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Background And Chemical Identity — Field Notes

By Editorial Desk · published 2026-07-02 · last reviewed 2026-08-01 · Faq

The short version of tetrapeptide fits in a sentence. The long version — which is the one that helps — is below.

This page was last updated on 2026-08-01 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.

Background and Chemical Identity

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.

Identity and Research Background

Published work on this compound consists mainly of in vitro experiments, animal studies, and small clinical investigations, a substantial share of which appeared in Russian-language journals. Sample sizes are generally small, control conditions differ between studies, and several endpoints rely on markers whose clinical meaning is itself debated. Reviews of the longevity field treat the peptide as an early example of telomerase-directed research rather than an established intervention. Regulatory treatment varies by country: some jurisdictions place it under prescription controls, others treat it as a laboratory material, and importation may be restricted regardless of local status.

Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide whose sequence is alanine–glutamate–aspartate–glycine, commonly abbreviated AEDG. It was developed in Russia during the 1980s and 1990s by investigators associated with the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, who studied short peptides as regulators of gene expression and tissue function. The alternative spelling epithalon appears interchangeably in the literature, and the two names refer to the same molecule. Outside Russia it is encountered chiefly as a research chemical rather than a licensed medicine, and it holds no approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency.

Epitalon at a glance

PropertyValueNotes
Amino acid sequenceAla-Glu-Asp-GlyLinear tetrapeptide, also written AEDG
Molecular massAbout 390.35 g/molValue calculated from the sequence
AppearanceWhite to off-white powderLyophilised material forms a loose cake
SolubilityFreely soluble in waterAlso dissolves in isotonic saline
Storage-20 °C, desiccatedAliquot solutions to avoid freeze–thaw cycling

Structure, Naming and Discovery

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.

Residue composition is the property that most cleanly separates verified material from mislabelled samples. Alanine, glutamate, aspartate and glycine appear in that order from the N-terminus, and the two acidic residues sit in the middle of the chain. Because the peptide is short, it can be produced by solid-phase synthesis and characterised by mass spectrometry without ambiguity. Any reported sample whose measured mass departs substantially from 390 daltons is a different compound or a degraded mixture rather than epitalon.

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Chemical Identity and Research Background

Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide whose sequence is alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, written in single-letter code as AEDG. The four residues are joined by three peptide bonds, giving a linear backbone with no branching and no disulfide bridges. Its calculated molecular mass for the free form is approximately 390.3 daltons, a figure that rises when the compound is supplied as an acetate or trifluoroacetate salt. Because the chain is short, the molecule is defined entirely by its residue order rather than by any folded three-dimensional structure.

The compound is described in the literature as a derivative of epithalamin, a preparation obtained from bovine pineal tissue. Work on this peptide family was carried out mainly by a research group in Saint Petersburg beginning in the 1980s, and the substance was later registered for clinical use in Russia under the name Epitalon. Outside that region it is generally treated as a research chemical rather than an approved medicine. Statements about its biological activity rest on a relatively small number of studies, and independent replication remains limited.

Notes from published material

== Contributions to chemistry == John Knox was an early leader in the field of gas chromatography. As a PhD student in at Pembroke College, Cambridge, in 1953 Knox, together with his fellow student Howard Purnell, constructed a self-designed gas chromatographer in their lab and used this to pioneer early research in the field. In later experiments Knox was the first to use gas chromatography to measure rate of reaction constants for gaseous chemical reactions. This work enabled greater understanding of mechanisms of combustion and chlorination reactions in science. During a sabbatical with Prof JC Giddings in Utah in 1964, Knox was introduced to column liquid chromatography. Back home in 1969, he published a landmark paper with Mohammed Saleem, which suggested that the highest speed in liquid chromatography would be obtained by using 2 micron porous particles. In the 1970s Knox and his Edinburgh research group invented new micro-particulate packing materials for liquid chromatography, now marketed under the trade name Hypersil. He also invented porous graphitic carbon (now Hypercarb), creating an alternative packing material to silica gels for the industry. Knox's work over this period included development of the Knox Equation, now used commonly to describe the spreading of a solute into bands in liquid chromatography. John Knox was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1971 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1984. Knox was awarded the Golay Medal for Capillary Chromatography in 2000.

Finals appearances were rare for the side, which was often in contention for the wooden spoon. Essendon did manage to make the 1968 VFL Grand Final, but it lost to Carlton by just three points and did not make it back to the big stage for 15 years. During the period from 1968 until 1980, five different coaches were tried, with none lasting longer than four years. Off the field, the club went through troubled times as well. In 1970, five players went on strike before the season even began, demanding higher payments. Essendon did make the finals in 1972 and 1973 under the autocratic direction of Des Tuddenham (Collingwood), but they were beaten badly in successive elimination finals by St. Kilda and did not taste finals action again until the very end of the decade. The 1970s Essendon sides were involved in many rough and tough encounters under Tuddenham, who himself came to loggerheads with Ron Barassi at a quarter-time huddle where both coaches exchanged heated words. Essendon had tough but talented players with the likes of Ron "Rotten Ronnie" Andrews and experienced players such as Barry Davis, Ken Fletcher, Geoff Blethyn, Neville Fields and Western Australian import Graham Moss. In May 1974, a controversial half-time all-in-brawl with Richmond at Windy Hill and a 1975 encounter with Carlton were testimony to the era. Following the Carlton match, the Herald described Windy Hill as "Boot Hill" because of the extent of the fights and the high number of reported players (eight in all — four from Carlton and four from Essendon).

== Structure == 50S, roughly equivalent to the 60S ribosomal subunit in eukaryotic cells, is the larger subunit of the 70S ribosome of prokaryotes. The 50S subunit is primarily composed of proteins but also contains single-stranded RNA known as ribosomal RNA (rRNA). rRNA forms secondary and tertiary structures to maintain the structure and carry out the catalytic functions of the ribosome. X-ray crystallography has yielded electron density maps allowing the structure of the 50S in Haloarcula marismortui (archaeon) to be determined to 2.4Å resolutionand of the 50S in the Deinococcus radiodurans (bacterium) to 3.3Å. The large ribosomal subunit (50S) is approximately twice as massive as the small ribosomal subunit (30S). The model of Hm 50S, determined in 2000 by Nenad Ban and colleagues in the laboratory of Thomas Steitz and the laboratory of Peter Moore, includes 2711 of the 2923 nucleotides of 23S rRNA, all 122 nucleotides of its 5S rRNA, and structure of 27 of its 31 proteins.

Slavery in early medieval Europe was so common that the Catholic Church repeatedly prohibited it, or at least the export of Christian slaves to non-Christian lands, as for example at the Council of Koblenz (922), the Council of London (1102) (which aimed mainly at the sale of English slaves to Ireland) and the Council of Armagh (1171). Serfdom, on the contrary, was widely accepted. In 1452, Pope Nicholas V issued the papal bull Dum Diversas, granting the kings of Spain and Portugal the right to reduce any "Saracens (Muslims), pagans and any other unbelievers" to perpetual slavery, legitimizing the slave trade as a result of war. The approval of slavery under these conditions was reaffirmed and extended in his Romanus Pontifex bull of 1455. Large-scale trading in slaves was mainly confined to the South and East of early medieval Europe: the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim world were the destinations, while pagan Central and Eastern Europe (along with the Caucasus and Tartary) were important sources. Viking, Arab, Greek, and Radhanite Jewish merchants were all involved in the slave trade during the Early Middle Ages. The trade in European slaves reached a peak in the 10th century following the Zanj Rebellion, which dampened the use of African slaves in the Arab world. In Britain, slavery continued to be practiced following the fall of Rome, while sections of Æthelstan's and Hywel the Good's laws dealt with slaves in medieval England and medieval Wales respectively.

Commercial cherry juice concentrate is shipped in bulk containers to food manufacturers and in smaller, consumer-sized containers for retail sales. In the United States, cherry juice is produced mostly in the state of Wisconsin. More minute amounts are produced in the U.S. states of New York, Pennsylvania and Colorado.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Background from the literature

After meeting threshold concentration, transmembrane histidine kinases are activated via binding of corresponding peptides. Regulator proteins in turn are phosphorylated by the activated kinases, thereby inducing competency gene expression. Such genes produce proteins responsible for inducing DNA transformation.

The musculoskeletal system consists of the human skeleton (which includes bones, ligaments, tendons, joints and cartilage) and attached muscles. It gives the body basic structure and the ability for movement. In addition to their structural role, the larger bones in the body contain bone marrow, the site of production of blood cells. Also, all bones are major storage sites for calcium and phosphate. This system can be split up into the muscular system and the skeletal system.

The International Alliance for the Control of Scabies was started in 2012, and brings together over 150 researchers, clinicians, and public-health experts from more than 15 countries. It has managed to bring the global health implications of scabies to the attention of the World Health Organization (WHO). Consequently, the WHO has included scabies on its official list of neglected tropical diseases and other neglected conditions.

== Interactions == Alvimopan is not a substrate for the cytochrome P450 enzyme system. Therefore, no interactions are expected with hepatically metabolized drugs. Alvimopan is substrate for P-glycoprotein. Thus, interactions are to be expected with known P-glycoprotein inhibitors such as amiodarone, bepridil, diltiazem, ciclosporin, itraconazole, quinine, quinidine, spironolactone, and verapamil.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Frequently asked questions

Is epitalon a natural substance?

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.

What does the abbreviation AEDG mean?

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.

How is the identity of epitalon confirmed in a laboratory?

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.

What is epitalon?

Epitalon is a synthetic four-amino-acid peptide with the sequence alanine–glutamate–aspartate–glycine, also written AEDG. It was developed in Russian gerontology research and is studied for proposed effects on telomerase, melatonin regulation, and neuroendocrine function. It is not an approved pharmaceutical in the United States or the European Union.

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