Pinealon

The brain member of the bioregulator family. Despite the name, it came from brain cortex, not the pineal gland.

Evidence: ELab & animal what's this?
Grade E. Cell and animal data from one research lineage; no independent human trials.
Also known as: EDR peptide · Glu-Asp-Arg
Class: Synthetic tripeptide Khavinson bioregulator, neuron-directed

The 30-second version

WhatThree amino acids proposed to switch on neuron-protecting genes.

Why people use itNeuroprotection and memory with age, often stacked with Epitalon.

The honest catchNearly all the data come from one group, and brain penetration hasn’t been verified independently.

What it is

Pinealon is a cousin of Epitalon and Cartalax in the St Petersburg bioregulator family. It was derived from brain cortex extract, and the name reflects its proposed target rather than its source. Epitalon works upstream on the pineal and body clock. Pinealon is pitched as working downstream, protecting the neuron itself.

How it’s proposed to work

Enters neurons and reaches the nucleus, as the bioregulator theory proposes.

Antioxidant genes such as SOD2 and GPx1 are turned up.

Death signals such as caspase-3 and p53 are turned down.

MAPK–ERK stress signalling is modulated.

Spines. Restores the mushroom-shaped dendritic spines neurons use to store memories (in cells).

What the research shows

In the lab: the cleanest data. In cultured brain cells, Pinealon reduced reactive oxygen species and cell death in a dose-dependent way under oxidative and excitotoxic stress, and restored dendritic spines^1,2. In animals: neuroprotection and better learning-task performance in rodents^2,3, from the same lineage. In people: one small trial in traumatic brain injury, using a low oral dose, from the same group. No independent efficacy trials.

Encouraging protection at the cell level, with no evidence yet that it does anything measurable in a human brain.

Evidence at a glance

Use	Grade	Best evidence	Main gap	Read
Neuroprotection	ELab & animal	Less ROS and cell death^1,2	Cell level, single lineage	Preliminary
Memory	ELab & animal	Better rodent learning; spines restored²	Animal only	Unproven
Human benefit	BHuman trials	One small TBI trial	Not independent	Essentially unproven

Dosing: what has been reported

Not a recommendation. These figures describe what was studied or what circulates in practice, kept separate so you can see how solid each one is. Speak with a qualified clinician before acting on any of it.

Setting	Figure	Route	Grade
Published human	~0.2 mg twice daily (TBI study)	Oral	B
Community, oral	~20 mg/day for 20–30 days, 2–3 times a year	Oral	D
Community, injectable	~1–5 mg/day in short courses	Subcutaneous	D

There’s a large gap between the trial dose and community doses, which shows how unsettled dosing is.

Preparing & storing

For injection, reconstitute with bacteriostatic water and refrigerate. The open question is how much survives in the body and reaches the brain.

Reported side effects

Mild injection-site redness
Occasional mild headache
Most reports describe minimal noticeable effect

Who should avoid it

Pregnancy and breastfeeding
Psychiatric or seizure medication: get medical input
Serious neurological conditions: use proper care, not a research peptide

Regulatory status checked Oct 2026

Body	Status	Detail
FDA (US)	Not approved	Not on the permissible compounding list.
EMA (EU)	Not approved	—
CDSCO (India)	Not approved	Registered as a bioregulator in its country of origin.
WADA	Not named	S0 could apply.

The NexGen read

Interesting cell data, little else

Pinealon’s neuron-protection results in the lab are real. Everything beyond that comes from one research group and hasn’t been tested in independent human trials. Treat it as experimental.

References

Khavinson VKh, et al. Short peptides upregulate antioxidant and neuroprotective gene expression and reduce oxidative cell death in neuronal cultures. Rejuvenation Res. 2011. PMID 21978084
EDR peptide neuroprotective mechanism: reduced caspase-3 and p53, increased neuronal viability. PMC7795577
Khavinson VKh. Peptide regulation of gene expression and the bioregulator framework. 2009. PMID 19830583