This area studies compounds examined in aging and cellular-maintenance research — like epithalon, NAD+, and pinealon — largely in cell and animal studies. None are FDA-approved as medicines; they are research compounds.
Epithalon (a synthetic pineal-gland tetrapeptide) and pinealon are studied mainly in cell and animal models for effects on telomeres, telomerase and aging-related pathways. Some cell-culture work reports telomere lengthening. But large, independently replicated human trials showing that epithalon extends human lifespan or healthspan do not exist, and much of the influential epithalon literature comes from a relatively narrow set of Russian research groups. Activating telomerase is also a biological double-edged sword, because unrestricted cell replication is one of the features cancers exploit.
NAD+ is different in kind. NAD+ is a genuinely well-understood molecule in cell biochemistry — its role in metabolism is solid, established science. The unsettled part is supplementation: precursors like NMN and NR reliably raise NAD+ levels in people and are generally well tolerated over weeks to months, but human studies on actual health or 'anti-aging' outcomes have been mixed, often small, and frequently show no clear benefit on the endpoints that matter.
So the candid summary is: the biochemistry of NAD+ is real, but whether supplementing it meaningfully slows aging in humans is not resolved; and the epithalon/pinealon longevity story is mostly preclinical and not independently confirmed at the human-lifespan level. This is an area of interesting hypotheses, not settled results.
Sources: Overview of Epitalon — bioactive pineal tetrapeptide (NCBI PMC) · Safety and Antiaging Effects of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide in Human Clinical Trials (NCBI PMC) · Nicotinamide riboside raises NAD+ in healthy older adults (NCBI PMC) · How we source this ›
Each links to a full profile — identity, what it is, regulatory status, storage, and cited sources. Everything is framed for research use only; none of this is a recommendation to take anything.
Epithalon (also spelled Epitalon) is a synthetic four-amino-acid peptide (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly) modeled on a substance from the pineal gland.
Humanin is a mitochondrial-derived micropeptide encoded within the 16S rRNA gene (MT-RNR2) and was the first mitochondrial-derived peptide discovered, in 2001.
NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is a naturally occurring coenzyme central to cellular energy metabolism and redox reactions; it is a dinucleotide, not a peptide.
Pinealon is a synthetic tripeptide (glutamate-aspartate-arginine) studied as a short bioregulator peptide.
Thymalin is a low-molecular-weight polypeptide fraction extracted from the thymus of young calves, developed by Khavinson and colleagues at the St.
Blend — 10 mg Epithalon + 10 mg Thymalin
Our rankings are never for sale, and we make no health or dosing claims. Research compounds are for laboratory use only.