If you have been reading about research chemical and want a single page that covers the useful parts, this is it: definitions, context, how it is studied, and the questions that come up repeatedly.
Last reviewed on 2026-04-18. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
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.
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.
Identity and purity are usually assessed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection, frequently near 214 nanometers where the peptide bond absorbs. Mass spectrometry, most often with electrospray ionization, confirms the observed molecular mass and helps separate the intact peptide from truncated or modified forms. Amino acid analysis or tandem mass spectrometry can establish residue order. Purity is commonly quoted as an area percentage, yet such values are method-dependent, and comparisons between laboratories require matching column, gradient and detection wavelength.
Laboratory handling begins with dissolution of the lyophilized powder in water or a suitable aqueous buffer. The dry solid is the more stable form, so stock solutions are generally prepared only when required and kept cold afterwards. Repeated freezing and thawing of a solution is avoided because it encourages aggregation and gradual loss of the intact chain. Diluents and containers are selected to limit adsorption of a short peptide onto plastic surfaces and to reduce microbial growth in aqueous preparations.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular formula | C14H22N4O9 | Derived from the four constituent residues |
| Molecular mass | About 390.35 Da | Monoisotopic value, confirmed by mass spectrometry |
| Residue sequence | Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly | Read from the N-terminus to the C-terminus |
| Common synonyms | Epithalon; AEDG | Both forms appear in reference catalogues |
| Net charge near neutral pH | Negative | Two acidic side chains give a low isoelectric point |
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.
Published evidence comes mainly from Russian-language journals and from a single research group, with small sample sizes and limited independent replication. A few laboratories outside that group have examined related peptides and reported weaker or absent telomerase effects, so the central claim is best described as contested rather than settled. Rodent studies report modest changes in some ageing markers and in survival, but designs vary and control conditions are often sparse. No large randomised trial in humans has been published, and long-term safety data in healthy populations are correspondingly thin.
Storage practice centres on limiting moisture, oxygen, and repeated temperature cycling. Freeze-dried powder is generally held desiccated at minus twenty degrees Celsius or colder and protected from light. Reconstituted solutions are markedly less stable, and the aspartate-glycine junction is prone to succinimide formation at neutral to mildly alkaline pH. Portioning material into single-use aliquots reduces degradation compared with repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Stability data specific to this tetrapeptide remain scarce, so most handling guidance is extrapolated from general peptide chemistry rather than measured directly.
Documentation accompanying research peptides usually includes a certificate of analysis listing the batch number, purity figure, and test methods applied. Buyers comparing suppliers should check whether the reported purity refers to chromatographic area or to a mass-balance calculation, because the two are not equivalent. Counter-ion content, residual solvents, and water content are sometimes omitted from such certificates even though they affect the actual peptide mass present. Independent verification through a second laboratory is the most direct way to confirm that a supplied material matches its label.
Epitalon is a synthetic four-amino-acid peptide with the sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, commonly abbreviated AEDG. Its molecular formula is C14H22N4O9, and its calculated molar mass is approximately 390.35 grams per mole. The compound is a short fragment related to a peptide fraction isolated from bovine pineal gland extracts, and it is normally supplied as a lyophilised powder intended for laboratory research. It is not a registered pharmaceutical product in most countries.
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 appears in the literature primarily through a small number of research groups, most of them associated with the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. Publications describe cell culture experiments, animal studies, and a limited number of small human studies. Independent replication outside this network is sparse. As a result, reviews of the topic usually separate descriptive reports of observed effects from the question of whether those effects generalize, and they note the difficulty of comparing studies that use different preparations and endpoints.
Analytical characterization of epitalon relies on standard peptide methods. Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography is used to assess purity, and mass spectrometry confirms identity by checking the observed mass against the expected value near 390 daltons. Amino acid analysis can verify composition. Because the peptide is short and hydrophilic, it elutes early on many reverse-phase columns, so method development often requires ion-pairing reagents to achieve adequate retention and resolution from related impurities.
Agents classified as fourth-line (or greater) treatments or experimental therapies could be considered by default to be drugs of last resort due to their low placement in the treatment hierarchy. Such placement may be due to greater efficacy of other agents, socioeconomic considerations, availability issues, unpleasant side effects or similar issues relating to patient tolerance. Some experimental therapies might also be called drugs of last resort when administered following the failure of all other currently accepted treatments. Although most of the notable drugs of last resort are antibiotics or antivirals, other drugs are sometimes considered drugs of last resort, such as cisapride.
A sex pheromone released by male mealworm beetles has been identified. Inbreeding reduces the attractiveness of sexual pheromone signaling by male mealworm beetles. Females are more attracted to the odors produced by outbred males than the odors produced by inbred males. The reduction of male signaling capability may be due to increased expression of homozygous deleterious recessive alleles, caused by inbreeding. The mealworm beetle breeds prolifically. Males insert sperm packets with their aedeagus. Within a few days, the female burrows into soft ground and lays eggs. Over her adult lifespan of about 6–12 months, a female will, on average, lay about 500 eggs.
Because most patients with catatonia have an underlying psychiatric illness, the majority will present with worsening depression, mania, or psychosis, followed by catatonia symptoms. Even when they are unable to interact, patients presenting with catatonia should not be assumed to be unaware of their surroundings, as some can recall their catatonic state and their actions in detail.
==== Places ==== In 2012, Doillon signed her first recording deal for three albums with Barclay (Universal Music France). Her first EP I.C.U came out in June and was produced by Étienne Daho and mixed by Philippe Zdar from the band Cassius. Doillon's first album was recorded in France over a 15 day period in the Studio La Seine with French musicians François Poggio, Marcello Guliani, Alexis Anérilles and Philippe Entressangle. Her debut album Places reached number three on the French charts. It also reached number one on Canadian iTunes, number two on French iTunes and was released through Verve in the US and decca in the UK. The artwork for the cover was done by Inez and Vinoodh. Doillon was on the cover of influential magazines Magic, Telerama and Les Inrockuptibles. The first single, "I.C.U", was followed by a video directed by Antoine Carlier, reconstituting her wanderings through Paris. Then came "Questions and Answers" directed by Gaetan Chataigner while Doillon was on tour and "Devil or Angel" directed by Christophe Acker in Scotland. In October 2012, Doillon started her first tour at French rock club La Flèche d'Or and played France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Canada and England. This tour also played at Paris's Le Trianon venue. On 8 February 2013, during the Victoires de la musique ceremony (French equivalent of the Grammy's) at the Zenith of Paris, she was awarded Best Female Performer of the Year, competing alongside prestigious artists such as Françoise Hardy and Celine Dion. It was the first time a newcomer English-speaking performer won in that category.
Ants communicate with each other using pheromones, sounds, and touch. Since most ants live on the ground, they use the soil surface to leave pheromone trails that may be followed by other ants. In species that forage in groups, a forager that finds food marks a trail on the way back to the colony; this trail is followed by other ants, these ants then reinforce the trail when they head back with food to the colony. When the food source is exhausted, no new trails are marked by returning ants and the scent slowly dissipates. This behaviour helps ants deal with changes in their environment. For instance, when an established path to a food source is blocked by an obstacle, the foragers leave the path to explore new routes. If an ant is successful, it leaves a new trail marking the shortest route on its return. Successful trails are followed by more ants, reinforcing better routes and gradually identifying the best path. Ants use pheromones for more than just making trails. A crushed ant emits an alarm pheromone that sends nearby ants into an attack frenzy and attracts more ants from farther away. Several ant species even use "propaganda pheromones" to confuse enemy ants and make them fight among themselves. Pheromones are produced by a wide range of structures including Dufour's glands, poison glands and glands on the hindgut, pygidium, rectum, sternum, and hind tibia. Pheromones also are exchanged, mixed with food, and passed by trophallaxis, transferring information within the colony.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Geographical distribution of government === In West Germany, most of the political agencies and buildings were located in Bonn, while the German Stock Market was located in Frankfurt which became the economic center. The judicial branch of both the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) and the highest Court of Appeals, were located in Karlsruhe. The West German government was known to be much more decentralised than its state socialist East German counterpart, the former being a federal state and the latter a unitary one. Whilst East Germany was divided into 15 administrative districts (Bezirke), which were merely local branches of the national government, West Germany was divided into states (Länder) with independently elected state parliaments and control of the Bundesrat, the second legislative chamber of the Federal Government.
==== MeSH D12.776.835.725.934 – prokaryotic initiation factors ==== MeSH D12.776.835.725.934.374 – prokaryotic initiation factor-1 MeSH D12.776.835.725.934.562 – prokaryotic initiation factor-2 MeSH D12.776.835.725.934.750 – prokaryotic initiation factor-3
Fentanyl and fentanyl analogues can be qualitatively detected in drug samples using commercially available fentanyl testing strips or spot reagents. Following the principles of harm reduction, this test is to be used directly on drug samples as opposed to urine. To prepare a sample for testing, approximately 10 mg of the drug should be diluted into 1 tsp (5 mL) of water. Research in Dr. Lieberman's lab at the University of Notre Dame has reported false positive results on BTNX fentanyl testing strips with methamphetamine, MDMA, and diphenhydramine. The sensitivity and specificity of fentanyl test strips vary depending on the concentration of fentanyl tested, particularly from 10 to 250 ng/mL.
=== Nutrient sensing === The hexosamine biosynthetic pathway's product, UDP-GlcNAc, is utilized by OGT to catalyze the addition of O-GlcNAc. This pathway integrates information about the concentrations of various metabolites including amino acids, carbohydrates, fatty acids, and nucleotides. Consequently, UDP-GlcNAc levels are sensitive to cellular metabolite levels. OGT activity is in part regulated by UDP-GlcNAc concentration, making a link between cellular nutrient status and O-GlcNAc. Glucose deprivation causes a decline in UDP-GlcNAc levels and an initial decline in O-GlcNAc, but counterintuitively, O-GlcNAc is later significantly upregulated. This later increase has been shown to be dependent on AMPK and p38 MAPK activation, and this effect is partially due to increases in OGT mRNA and protein levels. It has also been suggested that this effect is dependent on calcium and CaMKII. Activated p38 is able to recruit OGT to specific protein targets, including neurofilament H; O-GlcNAc modification of neurofilament H enhances its solubility. During glucose deprivation, glycogen synthase is modified by O-GlcNAc which inhibits its activity.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
It is a four-amino-acid peptide built from alanine, glutamate, aspartate and glycine in that order. Its formula is C14H22N4O9, and it is made by chemical synthesis rather than extracted from tissue. The synthetic peptide is a single defined molecule, unlike the pineal extracts it is often compared with.
No. The two spellings refer to the same tetrapeptide, and the difference reflects transliteration from Russian. Laboratories and catalogues use both forms interchangeably. The material is also indexed as AEDG, taken from the one-letter codes of its residues.
Epithalamin is a mixed preparation derived from animal pineal tissue and contains many peptides. Epitalon is one synthetic sequence chosen for study from that broader mixture. Statements about one do not transfer directly to the other.
The dry powder is typically held at -20 degrees Celsius or lower, protected from light and moisture. Allowing a sealed vial to reach room temperature before opening reduces condensation on its contents. Conditions stated on a supplier certificate of analysis take precedence over general guidance.