Pinealon
/PIN-ee-ah-lon/aka EDR peptide, Glu-Asp-Arg, EDR
A synthetic three-amino-acid peptide said to protect brain cells by regulating gene activity, a claim resting mostly on cell and rat studies from one Russian research school.
Pinealon: educational research discussion. Not medical advice. Not a protocol for you.Details
- Reported range
- 1–2 mg daily (SC)
- Frequency
- Daily during a course
- Cycle length
- 10–20 days, 2–3 times a year (reported)
- Half-life
- Unknown
- Route
- Oral or SC
Reported figures describe what is published or discussed. None of them is a dose for you.
Mechanism
What it is proposed to do
The Khavinson group proposes that short peptides like EDR enter cells and the nucleus, bind specific DNA sequences and adjust gene expression. In cell cultures, pinealon lowered reactive oxygen species and supported cell survival under oxidative stress. In rats it reduced damage in hypoxia and prenatal hyperhomocysteinemia models. The gene-regulation model comes almost entirely from the same research school and has not been independently confirmed.
- 01
Pinealon (EDR)
Synthetic Glu-Asp-Arg tripeptide
established - 02
Nuclear entry · DNA binding
Proposed by the originating group from cell and in vitro work
proposed - 03
Less oxidative stress
Lower reactive oxygen species in cell cultures
proposed - 04
Neuroprotection claims
Rat hypoxia and prenatal stress models
proposed
Half-life. Unknown. We found no human pharmacokinetic data.
Dosing & cycles
What is reported, and where it comes from
Numbers below are labeled FDA label, clinical trial range or commonly reported range. They describe the published and discussed landscape. They are not instructions and not a protocol for you.
Dosing studio
Every figure is labeled by where it comes from.
Scale view: Commonly reported injectable range
Probe at 1.5 mg: inside the reported band (1–2 mg). Drag it to read the scale. It does not pick a number for you.
Typical cycle, as a calendar
Commonly reported course
10–20 days, then months off
Dosing guides describe a daily course of 10–20 days, repeated two or three times a year. That shape comes from bioregulator convention, not from a controlled trial.
Cycle patterns
Commonly reported course
Dosing guides describe a daily course of 10–20 days, repeated two or three times a year. That shape comes from bioregulator convention, not from a controlled trial.
Stacks
What it gets combined with
Why people pair things, and what nobody has tested.
Khavinson peptide pairing
2 compounds- Why people combine these
- Both come from the same research school and the same bioregulator theory, so they are often discussed together for ageing and sleep.
- Caution
- Two compounds resting on one group's unreplicated theory. Combining them adds uncertainty, not evidence.
- What is unknown
- No published human data on this combination: dosing, interactions and long-term effects are all unstudied.
Russian nootropic peptides
3 compounds- Why people combine these
- Grouped by origin and by cognitive marketing.
- Caution
- Semax and selank have their own Russian clinical literature. Pinealon's is thinner. Stacking them makes it impossible to attribute any effect.
- What is unknown
- No published human data on this combination: dosing, interactions and long-term effects are all unstudied.
Evidence
How much of this is known
Evidence grade
D
Little useful signal
Mechanism speculation, marketing, or almost no useful human signal.
How we gradeCell and rat data from one research school, a few small human reports in a Russian gerontology journal, and a theory of action nobody outside that school has tested.
Human trial status
Human data are limited to a few small reports in a Russian gerontology journal (Advances in Gerontology), some testing pinealon together with other peptides, including one in patients with multiple chronic conditions. Design details are sparse and independent replication is absent. The rest of the literature is cell culture and rat work, largely from the Khavinson group and collaborators.
Limitations
- Nearly all studies come from one research school and its collaborators.
- Human reports are small, rarely randomized, and published mostly in Russian.
- The proposed mechanism (short peptides regulating genes by binding DNA) has not been independently confirmed.
- No human pharmacokinetic data, so it is unknown how much oral or injected pinealon reaches the brain.
Sources to read
- Khavinson V et al. Pinealon increases cell viability by suppression of free radical levels and activating proliferative processes (Rejuvenation Res 2011)
- Arutjunyan A et al. Pinealon protects the rat offspring from prenatal hyperhomocysteinemia (Int J Clin Exp Med 2012)
- Mendzheritsky AM et al. Pinealon and Cortexin influence on behavior and neurochemical processes in 18-month aged rats within hypoxia and hypothermia (Adv Gerontol 2015)
- Meshchaninov VN et al. 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)
- Khavinson V et al. EDR peptide: possible mechanism of gene expression and protein synthesis regulation involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (Molecules 2021)
Links open PubMed, DailyMed, FDA or trial-registry searches. We do not cite what we have not described accurately.
Safety
Side effects, cautions, status
Commonly reported effects
- No meaningful human safety dataset. Absence of reported harm reflects how little it has been studied.
- Injectable products carry injection-site and sterility risks.
- Oral products: identity and content are unverified.
- Claims about regulating genes are theory, not measured human outcomes.
Who should be extra cautious
- Memory problems or suspected dementia. Claims rest on cell and rat work. New cognitive symptoms call for a medical workup, not a forum peptide.
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding. No data at all.
- Tested athletes. Prohibited at all times as a non-approved substance (WADA S0).
- Gray-market product. Identity, purity and dose are unverified, for capsules and vials alike.
Legal & regulatory status
Not an approved drug in the US, and we found no drug approval elsewhere. It was not among the peptides in FDA's 2026 compounding review. "Bioregulator" is a label used by its developers, not a regulatory category.
WADA. Not named individually, but as a substance with no human therapeutic approval it falls under S0 (non-approved substances), prohibited at all times.
Storage & handling, high level
Sold as capsules or as powder for injection. Reconstituted peptides are generally kept refrigerated, away from light, and degrade over weeks. We found no stability data specific to pinealon.
Reconstitution and injection technique are clinical skills. The reconstitution calculator does arithmetic only.
FAQ
Questions people ask about Pinealon
What is a "bioregulator"?
Is there human evidence?
Does it improve memory?
Is it the same as epitalon?
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