes a drug), the distribution coefficient has a strong influence on ADME properties of the drug. Hence the hydrophobicity of a compound (as measured by its distribution coefficient) is a major determinant of how drug-like it is. More specifically, for a drug to be orally absorbed, it normally must first pass through lipid bilayers in the intestinal epithelium (a process known as transcellular transport). For efficient transport, the drug must be hydrophobic enough to partition into the lipid bilayer, but not so hydrophobic, that once it is in the bilayer, it will not partition out again. Likewise, hydrophobicity plays a major role in determining where drugs are distributed within the body after absorption and, as a consequence, in how rapidly they are metabolized and excreted.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
It is a synthetic tetrapeptide. Its sequence was derived from research on peptide fractions of bovine pineal extract, and the intact AEDG sequence has not been demonstrated as an abundant free peptide in human tissue.
AEDG is the one-letter code for the four amino acids alanine, glutamate, aspartate and glycine in that order. The same molecule is written in three-letter form as Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly.
Identity is normally confirmed by mass spectrometry against the calculated mass of roughly 390.35 g/mol. Purity is then estimated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection.
No. Epithalamin is a heterogeneous peptide fraction obtained from pineal gland extract and contains many components. Epitalon is a single synthetic tetrapeptide with the sequence Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly. Researchers synthesised the shorter peptide while attempting to identify active sequences within the extract.