Cognitive & neuro
Pinealon
A Russian 'bioregulator' tripeptide sold for brain and sleep claims, with no Western clinical trials behind it.
What it is
Pinealon is a synthetic tripeptide of glutamate, aspartate and arginine, part of a family of short 'peptide bioregulators' developed in Russia. The claim is that such fragments influence gene expression in specific tissues — here the brain and pineal gland. There are no randomised trials published in English, no approved product, and no established dose.
How it works
- 1
Proposed to enter cells and bind DNA to influence gene expression — a hypothesis, not an established mechanism.
- 2
Russian-language animal work reports antioxidant and neuroprotective effects in brain tissue.
- 3
Reported effects on melatonin and sleep are speculative; there are no human pharmacokinetic data.
- 4
Short peptides are rapidly broken down by blood enzymes, which raises the question of how an injected dose reaches the brain.
- 5
Crossing the blood-brain barrier at this size is unproven.
What it's studied for
Reported and studied effects
- Reported memory-test improvements in small, poorly controlled Russian studies
- Reported better sleep in user accounts
- No verified human effect
- Antioxidant markers changed in animal work
Research protocol notes
Research context onlyResearch context only — there is no approved protocol. Vendor material describes 10 mg vials reconstituted in 1 ml of bacteriostatic water with 10–20 syringe units daily for around 20 days; those figures come from supplier leaflets rather than trials, and the unit count means nothing without an exact concentration.
These figures are described so you can understand what researchers did. They are not a dose, a schedule, or a suggestion — and they are not a substitute for a doctor.
Possible side effects and contraindications
Safety profile
Possible side effects
- Not systematically studied
- Reported: headache, drowsiness, irritability
- Injection-site reactions
- Long-term safety completely unknown
Contraindications and cautions
- Not established
- Pregnancy, breastfeeding and childhood
- Neurological or psychiatric conditions without medical advice
- Competitive athletes should check anti-doping rules
A side-effect list is never complete, and these are not the only situations that warrant caution. Anything unexpected, or anything you are unsure about, should be discussed with a doctor before use.
Evidence assessment
There are no peer-reviewed controlled trials in humans; available evidence is limited to Russian-language reports and user accounts that cannot be independently verified.
References
References link to published literature, regulator pages or literature indexes. Where a link points to a search, it collects the peer-reviewed work on that molecule rather than a single study.
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