Pinealon
Glu-Asp-Arg tripeptide
neuroprotection
brain recovery
mental clarity
mental fatigue
oxidative stress
memory
cellular maintenance
neuroplasticity
stress
A three-amino-acid fragment isolated from Cortexin, the Russian brain-cortex extract, studied in animals for neuronal protection against oxidative and low-oxygen stress.
Goal profile
BRAIN
6/8 axes
ENERGY
1/5 axes
LONGEVITY
1/7 axes
MOOD
1/8 axes
Evidence
2003
first described
41
indexed studies
How strong the evidence is
Animal data
One open-label series of 72 patients after head injury, run by the same Saint Petersburg institute that discovered the peptide. Everything else is rat neurons and mouse models — no randomised trial, no replication outside that institute.
Highest study design
open-label human use
Human studies
3
Replication
one group only
Regulatory status
not approved anywhere
Last reviewed
2026-09-18
The bar is derived from these five facts, not set by hand. Human study counts follow the weekly PubMed refresh; the rest change only when a trial is published or a regulator acts.
How strong the effect is
strength 2 of 5 · weight 0.41
Noticeable but modest
Animal work only: neurons survive oxygen deprivation better. No human trial has measured it.
What's unique
It works on the cell nucleus rather than a receptor — the claim is gene regulation inside neurons, not signalling at their surface.
Unexpected positive evidence
The name points at the pineal gland; the molecule was actually pulled out of a cortex extract. Its best-documented effect — neurons surviving oxygen deprivation — was not what anyone set out to measure.
Benefits
neurons hold up better under oxidative and low-oxygen stress — the effect the animal work was built around
Neuroprotection · from week 2
recovery of function after a head injury, the one setting with human data behind it
Brain recovery · from week 2
less mental fatigue by the end of a long day, and fewer headaches with it
Mental fatigue · from week 2
clearer thinking through the course without any stimulant edge
Mental clarity · from week 2
memory and learning retention held in animals under conditions that normally degrade both
Memory · from week 3
dendritic spines preserved in neuronal cultures modelling Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s
Neuroplasticity · from week 4
antioxidant defence read out at the gene level rather than mopped up at the surface
Oxidative stress · from week 2
cellular upkeep in nervous tissue, claimed through direct action in the cell nucleus
Cellular maintenance · from week 3
steadier emotional balance reported alongside the cognitive changes, never measured on its own
Stress · from week 4
Timeline
Days 1–5
Usually quiet. A few report a flat, slightly dulled first days — the same window where injection-site reactions show up if they are going to. Nothing here tells you whether it is working.
Days 5–20
The course window. What people describe is narrow and specific: less mental fatigue by evening, fewer headaches, an easier time holding a thought through a long day. Not stimulation — the absence of drag.
Weeks 3–8
The course is over and the claimed work continues without you feeling it. This is where the animal data sits: neurons holding up better under oxidative and low-oxygen stress. You cannot verify that from the inside.
Post-course
No withdrawal, no rebound described. Whatever eased usually drifts back over a few weeks. The standard pattern is two or three short courses a year, not a standing habit.
Risks
Short-term
Injection-site reactions. Some report a flat, dulled first week.
Long-term
No human trials of any size. Everything known comes from Russian animal studies and clinical practice that is hard to audit from outside.
Tolerance & withdrawal
Run in short courses, not continuously — the published protocols are ten to twenty days.
Dosing
Dose
2.5–10 mg per injection
5 mg is the dose almost every published course uses. Ten is the ceiling anyone has written down.
Route
Subcutaneous — abdomen
A small volume into the belly. The oral capsule form exists but delivers a fraction of the dose.
Timing
Morning
Mornings, before noon. The one human series dosed early in the day and nobody has tested evenings.
Frequency
Daily for the length of the course
Daily. The course is short enough that no pause is built into it.
Cycle
10–20 days on, then months off
Ten to twenty days, then nothing for months. Two or three courses a year at most.
Duration
Short courses only
Nothing longer than twenty days has ever been published. Continuous use is not a protocol, it is an assumption.
Forms
injectable
~100%
+ Full dose delivered; nothing lost to first-pass
− Daily needles, sites, sharps disposal
Refrigerate 2–8 °C after reconstitution
Sources
41 indexed papers in the source catalog snapshot; not a live PubMed count
Catalog evidence category: preclinical. This is an editorial classification, not a clinical review.
Community anecdotes do not establish safety or efficacy.
Primary regulatory sources are linked below; clinical literature has not been independently reviewed for this FAQ.
FAQ
Pinealon (Glu-Asp-Arg tripeptide) is a tripeptide (EDR). The HEIVE catalog describes it as: A three-amino-acid fragment isolated from Cortexin, the Russian brain-cortex extract, studied in animals for neuronal protection against oxidative and low-oxygen stress. It is also known as EDR and Glu-Asp-Arg.
Regulatory sources checked: . Source verification only; no clinician review is claimed.