N-Acetyl-Epitalon Research

N-Acetyl-Epitalon is an N-acetylated form of epitalon. Epitalon is the synthetic tetrapeptide Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly, written AEDG ^[1]. This page sets out what has been published about N-Acetyl-Epitalon. The honest answer is almost nothing, and the reason that matters is set out below.

No peer-reviewed literature could be located under this name

PubMed searches run on 27 August 2026 returned zero records under every name variant tried. The variants included n-acetyl-epitalon, n-acetyl epitalon, N-acetyl epithalon, acetyl epitalon, acetylated epitalon, Ac-AEDG, epitalon amidate and N-acetyl-Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly ^[2].

The zero is not a search artifact. The parent compound returns 132 records on the same index on the same day ^[2]. The name is simply absent.

There is no in vitro study, no animal study, no human study and no review of this compound. A null PubMed search shows absence from PubMed, not absence from all peer review. Unindexed or non-English work may exist. None could be located.

The molecule being sold is not fully resolved

PubChem holds one record, CID 171390141, titled N-Acetyl Epitalon, formula C16H24N4O10, molecular weight 432.38, UNII UXR7AF6R4F ^[3]. It carries no CAS number, and its full synonym list runs to three items ^[3].

That record describes the N-acetylated free acid. Material sold under this name is commonly described instead as an amidate, meaning a C-terminal amide. Those are two different molecules. No public structure record for the amidate could be found, so the name alone does not settle which one is in a given vial.

Why epitalon data does not carry over

This is the one genuinely informative point available.

Acetylating the N-terminus removes the free alpha-amino group. In the family's flagship in silico modeling paper, dipeptides were screened as two separate sets of 400, one with free termini and one with blocked termini ^[4]. Blocking a terminus was handled as a change to the modeled DNA interaction, not as a cosmetic edit.

So even taking the proposed DNA-binding mechanism entirely at face value, results reported for epitalon cannot be assumed to hold for the acetylated form. Whether they do has never been tested.

Family background

This paragraph is background on the group, not evidence for this compound.

Vladimir Khavinson and the St Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology hold patents covering these peptides ^[5]. They developed the compounds and publish on them under their own registered trademarks ^[6]. Khavinson is an author on 493 PubMed records ^[7]. He is a co-inventor, one of four, on a granted epitalon patent ^[5]. That patent is assigned to his own institute's clinic company. A 2020 paper from the group declares no patent or licensing arrangement ^[8].

Epitalon was originally derived from Epithalamin, a crude bovine pineal extract ^[6]. When the FDA reviewed the 26 articles submitted as evidence for epitalon, none discussed epitalon and seven discussed Epithalamin instead ^[9]. Those are different substances. None of that data is data on this compound.

Nothing here describes a use in people.

References

1. 1

   Kazakova TB, et al. Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine. 2002. PMID 12447482. (Abstract gives Epithalon as Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly.)
2. 2

   PubMed E-utilities absence searches, run 27 August 2026. (Zero records for n-acetyl-epitalon and each further name variant listed; plain "epitalon" returns 132 records on the same index.)
3. 3

   PubChem CID 171390141, N-Acetyl Epitalon; UNII UXR7AF6R4F. Re-queried live 27 August 2026. (C16H24N4O10, MW 432.38, no CAS number, three-item synonym list.)
4. 4

   Kolchina N, et al. Nucleic Acids Research. 2019. PMID 31598715. DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz850. (In silico screen of 800 dipeptide variants, 400 free-terminus and 400 blocked-terminus, against B-form dsDNA; small EMSA component.)
5. 5

   US Patent 6,727,227 B1, granted 27 April 2004. (Epitalon tetrapeptide; four named inventors including V.K. Khavinson; assignee the institute's clinic LLC.)
6. 6

   Avolio F, et al. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2022. PMID 35408963. (Italian-led collaboration with the Khavinson institute; states Epitalon was obtained from the peptide complex Epitalamin, that paper's spelling of Epithalamin, derived from bovine pineal gland; names the test articles by the group's registered trademarks and describes them as characterized by Khavinson from 1973 onwards.)
7. 7

   PubMed E-utilities author record count, run 27 August 2026. (Khavinson V[Author] returns 493 records.)
8. 8

   Khavinson V, Popovich I, Mikhailova O. Acta Biomedica. 2020. PMID 32921699. (Single paper; declares no commercial associations including patent or licensing arrangement.)
9. 9

   US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Briefing Document, Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee, 2026. https://www.fda.gov/media/193345/download (Of the 26 articles submitted as evidence for epitalon, none discussed epitalon; seven discussed epithalamin, which FDA states is a different substance. Regulatory document, not peer-reviewed literature.)