What Is Epithalon?

What Is Epithalon? Sequence, Molecular Weight, CAS Number and Research Literature

By the Zen Well Labs Research Team · Last reviewed September 2026 · For laboratory research reference only

Short answer: Epithalon (also spelled Epitalon or Epithalone) is a synthetic tetrapeptide four amino acids, sequence Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly (AEDG) with molecular formula C14H22N4O9, a molecular weight of about 390.35 Da and CAS number 307297-39-8 (PubChem CID 219042). It was designed by V. K. Khavinson and colleagues from the amino-acid composition of the bovine pineal extract Epithalamin. Nearly all published work is cell-culture or animal-model research. It is not approved by the FDA for any use and is sold by Zen Well Labs for in-vitro laboratory research only.

Epithalon at a glance

| Common names | Epithalon, Epitalon, Epithalone, AEDG |

| — | — |

| Type | Synthetic linear tetrapeptide (4 residues) |

| Sequence (one-letter) | AEDG |

| Sequence (three-letter) | Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly |

| Molecular formula | C14H22N4O9 |

| Molecular weight | ≈390.35 Da |

| CAS number | 307297-39-8 (primary listing; alternate registry numbers also appear in some databases) |

| PubChem CID | 219042 |

| Typical supplied form | Lyophilized (freeze-dried) powder |

| Regulatory status | Not FDA-approved for any use; research chemical |

Where does Epithalon come from?

Epithalon is a laboratory-made short peptide. It was synthesized to mirror the amino-acid composition of Epithalamin, a polypeptide preparation historically obtained from bovine pineal gland. The two names are easy to confuse but are not the same reagent: Epithalamin refers to a complex extract; Epithalon / Epitalon refers to the discrete synthetic tetrapeptide Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly.

Commercial research vials are produced by solid-phase peptide synthesis. Identity should be confirmed by mass spectrometry against the theoretical mass (~390.35 Da) and by chromatographic purity, not by trade name alone. PubChem lists the compound under CID 219042; NCATS/UNII records also use CAS 307297-39-8 as the primary registry number.

What has the published research looked at?

A large share of the Epithalon literature comes from laboratories associated with Khavinson and Anisimov and from later reviews of that body of work. Readers should weigh study design, replication outside the original groups, and the distinction between cell-culture findings and organism-level claims. Themes that appear repeatedly in the peer-reviewed record include:

• Telomerase and telomere dynamics in cell culture. Khavinson, Bondarev and Butyugov (Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine, 2003) reported that addition of Epithalon to telomerase-negative human fetal fibroblast cultures induced expression of the catalytic telomerase subunit, detectable telomerase activity, and telomere elongation in that model system.
• Pineal / neuroendocrine reference models. Reviews summarise work on melatonin-related endpoints, chronobiological markers and other neuroendocrine readouts in rodent and in-vitro systems. These are model-specific observations, not established clinical effects.
• Broader in-vitro and in-vivo exploratory themes. A 2025 review by Araj and colleagues (International Journal of Molecular Sciences) surveys antioxidant, enzyme-activity and related endpoints reported across roughly 25 years of Epitalon studies, while also noting that physico-chemical characterisation of the peptide itself remains comparatively thin.

What is missing matters as much as what has been published. There are no large, multi-centre, peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials establishing safety or efficacy of Epithalon as a drug, dietary product or any other regulated human use. Epithalon is not FDA-approved. Statements that treat cell-culture telomerase findings as proven human benefit go beyond the evidence.

Epithalon versus Epithalamin (and spelling variants)

Catalogue and database entries mix several labels. For laboratory purchasing and methods sections, keep them separate:

• Epithalon / Epitalon / Epithalone the synthetic tetrapeptide Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly (AEDG). Same molecule; different transliterations from the Russian literature.
• Epithalamin (Epithalamine) — a polypeptide complex historically prepared from bovine pineal tissue. It is the extract that inspired the synthetic design, not a purified single-sequence peptide equivalent to AEDG.
• PubChem CID 219042 — the registry entry for the synthetic tetrapeptide (formula C14H22N4O9). Some synonym lists also attach extract-related names; do not treat synonym clutter as proof that extract and tetrapeptide are interchangeable reagents.

If a methods section cites Epithalon” but the COA mass is not near 390 Da, the vial is not the defined tetrapeptide reference.

How the sequence is usually written

AEDG is short enough that sequence errors are rare, but free-acid versus salt form and isopeptide variants still appear in niche papers. The standard research material discussed in PubChem CID 219042 and in the Khavinson telomerase cell-culture paper is the α-linked tetrapeptide H-Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly-OH. A 2025 review (Araj et al.) notes that at least one antioxidant study depicted an unusual γ/δ-linked connectivity under the same common name — another reason to require MS and, where available, orthogonal structural confirmation rather than relying on the trade name alone.

One-letter code: AEDG. Three-letter code: Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly. Theoretical monoisotopic and average masses should be checked against the instrument report on the batch COA; PubChem lists an average molecular weight of 390.35.

What the literature does and does not — establish

Readers scanning secondary websites often encounter strong language about ageing biology. The peer-reviewed record is narrower:

1. 1. Cell-culture telomerase findings exist (Khavinson et al., 2003) and are frequently cited. They describe induction of telomerase-related readouts in a defined fibroblast culture system.
2. 2. Rodent and exploratory in-vivo models appear across the Khavinson/Anisimov corpus and are summarised in later reviews.
3. 3. Independent physico-chemical characterisation of the peptide (beyond bioassay papers) remains comparatively limited, as Araj et al. (2025) explicitly note.
4. 4. Regulatory status is unambiguous for US commerce: Epithalon is not an FDA-approved drug, food, cosmetic or dietary supplement. Zen Well Labs lists it as a research chemical for in-vitro use only.

When citing Epithalon in a grant, paper or internal SOP, prefer primary papers and the PubChem record over blog summaries, and state the CAS and observed mass used.

Storage and stability in the laboratory

As a lyophilized powder, Epithalon is generally stored sealed, dry and protected from light at −20 °C for long-term storage; short periods at 2–8 °C are commonly tolerated for sealed dry material. Let a cold vial reach room temperature before opening so moisture does not condense on the powder, and reseal promptly. See our guide to lyophilized peptide storage and stability for the general principles.

How is Epithalon identity and purity verified?

The two standard analytical methods are reversed-phase HPLC (purity, reported as percent peak area) and mass spectrometry (identity the observed mass should match the theoretical 390.35 Da). A Certificate of Analysis should report both, tied to a specific batch number. Because Epithalon is only four residues long, small mass errors or incomplete coupling impurities are especially easy to miss wit