What is Epithalon?
Epithalon is CAS 307297-39-8, formula C14H22N4O9, molecular weight 390.35, four residues, also written as epitalon or AEDG. It was designed as the minimal active fragment of epithalamin, a peptide extract of bovine pineal gland studied in the Soviet Union from the 1970s. Two acidic side chains on a four-residue backbone make it strongly acidic and very water soluble.
The bioregulator family originates with Vladimir Khavinson and colleagues at the St Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, who fractionated organ extracts and synthesized the shortest sequences that stayed active in their assays. The proposed mechanism is that peptides of two to four residues enter cells and nuclei, bind specific promoter-region DNA sequences or histones, and modulate transcription. This is a hypothesis supported by modeling and spectroscopic binding studies from the originating group, not a structurally resolved mechanism.
What is established is the identity and chemistry of the molecule and the existence of published reports of telomerase induction in fibroblast cell culture and of effects on melatonin rhythm in rodents. What is not established is independent replication at scale. Most of the supporting literature comes from a small number of connected groups, and no independent structural study has confirmed sequence-specific DNA binding.
Reconstitution & handling
The lyophilized powder dissolves readily in bacteriostatic or sterile water added slowly down the vial wall, and at 390 daltons with multiple ionizable groups it is among the more soluble compounds in this catalog. Concentration is the labeled milligram content divided by the diluent volume added. Gentle swirling is sufficient, since a tetrapeptide has little secondary structure to disrupt. The solution should be clear and colorless.
Storage & stability
Sealed vials are stored at -20 degrees Celsius, protected from light and from atmospheric moisture, since the cake is hygroscopic. Reconstituted material is refrigerated at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, divided into single-use aliquots, and protected from repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Epithalon contains no cysteine, methionine or tryptophan, so it carries no oxidation or photolysis liability, and the limit on solution shelf life is slow backbone hydrolysis.
How it's tested
Purity is determined by reverse-phase HPLC at 214 and 220 nanometres, the appropriate range because the sequence has no aromatic residue absorbing at 280 nanometres. Identity is confirmed by mass spectrometry against the theoretical average mass of 390.35. Net peptide content is measured so the labeled figure reflects peptide rather than counter-ion and water.