Neuro & cognitive · Longevity
Pinealon
A Khavinson-series tripeptide (Glu-Asp-Arg) with cell and rodent neuroprotection studies; no independent controlled human trial identified.
- How settled this rating is:
- very-low confidence in the current evidence rating
- Routes studied:
- Not established · Subcutaneous injection, Nasal, Oral (marketed but never approved)
- Also known as:
- EDR peptide, Glu-Asp-Arg
- Last reviewed:
- 2026-09-26
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Evidence passport
Pinealon
A one-screen evidence identity for this compound. These fields describe research maturity, confidence and legal status. They are not a safety guarantee, efficacy percentage or recommendation.
- Evidence level
- L1Theory only
- Confidence
- Very low confidence in rating
- Regulatory status
- Not approved for this use
- Development status
- Preclinical
Evidence strength
Higher = more and better-quality human evidence. It does not mean the effect is bigger or that the compound works for you.
Higher = more mature, better-documented human safety data. It does not mean the compound is safer than one with a lower number.
The 0-100 values rate the strength and maturity of evidence, not how effective or safe the compound is.
- Evidence base
- Mostly animal and laboratory research
- Furthest established stage
- Not established
- Human research maturity
- Preclinical, with limited non-independent human reports
- Source curation
- Sources fully curated
Routes recorded
Most of this evidence comes from animals and cells
Overview
Higher = more and better-quality human evidence. It does not mean the effect is bigger or that the compound works for you.
Higher = more animal, tissue or cell research. Preclinical results are a starting point, not proof of a human benefit.
Higher = more mature, better-documented human safety data. It does not mean the compound is safer than one with a lower number.
How to read these scores
Every number here rates the evidence, not the compound. They are editorial 0-100 strength ratings, not percentages, and not a rating out of five stars.
- Human efficacy evidence strength — Higher = more and better-quality human evidence. It does not mean the effect is bigger or that the compound works for you.
- Preclinical evidence strength — Higher = more animal, tissue or cell research. Preclinical results are a starting point, not proof of a human benefit.
- Human safety evidence strength — Higher = more mature, better-documented human safety data. It does not mean the compound is safer than one with a lower number. A score of 80 does not mean “80% safe”.
- Evidence level (L0-L5) — the strongest type of study behind the compound, from anecdote (L0) to large replicated human trials (L5). It is a description of the study evidence, not a quality, safety or recommendation rating.
- Confidence — how likely we think it is that this rating changes as new research lands. Low confidence means the picture is unsettled, not that the compound is bad.
None of these ratings is medical advice, a safety guarantee, or a recommendation to use anything. How we grade evidence.
How far human research has progressed: Preclinical, with limited non-independent human reports
Routes & formulations
Marketed / research routes — never approved
Published work is mainly cell culture and rat studies; marketed routes have not been validated in people.
Route availability is not evidence of efficacy, and evidence from one route does not transfer to another. The Registry never provides dosing or sourcing information.
Peptide lifecycle
Discovery
Preclinical
Phase I
Phase II
Phase III
Approved
What it is
A synthetic tripeptide, Glu-Asp-Arg (EDR), from the St Petersburg 'short peptide bioregulator' research network. Findings on the wider Khavinson peptide family do not transfer to Pinealon or to any commercial product sold under the name.
What people claim
- Neuroprotection
- Memory and cognition
- Anti-ageing
What the evidence actually says
Cell studies report reduced oxidative stress markers and rat studies report neuroprotective effects. A review from the same group mentions memory improvement in elderly patients, but no independent, registered, controlled human trial was identified.
Related evidence
Useful next reads based on this compound — not recommendations.
- Related compound
Brenipatide evidence profile
An investigational dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist now in Phase 3 trials for alcohol use disorder and major depressive disorder, with no efficacy results published.
- Compare
Compare Pinealon vs Brenipatide evidence
Same questions, same fields, side by side — including how much human evidence exists.
- Context
Research Desk
How to read animal, early-phase and controlled human studies without over-reading them.
- Context
Safety Centre
What approved, investigational and unapproved actually mean for documented human safety.
Human evidence
- No registered, independent, controlled human trial of Pinealon was identified.
- Human effects mentioned in reviews come from the originating research network and could not be verified against a trial registry.
Preclinical evidence
- Cell-culture study: reduced reactive oxygen species and necrotic cell death in several cell types (PMID 21978084).
- Rat study: improved offspring cognition after prenatal hyperhomocysteinaemia (Arutjunyan et al., 2012).
- Review of proposed gene-expression mechanisms in Alzheimer's models (PMID 33396470) — same research network.
Animal and cell findings are Level 1–2 evidence.
Mechanism and pathways
- Proposed antioxidant effects and direct influence on gene expression; mechanism-level only.
Safety and unknowns
- No robust human safety dataset identified.
- Material sold online is unregulated: identity, purity, sterility and labelled quantity are separate questions from what the published molecule does.
Cancer relevance
This section covers questions raised by how the compound works in the body, plus anything regulators and trial teams keep an eye on. It is not a statement that this compound causes cancer — for most compounds here, no human data exist in either direction.
Theoretical / mechanistic concern only
Regulatory status
Regulatory decisions apply to specific jurisdictions, products, formulations and indications. An approval elsewhere is not automatically an approval in your country.
Check the regulatory note and linked primary sources for jurisdiction-specific details.
Not an approved medicine in any major jurisdiction. Sale as a 'research chemical' is a legal and supply-chain statement, not evidence of benefit or harm.
Evidence grade
Mechanistic rationale or early development without qualifying compound-specific outcome evidence. A registered trial is not a result.
What would change our rating?
- Independent replication outside the originating network.
- A registered, controlled human trial with a pre-specified cognitive outcome.
References and sources
Source transparency
A provenance snapshot of this profile. Counts show what kinds of sources are cited, not how much scientific weight each source deserves.
- Last editorial review
- 2026-09-26
- Recently reviewed · 20 days ago
- Linked curated sources
- 3
- Sources still pending
- 0
- External specialist reviews
- 0
- None recorded for this profile
Review provenance
Registry editorial review: Colin Jackson-White, creator and editor, who is not a doctor or clinician. External specialist review is credited only when a named reviewer has completed a review of this exact profile.
Literature-discovery and AI tools may help locate or challenge candidate evidence, but they are not counted as evidence sources here. Registry judgements are tied to the underlying papers, trial records, regulator documents and official study records.
- Peer-reviewedKhavinson et al. Pinealon increases cell viability by suppression of free radical levels. Rejuvenation Res 2011 (PMID 21978084)PMID: 21978084
- Peer-reviewedArutjunyan et al. Pinealon protects the rat offspring from prenatal hyperhomocysteinemia. 2012
- Peer-reviewedEDR peptide: possible mechanism of gene expression regulation in Alzheimer's disease. Molecules 2020 (PMID 33396470)
Source hierarchy: regulatory documents and trial registries first, peer-reviewed work next, sponsor material flagged as non-independent. We never use supplier or clinic marketing as evidence, and where a verified source has not yet been curated we say so rather than inventing one.
Evidence change history
These entries record changes to our assessment of the published evidence — not changes to the compound itself.
No recorded changes yet. Baseline position set on 2026-09-26.