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Synthetic tripeptide

Pinealon

Pinealon is a synthetic three-amino-acid peptide (Glu-Asp-Arg) from Russian aging research, studied mostly in cells and animals, with very little human data.

Medical review in progressLast reviewed

US regulatory status

Not approved for human use in the US

Pinealon is unapproved for human use in the US. It does not appear on the FDA’s compounding category lists, and it has not been reviewed by an FDA advisory committee.

As of

Sources12

On this page
  1. US regulatory status
  2. At a glance
  3. What the research shows
  4. Side effects and safety
  5. Vial math
  6. Questions people ask
  7. Sources
  8. Related compounds

At a glance

Also known as
Glu-Asp-Arg, EDR peptide
Supplied as
Freeze-dried powder, mixed before use
Research
Limited human evidence
US status
US status: Not approvedchecked

What the research shows

Evidence grade

Limited human evidence

Some studies in people, but they are small, short, early-phase or uncontrolled.

Almost all of the research comes from one network: V. Khavinson and colleagues at the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, much of it in Russian-language journals. In cell studies, pinealon limited the build-up of reactive oxygen species in nerve, immune and PC12 cells. A 2020 review by the same group says the peptide is neuroprotective “in in vitro and in vivo studies” and “improves memory issues in elderly patients,” and proposes that it enters cells and binds histones or RNA, a hypothesis. The one human study found is a 2015 Russian paper on 32 people aged 41 to 83 with several chronic illnesses and organic brain syndrome, given pinealon or a peptide called vesugen; it measured “biological age” markers, and no control group is described in its abstract. No randomized placebo-controlled trial was found on PubMed, and a ClinicalTrials.gov search on October 16, 2026 found no registered trial.

Sources3456

How we grade evidence

  1. Strong human evidence

    Consistent results from large randomized controlled trials in people.

  2. Limited human evidence · this page

    Some studies in people, but they are small, short, early-phase or uncontrolled.

  3. Mixed evidence

    Studies in people disagree, or strong evidence for one use sits beside weak evidence for another.

  4. Animal or lab studies only

    Studied in cells or animals, not properly in people. Animal results may not apply to humans.

The grade describes how much research exists and in whom. It is not a judgment that a compound works or is safe.

Side effects and safety

Its safety in people has not been properly studied, and no FDA document discusses pinealon at all, so there is no FDA safety review to rely on. In the only human study found, the authors themselves reported “prooxidant activity” and a fall in CD34+ blood stem-cell markers that they read as “significant inhibition of hemopoiesis” (blood cell production). That is the opposite of the antioxidant effect seen in cell studies. The study was small (32 people), and no control group is described in its abstract. No pinealon product is FDA-approved, so the identity, purity and sterility of anything sold are not checked.

Sources1235

Vial math

Pre-filled calculators turn your vial, water and prescribed dose into syringe units.

Calculator

These pages do the arithmetic for a vial you already have. They don’t suggest a dose.

This is arithmetic, not medical advice. Confirm with your prescriber or pharmacist.

Questions people ask

What is pinealon?

Pinealon is a lab-made peptide of three amino acids: glutamic acid, aspartic acid and arginine (Glu-Asp-Arg, also written EDR). It comes from the short-peptide research of V. Khavinson’s group in Saint Petersburg, Russia, which describes it as protecting nerve cells in lab and animal work. How it might act, by entering cells and binding histones or RNA, is still a hypothesis.

Sources

What is the difference between pinealon and epitalon?

They are different peptides from the same research group. Pinealon has three amino acids (Glu-Asp-Arg); epitalon has four (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly). Their regulatory paths differ too: the FDA reviewed epitalon for pharmacy compounding in 2026 and published a briefing on it, while no FDA document mentions pinealon.

Sources

Is there any human research on pinealon?

Very little. The one study found is a 2015 Russian paper on 32 people aged 41 to 83 with several chronic illnesses and organic brain syndrome, who received pinealon or a peptide called vesugen. It looked at “biological age” markers, no control group is described in its abstract, and its authors also reported signs of reduced blood cell production. A 2020 review by the developers says pinealon “improves memory issues in elderly patients,” but no randomized placebo-controlled trial was found, and none is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Sources

Is pinealon FDA-approved?

No. Pinealon is unapproved for human use in the US. Epitalon, selank and semax appear in the FDA’s table of withdrawn nominations on its Category 2 page; pinealon is not named there or in any 503A category list, and it has not been on an advisory committee agenda. It is also not among the 14 peptide products that a 2022 review lists as registered in Russia.

Sources

Is pinealon safe?

Nobody can say, because it has not been studied well enough in people. The only human study found was small, with no control group described in its abstract, and its authors reported “prooxidant activity” and a fall in blood stem-cell markers they read as “significant inhibition of hemopoiesis.” No FDA review exists for pinealon, and products sold online are not FDA-approved, so their contents are not verified. Talk to a licensed prescriber before using any unapproved product.

Sources

Sources

  1. Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety RisksU.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2026 · Accessed Oct 15, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  2. Bulk Drug Substances Nominated for Use in Compounding Under Section 503A of the FD&C Act (updated May 14, 2026)U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2026 · Accessed Oct 15, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  3. Pinealon increases cell viability by suppression of free radical levels and activating proliferative processesRejuvenation Res, 2011 · Accessed Oct 16, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  4. EDR Peptide: Possible Mechanism of Gene Expression and Protein Synthesis Regulation Involved in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s DiseaseMolecules, 2020 · Accessed Oct 16, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  5. [Effect of synthetic peptides on aging of patients with chronic polymorbidity and organic brain syndrome of the central nervous system in remission]Adv Gerontol, 2015 · Accessed Oct 16, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  6. ClinicalTrials.gov intervention searches for selank, semax, dihexa, pinealon and epitalonClinicalTrials.gov, 2026 · Accessed Oct 16, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  7. Penetration of short fluorescence-labeled peptides into the nucleus in HeLa cells and in vitro specific interaction of the peptides with deoxyribooligonucleotides and DNABiochemistry (Mosc), 2011 · Accessed Oct 16, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  8. FDA Briefing Document for Epitalon-Related Bulk Drug Substances (PCAC, July 23-24, 2026)U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2026 · Accessed Oct 15, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  9. Development of Peptide Biopharmaceuticals in RussiaPharmaceutics, 2022 · Accessed Oct 16, 2026 (opens in a new tab)

Related compounds

Guides

Medical review in progressLast reviewed

Every medical and regulatory statement on this page links to a checkable source, listed above. Peptinote does arithmetic and education, not medical advice, and never sells or links to sellers of peptides.

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