01 · mechanism of action
Epithalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly) researched over decades by Russian gerontologist Vladimir Khavinson. In animal studies on rats and Drosophila, Khavinson's group documented lifespan extension of 13–68 % in treated animals vs. controls — one of the most significant lifespan extensions ever observed for a peptide. Mechanistically epithalon activates telomerase, the enzyme that lengthens telomeres and slows cellular aging. In cell culture experiments with human somatic cells it measurably lengthened telomeres and enabled additional cell-division cycles beyond the Hayflick limit. In tumor models in mice it inhibited growth of breast and colon cancer cells and regulated pineal melatonin secretion.