Pinealon: uses, evidence and status

compound file

The answer, first. A three-residue peptide, Glu-Asp-Arg, from the Khavinson bioregulator programme in St Petersburg, sold since the 2000s as a brain-targeted supplement. The strongest evidence is for biological-age indices in older adults, graded C — small or open-label human only.

Open Russian series report improved biological-age scores. One gave Pinealon with Vesugen to 32 people aged 41 to 83 ¹.

A second compared methods in 110 people ². No control arm, two peptides at once. The rest of what it is sold for — cognitive function and memory, hypoxia tolerance — grade D or E: animal or mechanism data with no controlled human outcome.

What it is used for

Every use graded on its own evidence, not the compound as a whole. 4 outcomes, ranked by what the human record supports.

#outcome · human · animal · gradewhat the best evidence actually shows

01Biological-age indices in older adults3 open series, no controls · rat hypoxia modelsgrade COpen Russian series report improved biological-age scores. One gave Pinealon with Vesugen to 32 people aged 41 to 83 ¹. A second compared methods in 110 people ². No control arm, two peptides at once.

02Work capacity under shift workone open occupational study · none for this outcomegrade CA Russian occupational study gave locomotive crews 100 mcg twice daily for two weeks and reported better biological-age and adaptation indices ³. Single arm, no control, no blinding.

03Cognitive function and memoryno controlled outcome · rat and cell culturegrade DCell-culture and rodent data only. The tripeptide cut reactive oxygen species and necrotic death in cerebellar granule cells and PC12 cells ⁴. No human study has measured cognition against a control.

04Hypoxia toleranceno trial · hypobaric and acute hypoxia modelsgrade DIn a hypobaric hypoxia model Pinealon had the most pronounced antihypoxic effect of four short peptides tested ⁵. In old rats under acute hypoxic hypoxia it moved brain caspase-3 and serum cytokine markers ¹⁰.

gradewhat it means

ARegulatory approval, or multiple adequately-powered trials agreeing with each other

BAt least one well-powered human randomised trial, with the direction replicated

CSmall or open-label human trials only

DAnimal or mechanism data only, with no controlled human outcome

EA claim the human trials have already killed

How it works

The proposed mechanism, in three steps. A mechanism is a reason to run a trial, never a substitute for one.

1targetNo receptor. The programme's model is direct DNA binding: Glu-Asp-Arg partly enters the major groove and contacts guanine N7 and O6 ⁷.

2signalIn ageing rat cortex cultures the peptide raised serotonin expression, proposed to run through the 5-tryptophan hydroxylase gene ⁸.

3effectIn cells it restricted reactive oxygen species and reduced necrotic death, with the effect saturating at low concentrations ⁴⁶.

What it does not do

Claims the current record does not support. Worth knowing before you set expectations.

not supported by the evidence

Independent evidence supports Pinealon. Almost every study naming Pinealon comes from the Khavinson group or Advances in Gerontology. No independent laboratory has replicated the human reports.
Oral tripeptides reach the brain intact. No human absorption or distribution study has been published for Pinealon by any route. The DNA-binding model is in vitro ⁷.
It slows biological ageing. The two series reporting it were uncontrolled and gave a second peptide alongside ¹². Biological-age composites move with attention and season.

How it is used

What published protocols administered, and what the community reports doing. Descriptive on both counts, and never a recommendation.

routeOral capsules in the Russian bioregulator line. The research market also sells vials for injection.

formatCapsules of 100 mcg in the Russian line, lyophilised powder on the research market.

published dosesOne occupational study used a 100 mcg capsule twice daily for two weeks ³. The geroprotection series report course length rather than a milligram schedule ¹². Rodent work uses intraperitoneal dosing that does not map to a human dose.

human pharmacokineticsNo human pharmacokinetic data published for any route.

reported conventionsAs reported in longevity forums and vendor material, 2012 to 2026: oral capsules taken once or twice daily in 10 to 20 day courses. Courses are repeated two or three times a year, often alongside other Khavinson peptides. Convention, not guidance.

commonly paired withEpithalon

This site does not publish protocols to follow. The doses above are what studies administered or what users report, stated as facts about the literature and the market. How protocols are structured, mixing and storage and the reconstitution calculator cover the arithmetic.

What to expect

Where a trial measured it, the trial. Where only the community reports it, that is said out loud.

onsetPublished courses run 10 to 20 days and measure at the end ¹³. No study measured when anything changes and none used a control group, so an onset time cannot be read from this literature.

most common reportAs reported: nothing distinguishable, which is the usual account for the oral bioregulator line.

adverse effectsOne series flagged prooxidant activity on chemiluminescence alongside the reported benefit ¹. No adverse-event rates have been published. As reported: no consistent adverse cluster, in a very small reporting base.

the stop signalCourses end on the calendar rather than on a signal ¹³. As reported: users finish the box, judge nothing, and repeat by season.

Approval and status

What regulators and sport bodies have actually said, separately from what the evidence shows.

approvalNot approved as a medicine anywhere. Sold in Russia as a dietary supplement.

FDANo FDA approval and no US drug product. Sold as a research chemical or a supplement.

sport [WADA]Not named on the Prohibited List. The S0 catch-all covers unapproved substances.

sold asresearch chemical

Check the vial

The grade above describes a molecule studied under controlled conditions. It says nothing about the powder in a particular vial.

That gap is the one part of this market a reader can actually close. How to read a certificate of analysis covers the five measures in five minutes, and the 2026 audit grades vendors on the documents they publish against a rubric printed in full.

Questions we get

What is Pinealon used for?

It is sold for brain ageing: memory, mental clarity and general geroprotection. The human reports are three uncontrolled Russian series measuring composite biological-age scores, and two of them gave a second peptide, Vesugen, at the same time ¹²³.

No human study has measured cognition against a control. The neuroprotection case rests on rat hypoxia models and cell culture ⁴⁵.

How is Pinealon used?

Descriptively. The Russian bioregulator line sells 100 mcg oral capsules and one occupational study used one capsule twice daily for two weeks ³.

The other human series report a course length rather than a dose. The research market also sells it as a powder for injection, a route no published human study has used. No pharmacokinetic data exist.

How long does Pinealon take to work?

Nothing in the literature answers this. Published courses run 10 to 20 days and read their measures at the end ¹³.

None had a control group and none tracked a time course, so there is no interval that means anything. A composite biological-age score measured once, without a control, cannot establish that anything changed at all.

Is Pinealon an approved drug?

No. It is not a registered medicine anywhere. In Russia it is sold within a dietary supplement line, and in the West as a research chemical.

Almost every paper naming it comes from the group that developed it or from one gerontology journal. On our index it is graded animal only on clinical evidence and niche on community adoption, rated separately on purpose.

How do I know what is actually in a vial of Pinealon?

You do not, unless a certificate of analysis for that specific lot says so. A certificate worth trusting covers five measures: identity, purity, measured net content, endotoxin and a microbial screen.

It names the lab that ran them and carries an accession number you can verify with that lab. Most certificates on this market cover one to three of the five. Purity alone is one number, not a quality programme.

References

Meshchaninov VN, Tkachenko EL, Zharkov SV, 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. PMID 26390612
Myakotnykh VS, Berezina DA, Borovkova TA, et al. [Comparative analysis of different methods of geroprotection]. Adv Gerontol. 2016. PMID 28539017
Nazimko VA, Kaznacheev SV. [Analysis of some parameters of biological age and adaptation possibilities of workers of locomotive brigades]. Adv Gerontol. 2012. PMID 22708445
Khavinson V, Ribakova Y, Kulebiakin K, et al. Pinealon increases cell viability by suppression of free radical levels and activating proliferative processes. Rejuvenation Res. 2011. PMID 21978084
Kozina LS, Arutjunyan AV, Khavinson VKh. [Investigation of antihypoxic properties of short peptides]. Adv Gerontol. 2008. PMID 18546825
Kozina LS. [Biological activity of regulatory peptides in model experiments in vitro]. Adv Gerontol. 2008. PMID 18546826
Silanteva IA, Komolkin AV, Chizhik VI, et al. Role of Mono- and Divalent Ions in Peptide Glu-Asp-Arg-DNA Interaction. J Phys Chem B. 2019. PMID 30762356
Khavinson VKh, Solov'ev AY, Zhilinskii DV, et al. Short peptides stimulate serotonin expression in cells of brain cortex. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2014. PMID 24909721
Khavinson V, Ilina A, Kraskovskaya N, et al. EDR Peptide: Possible Mechanism of Gene Expression and Protein Synthesis Regulation Involved in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease. Molecules. 2020. PMID 33396470
Mendzheritskii AM, Karantysh GV, Ryzhak GA, et al. [Regulation of content of cytokines in blood serum and of caspase-3 activity in brains of old rats in model of sharp hypoxic hypoxia with Cortexin and Pinealon]. Adv Gerontol. 2014. PMID 25051764

Inside Your Peptides is published by the owners of the next lab, a vendor graded elsewhere on this site. We sell nothing here, and this page carries no vendor link. Grades follow the published criteria in our editorial policy — never referral terms. Research and education only. Not medical advice.