Pinealon vs Cortagen
Side-by-side comparison of Pinealon and Cortagen: mechanism, half-life, dose range, safety profile, and vendor pricing.
Price snapshot
Pinealon
Cortagen
Pinealon
Pinealon is a synthetic tripeptide — glutamyl-aspartyl-arginine (Glu-Asp-Arg, or EDR) — developed by the St Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology (IBG) under the leadership of Professor Vladimir…
Lowest listed price: $45.00 across 3 listings
Full Pinealon profileCortagen
Cortagen is a synthetic tetrapeptide, Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro (AEDP), made at Vladimir Khavinson's St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology from the amino acid analysis of Cortexin, a peptide preparation from…
Lowest listed price: $79.00 across 1 listing
Full Cortagen profileSide-by-side comparison
| Attribute | Pinealon | Cortagen |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Nootropics | Longevity |
| Research Stage | Preclinical | Preclinical |
| Mechanism of Action | The proposed mechanism of Pinealon is rooted in the Khavinson school's broader theory of short-peptide tissue-specific bioregulation. The full theory is worth understanding because it underlies all twelve Russian bioregulator compounds in this catalog. The… | Cortagen is a synthetic tetrapeptide, Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro (AEDP), created by the Khavinson group through directed synthesis based on the amino-acid composition of Cortexin, a polypeptide complex extracted from the cerebral cortex [PMID:15159690]. It is a… |
| Half-Life | Not formally characterized in humans. Short regulatory peptides of this class are cleared from plasma within minutes; the Khavinson framework proposes durable downstream gene-expression effects that outlast the brief dosing window, which is the stated rationale for pulsed cycling rather than continuous dosing. | Unknown (tetrapeptide; estimated <4 hours) |
| Typical Dose Range | Subcutaneous (primary route): 2-10 mg/day, typically 3-5 mg, in pulsed 10-20 day cycles, 2-4 cycles/year. Intranasal: 150-800 mcg per nostril daily. Research use only; oral dosing is not recommended because the peptide is largely degraded by GI proteases. | — |
| Dosing Frequency | Once daily during a cycle (morning preferred); some advanced users split into AM + midday doses. Not dosed continuously year-round - cycles are pulsed. | once_daily |
| Administration | — | Subcutaneous, Intramuscular |
| Side Effects | The side-effect profile of Pinealon, based on the available Russian clinical literature and user-reported experience, is described as mild and uncommon. Whether this reflects genuinely low toxicity or inadequate reporting in the available studies is a… | — |
| Molecular Weight | 418.40 g/mol (C15H26N6O8) | 430.4 g/mol (C17H26N4O9, PubChem CID 18439621) |
| Common Vial Sizes | — | 20 |
Price History
2 data points- Ion Peptide
- Disguised Alpha
Price tracking
Pinealon: potential benefits
- Neuroprotection against oxidative and hypoxic stress (preclinical models)
- Antioxidant support - reduced oxidative DNA damage in aged neurons (in vitro)
- Cognitive and memory support in aging populations (small Russian clinical reports)
- Reduced neuronal apoptosis and support of dendritic-tree integrity in cell models
- Investigated for neuroprotection in Alzheimer's-model systems (preclinical)
Cortagen: potential benefits
- Peripheral nerve repair - accelerated axon regeneration and faster nerve-conduction recovery after injury in rat models [PMID:11276314; PMID:12134478]
- Neuroprotection and antioxidant activity in the cerebral cortex and in chronic brain-ischemia models (preclinical) [PMID:18239817; PMID:21476278]
- CNS/cognitive support as the synthetic short-peptide analog of the cortex-derived Russian drug Cortexin
- Anti-aging chromatin remodeling - reactivation of age-silenced ribosomal genes in lymphocytes from elderly donors [PMID:15085253; PMID:37042594]
- Mild immune-signaling modulation (IL-2 expression), generally weaker than Vilon or Epithalon [PMID:12447482; PMID:16224591]
- Longevity-protocol stacking as one of the Khavinson short-peptide bioregulators (commonly paired with Epitalon or Pinealon)
Frequently asked
What's the difference between Pinealon and Cortagen?
Pinealon is a nootropics that the proposed mechanism of pinealon is rooted in the khavinson school's broader theory of short-peptide tissue-specific bioregulation. the full theory is worth understanding because…. Cortagen is a longevity that cortagen is a synthetic tetrapeptide, ala-glu-asp-pro (aedp), created by the khavinson group through directed synthesis based on the amino-acid composition of cortexin, a…. The two differ in mechanism, half-life (Not formally characterized in humans. Short regulatory peptides of this class are cleared from plasma within minutes; the Khavinson framework proposes durable downstream gene-expression effects that outlast the brief dosing window, which is the stated rationale for pulsed cycling rather than continuous dosing. vs Unknown (tetrapeptide; estimated <4 hours)), and typical dose range.
Which has the longer half-life, Pinealon or Cortagen?
Pinealon has a half-life of Not formally characterized in humans. Short regulatory peptides of this class are cleared from plasma within minutes; the Khavinson framework proposes durable downstream gene-expression effects that outlast the brief dosing window, which is the stated rationale for pulsed cycling rather than continuous dosing.. Cortagen has a half-life of Unknown (tetrapeptide; estimated <4 hours). Longer half-lives generally mean less frequent dosing but slower on/off kinetics.
Which is cheaper, Pinealon or Cortagen?
Lowest listed price on BodyHackGuide: Pinealon from $45.00, Cortagen from $79.00. Prices are pulled from the vendor listings tracked on BHG and change frequently. See the compare tables on each compound page for the current set of offers.
Can you stack Pinealon and Cortagen?
Stacking depends on mechanism overlap, safety profile, and goals. Pinealon and Cortagen should only be stacked after reviewing each compound's individual protocol page, side effect profile, and any published interaction data. Use the BodyHackGuide stack builder for a structured review before combining research compounds.
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Before you buy Pinealon or Cortagen
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Related comparisons
Research use only. BodyHackGuide is a research and price-comparison reference. The compounds discussed on this page are not approved by the FDA for human consumption and are sold strictly for laboratory research. Prices shown are pulled from vendor listings tracked on BHG and are subject to change. Every vendor is ranked on the same public, reproducible methodology. See editorial standards and affiliate disclosure.